But for somebody who has seen how the sport is run in our country, it's not really surprising. Poor planning, incompetent officials, feuding families and vested interest elements combine to form a lethal injection that is slowly but surely leading Pakistan squash to the path of complete destruction.

Just recently, Pakistan's squash officials even failed to obtain visas for their leading junior players, forcing to the former champions to stay away from the recently concluded World Junior Championship in Belgium.

It was a major setback but the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) just took it in its stride.

One of the players, who was supposed to represent Pakistan in the July 13-17 spectacle rang me up last week to tell me that he won't be going to Belgium. "They (PSF) failed to get visas for us," said the youngster, who requested anonymity. "I feel heartbroken because all the hard work I had done for the championship has gone down the drain." The Pakistanis would have provided the two 3/4 seeds had they competed in the event. Danish Atlas Khan and Nasir Iqbal, both 17-year-olds from Peshawar, were supposed to lead Pakistan's title campaign in Belgium.

I decided to contact Irfan Asghar, the PSF secretary, to get his side of the story. It was really difficult to trace him but finally I managed to get hold of the official. Asghar, a Pakistan Air Force officer, told me that the PSF tried everything possible to get Belgian visas for their players.

He claimed that a delay by the World Squash Federation (WSF) in sending visa letters to Pakistan was the main reason why the Belgian Embassy in Islamabad refused to issue visas to Pakistani players.

Asghar went on to make a stunning allegation when he said that the delay could have occurred because the "WSF president happens to be an Indian."

"I must say that it was because the organizers of the World Junior Championship and the WSF that our players have been deprived of their right to play in the event," said Asghar.

"We had selected our team for the World Junior Championships on May 30 but in spite of our repeated reminders, we only received visa letters from them on June 30. By then it was too late and finally we were told that our players would not get visas to play in Belgium," he claimed.

"We don't know why they didn't send us the letters earlier," he said.

"But we have our suspicions. The fact that the WSF has an Indian president could have been a reason behind it, who knows," added the PSF secretary referring to N. Ramachandran, the WSF chief from India.

Unsurprisingly, WSF immediately reacted strongly to the allegation with one of its senior officials terming it as unfounded, libelous and mischievous.

Andrew Shelley, WSF's CEO, told Arab News that PSF officials blundered themselves. He revealed that the PSF had been seeking visa request supporting letters for the wrong event.

"We ordinarily supplies visa request supporting letters to our member federations on the day that the request is received," said Shelley.

"For the World Men's World Junior Individual in Belgium, unfortunately the Pakistan Federation directed a visa request to the organizers of the Men's World Teams in Germany (to be played in Germany in August) on 24 June. Then on 29 June when we were copied in on a follow up note from PSF we enquired whether they perhaps meant the individual in Belgium and sent the visa support letters that same day (copying in the Belgian consulate in Islamabad too).

"The Belgian Federation did likewise, although they had a problem with their e-mails bouncing back that was resolved shortly afterwards when PSF supplied an alternative address.

"Unfortunately, there is a long lead time needed for visa applications in many instances and the time was too short for this submission, which was very unfortunate as it would have been great to have welcomed these potential medalists to this world championship," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the PSF came under heavy fire over its failure to send the national junior team to Belgium.

Pakistan squash legend Jahangir Khan declared that by accusing WSF, PSF is trying to hide it own faults. "It was the PSF's fault that our players were denied participation in the World Junior Championship," said Jahangir, arguably the most successful squash player of all time.

"It is just trying to give the issue a political twist by accusing WSF's Indian president of hatching a conspiracy against Pakistan.

"I know for sure that WSF president has nothing to do with everyday correspondence with member federations," added Jahangir, who served as WSF president for several years.

Demands have also been made for a full-fledged inquiry into the issue.

Senator Enver Baig, a staunch critic of Pakistan's sports authorities, has urged the government to grill PSF officials over their failure.

"The PSF should have had arranged their (players) visas at least two months in advance if the boys were selected well in time. As a matter of fact all top players both senior and junior must hold UK and Schengen visas at all times. Incase PSF had any problem getting their visas they should approach Foreign office via Sport Ministry, which they did not do," said Baig.

Baig revealed that he was informed by Belgium's ambassador in Islamabad that PSF submitted the passports of their players a day after the team was supposed to travel to Belgium.

"I spoke to the Ambassador of Belgium today who said the passports of the squash players were received at the Embassy on Monday (July 11) even though the players were supposed to depart on Sunday (July 10).

It's time that the government takes serious notice and seeks an explanation from PSF." It certainly is time that the authorities take serious note of the continuing decline of Pakistan squash. Unfortunately, it seems that nobody cares any more for a sport that gave Pakistan an identity at a time when it needed one.