Winner of the inaugural 2005 championship, Mohd Azlan Iskandar — currently ranked 15 in the world — is among the favourites for the US$ 30,000 PSA showdown. Also vying for the honours will be world No 16 Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia.

National champion Ghosal is ranked 47 in the world, while his compatriot and competitor Bhattacharaya is world No 61.

The other competitors in the tournament that features Asia’s top eight players are Aamir Atlas (WR 29), Mansoor Zaman (WR 35) Farhan Mehboob (WR 52) and Shahid Zaman (WR 53) of Pakistan.

Three Egyptians Omar Mossad (WR 28), Omar Abdel Aziz WR (39) and Amr Mansi (WR 66) make up the direct entries. Siddharth Suchde of India has been given a wild card. Among the qualifiers is the current British Junior Open Champion El Shorbagy, who hails from international squash’s hotbed Egypt.

The unveiling of the event at the Calcutta Racket Club at a gala press meet brought back memories of the 2005 edition when Iskandar clinched the title in a keenly fought tournament.