PHOTO COURTESY: DECCAN CHRONICLE
Former president Parvez Musharraf called him the best amongst the then greatest Pakistani squash players. According to him, Jahangir Khan was the ‘best squash player’ among Hashim Khan and Jansher Khan and also the ‘best athlete who ever lived’.
The chronicles of Jahangir are not alien to anyone. He earned the ‘Pride of Performance’, ‘Hilal-e-Imtiaz and ‘Sportsman of the Millennium’ awards for his sheer exuberance in the squash court as he yielded the racket like a skilful swordsman, ready to slit his opponents open with dexterity.
He had won the World Open on six occasions with five coming in consecutive years from 1981-1985. The last one was won after three years in 1988.
In the British Open, he remained undisputed for 10 years on the trot from 1982-1991; a feat no one has been able to emulate. He faced a formidable Rodney Martin on three consecutive occasions from 1988-1990 but the Australian was unable to break his code.
Another Pakistani, Jansher, also faced him twice in the British Open finals. In 1987, Jahangir left Jansher clueless with a 9-6, 9-0 and 9-5 straight set win. Later, they met when Jahangir was on the verge of creating history with a record 10th British Open title.
Jahangir was beaten 2-9 in the first set. Some said that he had lost his charm but he proved everyone wrong and came back with a 9-4, 9-4 and 9-0 win in the next three sets to etch his name in squash history forever.
Watch the historic moment here:
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