With form very much making him the pre-tournament favourite and the legendary Jansher Khan sidelined by an injury, Nicol may well achieve the feat.

Nicol is the top seed, followed by 24-year-old Canadian Jonathon Power. Nicol and Power have met five times in finals this year with Nicol winning the last three meetings after Power had won their first six clashes spread over two years.

The seeds:
1. Peter Nicol (Scot), 2. Jonathon Power (Can), 3. Rodney Eyles (Aus), 4. Alex Gough (Wal), 5. Ahmed Barada (Egy), 6. Paul Johnson (Eng), 7. Anthony Hill (Aus), 8. Simon Parke (Eng), 9. Mark Chaloner (Eng), 10. Chris Walker (Eng), 11. Dan Jenson (Aus), 12. Mark Cairns (Eng), 13. Del Harris (Eng), 14. Byron Davis (Aus), 15. Graham Ryding (Can), 16. Derek Ryan(Ire).

Jansher special

'Jansher: A golden era, a chronicle on Pakistan squash legend Jansher Khan was released by the newly-elected president of the Squash Rackets Association of Maharashtra, Khalid Ansari, at the Bombay Gymkhana last night.

The publication, compiled and edited by Raju Chainani, has articles written on the maestro by some of the finest writers and players the game has seen.

The finest tribute comes from the legendary Australian Geoff Hunt, who hails Jansher -- winner of 99 Professional Squash Association (PSA) titles in 12 years, including eight World Opens and six British Opens -- as ``the most complete player of all''.

Injuries in the last 12 months have kept Jansher away from winning his 100th PSA title. The edition chronicles all the 99 titles won by Jansher.