Pakistan’s young guns look to revive their lost squash glory

Chennai: After getting their visas at the last minute, Pakistan are in the city for the Asian Junior Squash Championships. India and Pakistan are considered arch-rivals in any and every sporting clash due to geopolitical reasons, but when it comes to squash, the visitors also have the burden of reclaiming their past glory.Starting from Hashim Khan in 1951, Pakistani players have won the World Open an astounding 28 times. Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan ruled the roost all through the 1980s and early 1990s with a vice-like grip on the World Open and British Open titles, up until 1996. The country is yet to see a champion in either tournament after that.So what caused the downslide in the next millennium? “The next-generation players stopped working hard. They got too engrossed on their mobile phones and wanted everything served on a platter. Champions are not created like that. You have to strive and sacrifice to conquer the world,” Pakistan’s No. 1 junior player and 2022 Asian Junior Individual Championships winner Noor Zaman tells TOI. He believes the current lot comprising him and his team members Muhammad Hamza Khan, Anas Ali Shah and Ashab Irfan have that hunger to add to the rich legacy.Team coach and former international player Fahim Gul believes the infrastructure is in place for Pakistan squash to rise again. “We are identifying and grooming talent from a very young age. Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) is sending players for overseas tournaments and conducting enough national-level tournaments to improve their ranking. We hope the young guns will give us good results in future,” Gul adds.The Asian championship is a good stepping stone and the team is upbeat about its chances. Pakistan are the defending champions in the junior men’s category and the top seeds in the tourney. They kicked off their title defence on Wednesday with commanding 3-0 victories against Kuwait and Sri Lanka.Zaman and Gul say they are happy to come to India and would prefer that the geopolitical tensions be kept away from sports. “I want the political slugfest to end. There’s a lot of love and mutual respect among the two countries’ players and the people at large, which is reflected in the kind of hospitality we have received on coming here,” Zaman states. “We have been coming here in the past, and we would like to come in the future as well. This is how we can develop friendly relations and send the message of peace. Pakistan is a beautiful country and we have the best wishes for India,” Gul adds.Team manager and PSF vice-president Adnan Asad chimes in: “There should be more meets between India and Pakistan. Be it cricket, hockey or other sports, the interactions must increase.”Girls miss out due to visa trouble: The Asian Junior Team Championships are being contested in the junior men and junior women’s categories, but while the boys are here, the Pakistan girls’ team could not participate in the tournament as they did not get visas before the contingent departed, TOI has learnt.