The high-profile Asian tournament, the final stages of which are due to take place adjacent to the Shanghai Bund and started yesterday, adds to their existing sponsorship of the Tournament of Champions, the World Series event staged annually inside New York's Grand Central Terminal.

The multinational banking and financial services holding company, based in New York City, has also increased their prize money for the China Squash Open 2016 by 15 per cent, making this year's edition one of the most financially lucrative events in Asia.

A purse of $100,000 (£75,000/€90,000) is up for grabs in the men's tournament with the women playing for a pot of $70,000 (£53,000/€63,000).

"J.P. Morgan have been a valued partner and integral part of the Tournament of Champions for the past eight years, playing a significant role in pushing the boundaries of squash presentation, broadcast and, earlier this year, achieving parity in prize money," Tournament of Champions promoter John Nimick, who has worked with J.P. Morgan throughout the duration of their partnership, said.

"To have a company of this caliber expand further in the sport and re-affirm their commitment to helping expand the global profile of squash is a very positive step for the sport."

The partnership will see J.P. Morgan garner "high visibility through on and off-court branding, venue branding and television exposure" in a deal that sees them work with two of the most high-profile tournaments on the PSA World Tour circuit.

"We are very happy to welcome J.P. Morgan on board at the China Squash Open 2016 and look forward to working closely with them throughout the next few months to ensure the 2016 J.P. Morgan China Squash Open delivers a world class spectator experience and sporting event," said China Squash Open promoter Sheng Li.

"As a huge multi-national company, their presence at the China Squash Open 2016 will be a boost for the tournament and help us spread the word about squash across China and Asia as the sport continues to grow in that region."

On the opening day of the main draw in Shanghai, Australian Cameron Pilley and Indian Saurav Ghosal produced shock wins over higher ranked opponents.

Pilley, the world number 14, overcame Egypt's world number three Omar Mosaad 11-4, 11-5, 11-7, while Ghosal is also through to the last eight after coming out on top against Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5.

Elsewhere in the men’s event, Egypt's world number one Mohamed El Shorbagy and France's world champion Gregory Gaultier got their tournaments off to winning starts.

El Shorbagy beat Chinese wildcard Junjie Wang 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 whilst Gaultier overcame Peruvian qualifier Diego Elias 11-8, 11-7, 11-4.

The women’s event saw 20-year-old Egyptian Salma Hany Ibrahim produce the day’s biggest upset, as she beat Hong Kong's world number 13 Annie Au 11-6, 11-6, 11-3.

Ibrahim’s reward is a quarter-final fixture with recent Hong Kong Open winner Nouran Gohar after the Egyptian world junior champion comfortably beat India's Dipika Pallikal Karthik 11-5, 11-5, 11-6.

There were also wins for top seed Laura Massaro of Great Britain and Egypt's Raneem El Welily, with Massaro beating Joey Chan of Hong Kong 13-11, 11-9, 11-9 and El Welily overcoming Chinese wildcard Li Dongjin 11-3, 11-6, 11-4.