‘Jansher has a mountain to climb’

Junior squash players’ loss to India leaves Pakistan Squash Federation in shock.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s defeat to India at the Asian Junior Squash Championship has shaken up the country’s federation and has prompted the programme for junior players to be redesigned, according to head coach Jansher Khan.

The loss marks the first time Pakistan was beaten by India in an international tournament. The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has warned its players and officials against commenting on their performance, while their arch-rivals label the result as paving way for a new era in Indian squash.

“It’s definitely a huge shock for us,” Khan told The Express Tribune. “It’s certainly something that I did not foresee and now we need to reconsider our development programme to get better.”

“But the PSF has adopted a strict media policy, so I can only reveal plans for the improvement of junior squash and future tournaments after a week.”

Khan had earlier said that his main focus would be improving the players on the junior level, with his first target being winning the World Junior Squash Championship 2011 that takes place in July.

But his plans suffered an early setback as Pakistan lost 2-1 against India, where top junior player Danish Atlas lost to Ramit Tandon 3-1, Nasir Iqbal beat Abhishek Pradhan 3-0 and Sadamul Haq was defeated by Mahesh Mangaonkar 3-0.

Meanwhile, PSF Vice-President and former world number two Qamar Zaman criticised the team for losing the championship to an unlikely side. “The defeat from India is a big question mark on PSF’s performance and the quality of players we are producing,” said Zaman. “I believe Jansher has a mountain to climb now, if he is aiming to win the World Junior Championship.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2011.