Jansher Khan: Pakistan’s legendary squash player
Jansher Khan is a name synonymous with world squash. He was born in the city of Peshawar on 15 June, 1969. Jansher’s professional athletic career is full of world records and titles that he won at various tournaments across the globe. As a result, critics
can safely say that squash has not witnessed a better player than Jansher Khan.
Jansher belongs to a family of Pashtun ethnicity and belongs to a family that has earned a number of laurels for the country. His family includes names such as Mohibullah Khan and Atlas Khan who went on to win a number of awards in international and domestic
squash for Pakistan.
Jansher turned professional in 1986, the same year where he went on to win the World Junior Squash Championships with a stellar performance in the final. At the time, Pakistan’s squash team was led by legendary player Jahangir Khan, a distant relative of
Jansher Khan.
Jansher ended runners up to Ross Norman at the World Open Finals in 1986. As the player gained more international experience, the 80’s turned out to be an invincible period for Jansher Khan. During this time, squash in Pakistan became a popular sport, dominated
by two great players, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, who represented Pakistan in international events and returned home with titles and awards at almost all championships that the two became a part of.
The two compatriots finally met on a squash court for the first time in 1986 where Jahangir easily triumphed against Jansher. It was in 1987, almost a year later, that Jansher was able to defeat Jahangir for the first time in his professional career. Jansher
won from Jahangir in 8 consecutive games until he finally made it to the semi-finals of the Hong King Open Championship. Jansher then went on to defeat Jahangir in another eight games that they played against each other. Jansher clinched his first World Open
title after defeating Australian player Chris Dittmar in 1987.
Jahangir then made an effective comeback against Jansher in 1988. The first match that he won from Jansher was in March 1988, who then went on to beat him in 11 of the 15 matches that the pair played against each other. One of these victories that Jahangir
got against Jansher included a win in the 1988 World Open final.
Soon, this rivalry between the two great Pakistani squash players became the centre of attention for all fans of the sport in the country. Jahangir and Jansher had countless encounters in the league and exhibition matches. The duo went on to play 37 tournament
matches in total - Jansher won 19 while Jahangir was successful in 18 of them.
Following the retirement of Jahangir, the mantle of responsibility was given Jansher to raise Pakistan’s flag in international competition. The player responded to the call and went on to win 8 World Open titles, the last coming in 1996.
Pakistan’s dominance in world squash is unparalleled in squash history. Jahangir won 10 consecutive British Open Championships and was the most fancied squash player till the year 1991. Jansher continued his legacy and won the British Open for the next six
consecutive years.
At the time of Jansher’s retirement in 2001, the player had to his credit a long list of 99 professional titles, dominating world squash rankings for over six years.
There were of course some controversies surrounding the player too. Jansher made it to the headlines in 2006, when he was accused of forcefully occupying a house and harassing a family after which he was arrested. Jansher was also ill famed after he was
found smuggling 19 bottles of alcohol from London at the Islamabad International Airport in 2007.
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