Squash staking Olympic claim at Buenos Aires 2018

BUENOS AIRES - Squash is pressing its claims for a place in the official Olympic program by participating as a demonstration event at the 2018 summer Youth Olympics currently underway in Buenos Aires.

The aim of the event is to "spread the word about the sport" so that it can be included as an Olympic discipline at Paris 2024, according to the official Buenos Aires 2018 website.

But the first goal is for squash to be added to the Youth Olympics event schedule at Dakar 2022.

To help the sport's cause, Buenos Aires 2018 organizers agreed to stage a junior squash tournament from Oct 7 to 18, coinciding with the Youth Olympics.

The world's top 19 players in both the girls' and boys' junior circuits are participating in the showcase, representing 28 countries and regions. The competition is being held at the Tecnopolis Park in the northwest of Argentina's capital.

Matches comprise four games of six minutes each, with one-and-a-half-minute breaks between games.

The world's top ranked male senior player, Egypt's Mohamed El Shorbagy, is among a host of top level players attending the event.