KARACHI: On 20th May, eight Pakistani boys will walk into a sports complex in Panzhihua, China, and compete against the best junior squash players in Asia. The event is the 33rd Asian Junior Individual Championships.
None of them are famous yet. One of them might be soon. Thanks to Bilquis and Abdul Razak Dawood (BARD) Foundation. Muhammad Mustafa Khan has already won the Scottish Junior Open, the Qamar Zaman National Junior Championship, and the 36th National Junior Squash Championship. He is ranked 1st at the U-13 level. He is from Lahore. He is, by any reasonable measure, one of the most decorated junior squash players Pakistan has produced in his age category in years.
Sohail Adnan competes in the U-15 category and has arguably the most complete résumé in the squad. He won the Scottish Junior Open and the British Junior 2025 for Pakistan after a long hiatus of 18 years. He won the Qamar Zaman National Junior Championship, the Aitchison National Junior Championship, the CAS National Junior Tournament, and the Markh-e-Haq National Junior Tournament. He won the Morgan Reach National Junior Championship. He is currently ranked 1st in U-15.
Ubaid Ullah is from Peshawar. He won the Al Baraka Bank Pakistan Limited National Junior Championship at U-17 in 2024 and followed it with the Morgan Reach title in 2025. He took silver at the Quaid-e-Azam Games. He is the oldest in this squad and the one carrying the most tactical responsibility.
At the Asian Championships, he will face players from Egypt, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India who have been operating in elite international environments for years. Currently ranked at 12th in U-17, his test is the sharpest.
Muhammad Umair Arif, from Peshawar, trains with Pakistan Air Force. He is ranked 15th in U-17 category. Last year, he traveled to Hong Kong and reached the final of the Jessica Hong Kong Junior Open, one of the more competitive junior events on the Asian circuit. He qualified for the Asian Junior Team Championships and now the Individual Championships and is also set to represent Pakistan at the World Junior.
BARD Foundation has shifted its focus to where Pakistan squash has consistently lost ground, the player development pathway. Its current model backs athletes directly, not just events. The four players heading to China this month are products of that system. Each has received structured support, exposure, and continuity through BARD’s development framework. This is the gap that has historically stalled progress, not lack of talent, but lack of sustained backing at the right stage.
The results are already visible. These players are not emerging from isolated tournament wins. They are coming through a managed pipeline where training, competition, and financial support align. At least two of them would not have reached this stage without that intervention. BARD’s approach reduces dependency on sporadic events and builds a clearer route from junior promise to international readiness. The 33rd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships take place at the Sichuan Panxi Sub-plateau Sports Training Base, Panzhihua, China, 20-24 May 2026.
