All of the leading players, including Malaysia's Nicol David (pictured) and Britain's world number three James Willstrop, will be taking part in the event at the National Squash Centre, the £3.5 million facility built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games at Sportcity.

 

The World Squash Federation (WSF) president Jahangir Khan is due during the tournament next week to formally launch their bid for inclusion in the Games when he unveils "Countdown to Copenhagen", marking the fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will choose at its Session in the Danish capital in October 2009 which sports should be chosen for the 2016 Games, which will be held in Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro or Tokyo.

 

Squash, which was developed at Harrow School in the early 19th century and has since been exported to 154 countries around the world, is one of seven sports which have been short-listed for consideration alongside baseball, golf, karate roller sports, rugby sevens and softball.

 

When baseball and softball were dropped by the IOC from the London 2012 Olympics at its Session in Singapore in July 2005 squash looked set to be chosen to replace one of them but narrowly failed to accrue the two-thirds majority votes needed under Olympic rules.

 

Among the IOC members who have accepted invitations to watch the Manchester event, which concludes on October 19, are Britain's Sir Craig Reedie, who as chairman of the International Badminton Federation helped steer that sport into the Olympics for the first time in 1992.

 

Nick Rider, the chief executive of England Squash, is placing a lot of importance of getting the sport into the Olympics, believing it would also help make a significant contribution to British success at the Games.

 

He said: "We've always said that if we can get people to the World Championships to see for themselves then they will excited by it.

 

"Squash is all about gladiatorial combat with extraordinary athletes.

 

"Once you see it up close and personal it is a great viewing sport.

 

WSF officials will be hoping to impress the IOC with capacity crowds of 1,200 watching the tournament progress on a moveable glass-walled show court, the only one of its kind in Britain.

 

But the build-up to the Championships have been marred by a row over proposals from the WSF to impose a professional scoring system upon the whole sport.

The WSF is considering making everyone play with the point-a-rally 11-up scoring used by the two pro tours, believing it would make squash easier to understand and establish unity for its Olympic bid.

 

But David is among the leading players who believes it would be a mistake to abandon the traditional hand in hand-out scoring used for more than 80 years.

She said: "Normal scoring would be so much better for the juniors and grass roots.

“The game is all about how to come back when you are down.

 

"It’s never over till it’s over: the essence of the normal scoring.

 

"But with American [point a rally] scoring you will get less fightbacks.

David, who is a strong favourite to regain the title in Manchester after topping the rankings for 26 consecutive months, also has doubts about the effects of the point-a-rally scoring upon the women’s professional game.

The new system was only adopted by the Women's International Squash Players Association (WISPA) Tour in July, copying the Professional Squash Association [men’s] tour, and will be used for the first time in a World Championship in Manchester.

 

She said: “It’s a big change.

 

"Having established women’s squash at such a good level with the normal scoring, and changing it to American scoring, it’s a bit difficult for most girls to have to adapt straight away.

 

“But in the end you have to deal with what’s going on.

 

"Hopefully the quality of what we produced with nine-point scoring will transfer to American scoring.

“But there are some variations in our matches now.

 

"Some top players don’t like it.

 

"Somehow we have to adapt. It could be disruptive.”

 

Rachael Grinham, the Australian who will defend the world title against David’s challenge, is also unsure how the new scoring will affect the women’s professional game.

 

 

She said: “I wasn’t keen on the change in the beginning but I understand it was inevitable really so I’ve been trying to look at the positive sides of it."

 

 

"As far as the Olympics go, we are hoping to get IOC members here because it is an opportunity to highlight what is going to be the biggest ever squash event there has ever been as well as how much of an asset it would be to the Olympic programme.

 

"Here in England we have an important role to play and the players are quite rightly disappointed of exclusion.

 

"It is a tough competition as there some big sports on the candidate list, but there is that feeling that squash has Olympic credentials and a lot of people are surprised it's not on the agenda.

 

"It is a continual criticism and a justifiable one when it comes to raising the profile of the sport.

 

"There are half a million regular players plus we are world champions in at both men’s and women’s level, so it is a real shame that we can't get that into the public's sporting perception."