Challenger Tour Weekly Preview: Canada, India and Mexico Host Events

The first multiple-event week of 2023 comes this week on the Challenger Tour, with tournaments taking place in Canada, India and Mexico.

Over the past week, the KCC PSA Challenge Cup took place in Hong Kong, with Kuwaiti Abdullah Almezayen and Malaysia’s Aira Azman taking home the Challenger 10 level crowns.

This week sees three events on Tour, starting with the Christanson Classic in Canada. The Faltami Squash Inn Classic starts on the same day, on Wednesday, January 26, in Mexico, with the Delhi leg of the 4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour then beginning on Saturday.

Here is what is taking place on Tour this week…

Christianson Classic
The first of those three events will be the Christianson Classic, which will take place at the Medicine Hat Downtown YMCA from Thursday, January 26 to Sunday, January 29.

Mexico’s Alfredo Avila will lead the men’s Challenger 5 level competition, with compatriots Leo Vargas and Miled Zarazua also among the eight seeds.

Welshman Emyr Evans will join four Canadians also inside that top eight bracket. Nick Sachvie, Liam Marrison, Connor Turk and Cory McCartney will all be in action on home soil this week.

Faltami Squash Inn Classic
At the same time, the Faltami Squash Inn Classic will also be taking place. The women’s Challenger 5 level event will be held at the Squash Inn Club in Mexico City.

Home favourite and Mexico No.1 Diana Garcia will be the top seed in the draw, with compatriot Diana Gasca also among the top four seeds. Colombia’s Laura Tovar and Malaysian Yasshmita Jadishkumar will join the Mexican pair.

Laura’s younger sister Maria, along with fellow Colombian Lucia Bautista, will also be seeded. Hungary’s Kincso Szasz and Guatemalan Mary Mijas make up the top eight seeds.

4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Delhi
The last event of the week will be the 4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Delhi, which will take place from Saturday, January 28 to Wednesday, February 1 and will feature both a men’s and women’s Challenger 5 level competition.

The Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium will play host to the event, where Abhay Singh, who claimed a Tour-high six titles in 2022, will be the top seed for the men’s event. Fellow Indian Sandeep Ramachandran, along with Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei and Frenchman Toufik Mekhalfi will be in the top four seeds.

The majority of the top eight seeds in the women’s Challenger 5 level draw will be Egyptian, with the trio of Amina Orfi, Nadeen Kotb and Nour Ramy leading the way. Serbian No.1 Jelena Dutina and India’s Tanvi Khanna will also be among the top eight seeds.

This Week’s Schedule:
Christianson Classic: Thursday, January 26 – Sunday, January 29
Faltami Squash Inn Classic: Thursday, January 26 – Sunday, January 29
4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Delhi: Saturday, January 28 – Wednesday, February 1