Big day for Pakistan sports

Yet another Khan has rekindled hopes that Pakistan can regain its lost glory in international squash – a sport that the country once reigned like no-one else, for decades. While Pakistan has been a forgotten tale in the game since the departure of legends like Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan in the late nineties, Hamza Khan has ended the country’s victory drought spanning 26 years by winning the World Junior Squash Championship 2023, beating Egyptian Mohamed Zakaria in Melbourne on Sunday. The last time Pakistan won the same title was through Jansher Khan in 1986 i.e. 37 years back, and the last time the country won a major title (British Open) was in 1997 i.e. 26 years back, also through Jansher Khan.

The long-drawn victory drought contradicts Pakistan’s global supremacy in the game from 1981 to 1997, spearheaded by Jahangir and Jansher, and before that by Hashim Khan from 1951 to 1958. And now Pakistan’s sorry state in the game is evident from the fact that Pakistan’s top ranked squash player, Muhammad Asim Khan, is placed at 66 in the world ranking, and has never been reckoned among the top 50 in his entire career so far. However, the arrival of Hamza Khan – who has won Asian Junior Championship twice and British Junior Championship once – is a breath of fresh air on the national squash circuit. While Pakistan No 1, Asim, laments lack of sponsorship, it is expected that Hamza’s parent department, Pakistan Army, will continue to provide him the required support in terms of funds and facilities so that he could play his role in revival of our lost glory in squash.

Sunday, meanwhile, brought another good news story for Pakistanis on the sports front. Pakistan Shaheens thumped India A by a big margin of 128 runs in Emerging Asia Cup final in Colombo. Pakistan’s 352 for 8, helped by Tayyab Tahir’s 71-ball 109, proved too much for our arch-rivals.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2023.

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