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May-06:
Hyderabad To Host WISPA's Qatar Airways Challenge
 After
two years in Doha, the Qatar Airways Challenge will move to India
this year. The third biggest championship on the WISPA Tour,
boasting a prize fund of $79,550, will be played from 4–9 July
in Hyderabad, a major Qatar Airways destination in India.
In an exciting innovation that will ensure a great presentation for
Indian and world-wide TV audiences, the final rounds will be played
on an all-glass court erected in front of the Falaknuma Palace,
an historic building set on a hill overlooking the city of
Hyderabad. Early rounds will take place at the Secunderabad Club.
Announcing the women's championship, which will be the biggest ever
to be held in India, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Mr
Akbar Al Baker said the airline was delighted to be backing a
sport which is gaining huge recognition and reputation around the
world.
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THE DRAW
Falaknuma Palace
 "We
are extremely thrilled to once again be staging the Qatar
Airways Challenge.
"After hosting the tournament in Qatar for the past two years,
we are pleased to be taking the sport to India and staging the
tournament in Hyderabad, a city Qatar Airways flies to four
times a week.
"Qatar Airways looks forward to welcoming the world's top
women squash players for what promises to be an exciting event
with excellent prize money on offer.
"Many of the players will be flying to India with Qatar
Airways and sampling the award-winning Five Star hospitality
that we are renowned for around the world.
"Our sponsorship of the WISPA event is integral to Qatar
Airways’ strategy of using sport to help spread its message as
a leading international airline."
Qatar Airways Chief
Executive |
QA Challenge 2005
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 India
is a strategically important market for Qatar Airways. The
airline currently operates 30 scheduled flights a week between
Doha and five Indian destinations of Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Cochin, Delhi and Trivandrum, with plans to boost its Indian
network to other cities over the next few years.
Qatar Airways has a fleet of 45 all-Airbus aircraft flying to
70 destinations from its hub in Doha, capital of the State of
Qatar. Daily flights between Doha and Hong Kong were launched
in March, marking the airline's historic 70th route.
The airline's fleet will almost triple in size over to 110
aircraft by 2015. Qatar Airways plans to acquire 60 of the new
generation Airbus A350s and 20 Boeing 777s, worth a total
US$15.2 billion.
Qatar Airways is one of only four airlines in the world with a
Five Star ranking for service and excellence awarded by
Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency.
Skytrax also named Qatar Airways’ cabin crew as Best in the
Middle East for the third year running in 2005 and fifth best
in the world following a survey of more than 12 million
passengers worldwide.
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26-Jun-06:
All-Glass
Floor
for Hyderabad
A new revolution in squash court technology will be unveiled in
India next week when the Qatar Airways Challenge in Hyderabad will
be the first professional event to be played on an all-glass court
which boasts an all-glass floor.
 The
third biggest championship on the WISPA World Tour with a prize fund
of $79,550, will take place from 4–9 July. After early rounds at the
Secunderabad Club, the final rounds will be played on the new
all-glass court erected in front of the Falaknuma Palace, an
historic building set on a hill overlooking India's fifth largest
metropolis.
After successful testing of the new concept by manufacturers ASB at
the recent Austrian National
Championships in Salzburg and at its headquarters in Germany by
a number of the world's top players, a new glass court floor has
been acquired by the Squash Rackets Federation of India to be used
for the first time at the WISPA event in Hyderabad.
 "We
have developed the floor in accordance with the players'
requirements and we now have a product that is absolutely
anti-skid, elastic and even.
"The colour of the floor is determined by the colour of the
surface under the glass - one of the biggest benefits being
advertising, which can be placed at any area of the floor,
completely visible, in any colour."
ASB founder |
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THE DRAW
Falaknuma Palace
The glass floor
tested in Vienna
 "I
am sure that we will look back upon this ASB development as a
milestone for squash.
"The floor quality has been assured – and there is no
maintenance such as panel breakage, the colour options are
wide, and the ease of advertising placement is another
encouragement for sponsors."
WISPA Chief Executive |
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