Squash — making a comeback

Pakistan won the Asian Team Squash Championship for the record 15^th time as the pair of Farhans — Zaman and Mahboob — tamed the team from Hong Kong to annex the title in Taiwan on May 15. Pakistan has succeeded in retaining its clout at the Asian level in the team event despite the harrowing slump in the last two decades at the international level. This victory, while encouraging, does not hide the fact that the world dominance that was once taken for granted is no more there. Zaman, Mahboob, Tayyab Aslam and Shahjahan Khan are the players the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has pinned its hopes on but the quartet have a long way to go before they can be termed worthy substitutes for the legends of yesteryear. Most national players have struggled for opportunities to ply their trade in leading international competitions due to lack of funds and poor rankings. In addition, the PSF has also struggled to host international events and leading international players are seldom seen displaying their talents here.

However, it now appears that concerted efforts are being made to arrest the decline in squash.

Stalwarts like Jehangir and Jansher Khan are back in the fray and threw their weight behind the Legends vs Champions squash series held in Karachi last month.

In addition, the PSF has planned at least three more events this year with the Pakistan Open the biggest draw of them all. Other than organising international events, it also needs to encourage young players towards the game by creating opportunities for them to display their talents. The brazen truth is that the Pakistani youth has lost touch with the past. Our squash legends, tragically, aren’t recognised by many in the younger generation and hence the sport has lost the popularity that it enjoyed in past decades, especially at the height of the Jehangir-Jansher rivalry. Besides the PSF, the Pakistan Sports Board also needs to play its role in reinstating squash as one of the country’s premier sports.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.

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