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.
Hashim Khan was the first Pakistani to dominate the sport. Having been a squash coach in the British Army, when Pakistan gained independence he joined as a coach for the Pakistan Air Force. It was there that he impressed the officers with his skills that they sent him to England to compete out of their own pocket. Despite being in his late forties, Hashim Khan showed great skill and speed and in 1951 competed in the prestigious British Open.
It was there also that he laid the foundation of Pakistani dominance in Squash. Hashim defeated 4 times winner the current champion Mahmoud Karim of Egypt in devastating fashion, 9-5, 9-0, 9-0.
Of these, Jansher Khan is considered by many to be the greatest player ever the grace a squash court. During his career he won the World Open a record eight times and the British Open six times.
However, since 1998, when Jansher Khan was defeated in the British Open final, Pakistan squash has fallen from its height and now no longer is the dominant force in squash. No Pakistani since has reached the final of either the British or World Open.
Present
Pakistan host a number of international squash tournaments and have many professional training centres around the country. Pakistani squash players still have a big presence in both the men’s and women’s games, but no one player has reached the standards of past players.
Squash is a racket-and-ball sport played by two or four players 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), but the sport is not part of the Olympic Games, despite a number of applications. Supporters continue to lobby for its incorporation in a future Olympic program. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) organizes the pro tour.
Jahangir Khan is a former World No. 1 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. 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 a 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 from January 1988 till January 1998, Jansher Khan's retirement in 2001 brought an end to nearly 50 years of domination by Pakistan in the sport of squash. He was troubled by back, knee and groin injuries throughout his career.During his career, he won PSA Professional 293 matches out of total 331, PSA Professional Tour Finals 99 out of 118 and from 1990 until 1996 in 81 matches he was unbeaten for record six years; his longest winning matches streak in top-level professional sports as recorded by Guinness World Records.
Chris Dittmar is an Australian sports commentator who was formerly the World No. 1-ranked men's squash player.
Rodney Martin is an Australian former professional squash player, who is best known for winning the 1991 World Open and becoming the first player to defeat Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan in the same event. After retiring as a player due to injury, he became a squash coach, working in Australia and the United States.
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, 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 between 1959 and 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.
Peter Marshall is a former professional squash player from England.
Mohibullah Khan is a former world squash champion from Pakistan. He was one of the game's leading players in the 1970s, reaching a career-high ranking of World No. 2. He was runner-up at the inaugural World Open in 1976, and at the British Open in 1976, losing on both occasions to Australia's Geoff Hunt.
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 Dynasty of squash. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open in 1963.
The U.S. Open (squash) 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.
Nasrullah Khan was a Pakistani squash player. In 1966, he became coach to Ireland's Jonah Barrington, along with Azam Khan as Barrington's tactical advisor, helping Barrington to win his first of six British Open titles between 1967 and 1973. He also coached Angela Smith, the GB and England world star who became a legend herself in the ladies game ensuring that the sport was professional for women.
The Official Men's Squash World Ranking is the official world ranking for men's squash. The ranking is to rate the performance level of male professional squash players. It is also a merit-based method used for determining entry and seeding in men's squash tournaments. The rankings have been produced monthly then weekly since 29 August 2022. The current world number one is Diego Elías of Peru.
The 1993 PSA Men's World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 1993 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Karachi in Pakistan from 18 November to 23 November 1993. Jansher Khan won his fifth World Open title, defeating Jahangir Khan in the final.
The 1989 PSA Men's Singer World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 1989 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from 03-7 October 1989. Jansher Khan won his second World Open title, defeating Chris Dittmar in the final.
The 1990 PSA Men's World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 1990 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Toulouse in France from 4 November to 11 November 1990. Jansher Khan won his third World Open title, defeating Chris Dittmar in the final.
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.
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