Get to Know….The 2015 NASH Cup Returning Champions

 

Maria Toorpakai WazirMaria Toorpakai Wazir

Maria Toorpakai Wazir (rank 51) is Pakistan’s greatest ever female player and turned professional in 2006.

A trailblazer in her native Pakistan, she fought against gender barricades inflicted on her by the Islamic beliefs of her hometown and posed as a boy to compete in sporting competitions in her younger days.

She was awarded the Salaam Pakistan Award by the President of Pakistan in August 2007 and capped of the year by being nominated as the WISPA Young Player of the Year.

Her maiden Tour title came at the Liberty Bell Open in 2012 where she claimed the title despite being a qualifier for the event.

More success followed later that year at the Southwest Open before she captured her third title at the Nash Cup in September 2013 after beating Milou van der Heijden in the final.

She made history at the triumphed at the 2nd Bahria Town International Women’s Squash Tournament to become the first female Pakistani player to win a PSA Challenger 10 event.

From the NASH Cup Diego will move on to the NetSuite Open in San Francisco. Then it will be the Delaware Investments US Open on October 8th; the Martha Jefferson Hospital Open in Charlottesville on October 22nd; and the PSA Women’s World Championships on November 13th.

 


Shawn DelierreShawn Delierre

Shawn Delierre (CAN; rank 54)  is one of the fittest players on the PSA World Tour and has incredibly appeared in three of the top five longest squash matches ever recorded.

He won his first title at the Quebec Open Classic in 2004 and grabbed his fifth at the Goodlife Squash Open in 2006.

The Canadian won three consecutive PSA World Tour titles in 2010 with his 10th title coming on home-soil at the Nash Cup in September 2011.

After a strong 2012, Delierre began 2013 in the world’s top 40 ranked players and earned his first PSA Challenger 15 title at the National Capital Open in January of that year.

A couple of titles followed in 2014, before his mammoth 170 minute semi-final clash with Leo Au in the Gas City Pro-Am in January 2015 made headlines as it broke the record for being the longest match ever recorded.
Delierre recovered well and went on to win the Resistencia Open crown four months later.

Twitter: @ShawnDelierre

Following the NASH Cup Shawn will travel to a $10K event in Washington on October 5th; The $35K Bluenose Classic in Halifax on the 20th; the $10K Goodlife Open in Ottawa on November 5th and then start in the main draw of the $325K PSA Men’s world Championships in Seattle on November 13th.

 

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