Abdul Bari was a squash player. He was one of the leading players in India in the 1940s. Bari was a distant cousin of brothers Hashim Khan and Azam Khan, who represented Pakistan and went on to dominate the international squash scene in the 1950s and early 1960s. Bari stayed in Bombay, India after India and Pakistan won independence from Britain. [1] Bari was sponsored to travel to the United Kingdom to compete in the British Open (the effective world championship of the sport at the time), where he finished runner-up in 1950 to the Egyptian player Mahmoud Karim. Two years later in 1952 he became the first Asian to become a professional coach in England when he was appointed by Junior Carlton Club in London. Bari died of a brain haemorrhage in 1954. [2]
Bari was defeated by Karim at the 1950 British Open Squash Championships in London by a 9–3, 9–4, 9–0 margin. [3] Bari lost to Karim again a few months later at the Scottish Championships in four-game match. [4]
Squash, sometimes called squash rackets, is a racket-and-ball sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. The objective of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. There are about 20 million people who play squash regularly world-wide in over 185 countries. The governing body of squash, the World Squash Federation (WSF), is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the sport will be included in the Olympic Games, starting with the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) organizes the pro tour.
Jahangir Khan is a former professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982–1991). Jahangir Khan is widely regarded as the greatest squash player of all time, and one of the greatest sportsmen in Pakistan history. From 1981 to 1986, Khan was unbeaten and during that time won 555 consecutive matches – the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sport as recorded by Guinness World Records.
Jansher Khan PP SI HI NI is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. During his career, he won the World Open record eight times, and the British Open six times. Jansher Khan is widely regarded as one of the greatest squash players of all time. Ranked number 1 in the world for a decade, from January 1988 till January 1998, Jansher Khan retired in the year 2001. He was troubled by back, knee and groin injuries throughout his career. During his career, he won 293 out of 331 PSA Professional matches and 99 out of 118 PSA Professional Tour Finals matches. From 1990 until 1996, he remained unbeaten in 81 matches for a record six years; this was the longest winning streak in top-level professional sports, as recorded by Guinness World Records.
Joshna Chinappa is an Indian professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. She was the first Indian to win the British Junior Squash Championship title in 2005 in the under-19 category and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion. She is the current record-holder of most national championship wins, with 18 titles. In 2024, she was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, by the Government of India.
Mahmoud el Karim (1916–1999) was a squash player from Egypt. He won the British Open men's title four consecutive times from 1947–1950.
Hashim Khan was a squash player from Pakistan. He won the British Open Squash Championships a total of seven times, from 1951 to 1956, and then again in 1958. Khan was the patriarch of the Khan squash family of Pakistan, which dominated the sport from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Azam Khan was a Pakistani squash player who won the British Open Championships four times, from 1959 to 1962.
Roshan Khan was a squash player from Nawakille, Peshawar, Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the early 1960s, and won the British Open title in 1957.
Qamar Zaman is a former squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading squash players in the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open Squash Championships in 1975. He is referred to as 'The Stroke Master'.
Mohibullah Khan, often referred to by the nickname "Mo Khan", was a squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the 1960s and a member of the famous Khan squash dynasty. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open in 1963.
Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of Pakistani culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Football has also gained popularity in recent years, and is the second most popular sport in the country. Field hockey is the national sport, and was popular for several decades, with some of Pakistan's greatest sporting accomplishments having taken place in this sport, along with squash. Polo and traditional sports like kabaddi and other well-known games are also played.
The U.S. Open is the most prestigious squash tournament in the United States, and one of the most significant in the world. It is a major international display of supreme talent in the sport, and showcases the top players from around the world.
Sharif Khan is a Pakistani-Canadian retired professional squash player. He is widely considered to be one of the all-time great players of hardball squash. He was the dominant player on the hardball squash circuit throughout the 1970s. Sharif was born in Pakistan, and is the son of the legendary squash player Hashim Khan, who dominated the international squash scene in the 1950s.
Squash is one of the most popular sports in Pakistan. Pakistan had hosted a number of international tournaments and has many professional training centers around the country. Pakistan reached its peak in the 1980s and 1990s during the reigns of Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan. Both players won many laurels for the country. Jansher Khan won the World Open eight times and the British Open six times. He was ranked number 1 in the world for six years. Jahangir Khan is easily the greatest professional squash player of all time with an unofficial record of having 555-game winning streak. Between 1950 and 1997, Pakistan amassed over 30 British Open titles, 14 World Open titles and many more PSA professional titles.
The Squash Rackets Federation of India aka SRFI is the Indian governing body for the game of squash. It conducts the National Squash Championship, promotes the game through the state squash bodies, provides training facilities, selects the squad, and chooses coaches for the national team.
Squash is a recreational sport in India but is slowly gaining popularity as a competitive sport. It is governed by the Squash Rackets Federation of India. The India men's national squash team has participated in three quarter finals of the World Team Squash Championships since 1967.
The 1951 Open Championship was held at the Lansdowne Club in London from 04-9 April. Hashim Khan won his first title defeating four times champion Mahmoud Karim in the final.
Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmedzai (1902–1979), commonly referred to as Ahmad Yar Khan, was the last Khan of Kalat, a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with British India and the Dominion of Pakistan, serving from 10 September 1933 to 14 October 1955.
The Khan squash family, sometimes referred to as the Khan squash dynasty, refers to a Pakistani family that has produced a succession of champion squash players. The dynasty's patriarch was Hashim Khan (1914-2014), whose win at the 1951 British Open began the era of his family's dominance in the sport. This family dominance continues with Ivy League star Anoush Khan. Members of the Khan family have combined for a total of 23 British Open, 16 North American Open, 19 US Professional Championships, and six World Championships wins.
Pathans in India or simply known as Pathans are citizens or residents of India who are of ethnic Pashtun ancestry. "Pathan" is the local Hindavi term for an individual who belongs to the Pashtun ethnic group, or descends from it. The term additionally finds mention among Western sources, mainly in the colonial-era literature of British India. Historically, the term "Afghan" was also synonymous with the Pathans. The Pathans originate from the Eastern Afghanistan and Northwestern Pakistan regions, ethnolinguistically known as Pashtunistan.