Injured Martin serves up another blow to organisers

AUSTRALIAN Rodney Martin dealt the Cathay Pacific-Perrier Open another major blow when he pulled out of the territory's showcase squash event yesterday with a recurring hip injury.

Martin is the second leading player to withdraw in three days - following in the footsteps of England world number two Peter Marshall, who pulled out at the weekend because of glandular fever.

'Rodney's manager Mike Walton telephoned the PSA [Professional Squash Association] in Cardiff and said he has hurt his hip again and is pulling out of every event he has entered,' said Jackie Yu Kwok-king, the tournament's press officer. 'We understand that also includes next week's Malaysian Open and the Japan Super Challenge in the second week of September.' Martin's withdrawal came only one day after the Hong Kong Squash Racquets Association conducted a re-draw for the tournament due to the withdrawal of second-seeded Marshall.

However, it is not necessary for another draw because 1991 world champion Martin is not one of the top seeds as he is ranked only 14th on the PSA chart.

Martin, a winner here in 1986 and 1992, sustained the hip muscle injury at the 1993 World Open in Karachi when he was at the peak of his career and ranked second in the world behind Pakistan's Jansher Khan.

He played on and off throughout last year despite the injury, but he eventually stopped after losing to unseeded Argentinian Federico Usandizaga in the opening round of the Mahindra International Challenge in Bombay last December.