PESHAWAR - Ace Pakistani squash player Aamir Atlas Khan said he would be looking to take the scalp of World No. 1 Rami Ashour of Egypt in this month's North American Open Squash Championship, www.thefrontierpost.com reported on Thursday. Ranked 19th in the world and seeded 13th in the tournament, Khan will face a qualifier in the first round and is anticipated to battle with defending champion and favourite Ashour in the second round of the tournament; offering a prize purse of $93,750. "I would not be preoccupied with the fact that my second round opponent was Ashour and I would do my best to beat him and would also try to claim the title," Khan told The Frontier Post on Thursday. "I defeated Gregory Gaultier of France in the Qatar Classic a few months back. I also defeated World No. 2 Nick Mathew in 2008. So I have no pressure and I would go into the match confidently," he said. Khan added that he enjoyed playing in the recent South Asian Games in Dhaka, where he clinched gold medal in the individual event and also led his side to clinch the team event's gold medal. "It was a nice experience in Dhaka and winning gold medals for my country gave me a very good feeling," he said. The event includes Rami Ashour (EGY), Stephen Coppinger (RSA), Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK), Peter Barker (ENG), Thierry Lincou (FRA), Farhan Mehboob (PAK), Amr Shabana (EGY), Wael el-Hindi (EGY), David Palmer (AUS), Shahier Razik (CAN), Olli Tuominen (FIN), Alister Walker (ENG), James Willstrop (ENG), Aaron Frankcomb (AUS), Joey Barrington (ENG), Rafael F Alarcon (BRA), Gregory Gaultier (FRA), Adrian Grant (ENG), Simon Rosner (GER) and Karim Darwish (EGY).
