Learning from the way his father Nasrullah had coached all-time great Jonah Barrington, Rehmat oversaw a singular and almost manic training regime that didn’t just propel Jahangir to the top of the Squash fraternity.
It propelled him miles and miles above the next best player.
There was nothing extraordinarily unusual about Jahangir’s skill level or shot making ability either. It was his fitness that stood head and shoulders above his competitors.
He didn’t just dominate squash for the next decade. He obliterated all available competition.
As part of the most hallowed streak in sports history, he won the 1982 International Squash Players Association Championship without dropping a point!
Starting with the 1981 World Open, (where he defeated Geoff Hunt at the age of 17 to become the youngest world champion), Jahangir embarked on an unbeaten streak of 555 professional matches spanning over five years!
From 1982 to 1991, he won all ten British Open titles, played only two North American and Canadian Opens each (winning them both) and in 1985, after thrashing Chris Dittmar in the British Open Final, 'concorded' across the Atlantic to win his first round match in the North American Open less than 24 hours from his time of victory!
Although he finally relinquished his hold on the British Open due to the arrival of another unrelated Khan from Nawakille (Jansher), Jahangir made a couple of more World Open finals before a decade’s worth of grueling training regimes caught up with his thirty year old body.
When people asked Jahangir how he was the fittest player in a sport that requires only the fittest to play, he downplayed his response. According to him, he never followed a strict training regime or a particular diet.
Apart from always ensuring that he drank two glasses of milk a day, his training usually began with a nine mile jog which he would complete in over an hour at a leisurely pace (aerobic).
Then he would do numerous sets of short, timed sprints (anaerobic). Later, he would weight train in the gym and finally cool down in a pool. Following this routine loosely for five days, he would match practice on the sixth day and rest on the seventh.
Sometimes, he would run on custom-built tracks or asphalt roads, grass fields or sea shores and knee deep water. Often enough, he would head up to higher altitudes where the oxygen was lower.
And this was the training regime of one of the world’s fittest athletes!
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in his autobiography, stated that “If Hollywood only knew his (Jahangir’s) story of tragedy, grit and determination; it would make another movie like Chariots of Fire. Many of those who know him consider him the best athlete that ever lived.”
Without the help of the British, the Pashtuns or Pathans would have continued to herd cattle near the breathtaking retreats of the Khyber Pass.
Many of them still do.
Descendants of the defenders of the pass themselves, to be a Pathan is to have an innate sense of pride and fierceness in one’s self.
None exemplified these traits more than the entire dynasty of Khans that ruled the squash world for decades. Each one of them was a special, accomplished squash player in their own right and could claim to be the best of his era.
What of the sickly boy that wasn’t allowed to play as a child? He can gloriously state that he was simply the best of them all.
And that would be more than enough; for if you are the best of the Khans, you must be the best of the best.
Showing posts with label squash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squash. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 July 2010
The Legend Of The Khan (Part III)
While Mo was related to Hashim by blood, Roshan Khan who married Safirullah’s (Hashim’s brother-in-law) sister was only related by marriage. As a result, he claimed he often experienced a feeling of exclusion from the rest of the Khans. Moreover, unlike his contemporaries, Roshan rarely left Pakistan and therefore had little opportunity to familiarize himself with the hardball version of squash across the Atlantic.
Nevertheless, he broke Hashim’s six year stranglehold on the British Open and added two Canadian Opens as well as a hat-trick of North American Open titles to his stellar resume.
What Roshan lacked in fitness, coupled with a recurrent knee injury, he made up for with his artistry and mercurial talent. Just like Hashim, he would go on to take his place in the Khan dynasty, more renowned for his parenting than his own squash legacy.
His two prodigious sons, Torsam and Jahangir had contrasting careers. The former was tragically a “what-might-have-been” and the latter turned out to be “what-was”.
Before Jahangir crowned himself as the single all-time greatest squash player, Sharif Khan spent over a decade dominating the American hardball circuit. As the eldest of Hashim’s twelve children, Sharif faced the additional pressure of a squash scholarship to Millfield School at the age of 11.
He adapted himself to a glittering junior career, winning every possible championship, including the prestigious Drysdale Cup. After reaching the British Open semifinals, he embarked on an unparalleled dominance of the North American Open, reaching the finals fifteen years in a row and winning all but three of them!
Furthermore, he dominated during a time when three brothers (Gulmast, Liaqat and Salim) were also peaking and winning tournaments by the dozen.
Once Roshan Khan’s squash days as a professional were over, he remained in Pakistan where he set his heart and mind towards turning his sons into world beaters. Jahangir was a sickly child and periodically suffered from bouts of hernia, as well as various other illnesses. As a result, he was not allowed to play as a child for fear that he would collapse.
Torsam, on the other hand, was the pride of the new Khan generation. By the fall of 1979, backed by his father’s devotion and coached by his family, he was ranked 13th in the world and had been elected as President of the International Squash Players Association.
Sadly, in November of that year, 27-year-old Torsam Khan—in the best of health and peak of his career—suffered a fatal heart attack during a tournament game. The loss shattered Jahangir, who had developed into somewhat of a prodigy, competing with the world’s top players and winning the World Amateur Championship as a 15 year old.
His father Roshan then decided to put Jahangir in the hands of his cousin, 29-year-old Rehmat Khan who agreed to sacrifice his career and took Jahangir into his home in London.
To Be Continued...
Nevertheless, he broke Hashim’s six year stranglehold on the British Open and added two Canadian Opens as well as a hat-trick of North American Open titles to his stellar resume.
What Roshan lacked in fitness, coupled with a recurrent knee injury, he made up for with his artistry and mercurial talent. Just like Hashim, he would go on to take his place in the Khan dynasty, more renowned for his parenting than his own squash legacy.
His two prodigious sons, Torsam and Jahangir had contrasting careers. The former was tragically a “what-might-have-been” and the latter turned out to be “what-was”.
Before Jahangir crowned himself as the single all-time greatest squash player, Sharif Khan spent over a decade dominating the American hardball circuit. As the eldest of Hashim’s twelve children, Sharif faced the additional pressure of a squash scholarship to Millfield School at the age of 11.
He adapted himself to a glittering junior career, winning every possible championship, including the prestigious Drysdale Cup. After reaching the British Open semifinals, he embarked on an unparalleled dominance of the North American Open, reaching the finals fifteen years in a row and winning all but three of them!
Furthermore, he dominated during a time when three brothers (Gulmast, Liaqat and Salim) were also peaking and winning tournaments by the dozen.
Once Roshan Khan’s squash days as a professional were over, he remained in Pakistan where he set his heart and mind towards turning his sons into world beaters. Jahangir was a sickly child and periodically suffered from bouts of hernia, as well as various other illnesses. As a result, he was not allowed to play as a child for fear that he would collapse.
Torsam, on the other hand, was the pride of the new Khan generation. By the fall of 1979, backed by his father’s devotion and coached by his family, he was ranked 13th in the world and had been elected as President of the International Squash Players Association.
Sadly, in November of that year, 27-year-old Torsam Khan—in the best of health and peak of his career—suffered a fatal heart attack during a tournament game. The loss shattered Jahangir, who had developed into somewhat of a prodigy, competing with the world’s top players and winning the World Amateur Championship as a 15 year old.
His father Roshan then decided to put Jahangir in the hands of his cousin, 29-year-old Rehmat Khan who agreed to sacrifice his career and took Jahangir into his home in London.
To Be Continued...
The Legend Of The Khan (Part II)
It began with the Head Steward of one of the clubs, Abdullah Khan, whose wife gave birth to Hashim, a naturally athletic child that spent the majority of his childhood playing squash with himself on cement courts barefoot in temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit!
Although his father met with an untimely fatal accident when Hashim was 11, squash was already in his blood. He worked at the club until he was finally given a coaching position at the Air Force Officer’s Mess when he was 26.
Two years later he won the All-India Championship in Bombay and defended it twice before sports were suspended as a result of the bloody partition that ensued.
Once Pakistan was created, Hashim went on to win six consecutive British Opens and seven overall! He also won the North American and Canadian Open (hardball) thrice, adding five British Pro Championships for good measure.
Hashim Khan however, is remembered less for his own legacy and competitive record than for the forthcoming patriarchal role which he would occupy as the creator that set the Khan dynasty into motion.
It seems unfair that a man with so many professional accomplishments would ultimately take a backseat in the pantheon of players that was to follow, but this is precisely what Hashim did as squash gained slightly more exposure and popularity.
His brother Azam, younger by a decade, was a tennis enthusiast until he started practicing squash with Hashim under the scorching Peshawar sun. His progress was so rapid that he was a losing finalist to Hashim in the 1953 British Open. He then proceeded to repeat this feat twice more!
Nevertheless, by the spring of 1962 he was the proud winner of four consecutive British Open crowns, a pair of Canadian Opens and a North American Open before a ruptured Achilles tendon effectively ended his career as a professional.
One of Hashim’s contemporaries, Safirullah (himself a British Open semifinalist) married Hashim’s sister and produced two sons (Gul and Mohibullah) who by the time Azam’s career was over, were ready to step in and make the jump from "prodigious talent" to "indomitable champion."
While Gul was consistently in the Top-10, Mo captured the British Open in 1962 after losing to his Uncle Hashim thrice previously. By winning a North American Open, he would ultimately end up as one of only five men to have achieved this double.
After meeting JFK at the White House, Mo secured his assistance to become the squash pro at the Harvard Club in Boston and served there till 1995 when he suddenly collapsed fatally on court.
By then, he had put his shot making skills and volatility to good use in the North American version of squash—hardball. He won the North American Open four more times as well as five consecutive North American pro events!
To Be Continued...
Although his father met with an untimely fatal accident when Hashim was 11, squash was already in his blood. He worked at the club until he was finally given a coaching position at the Air Force Officer’s Mess when he was 26.
Two years later he won the All-India Championship in Bombay and defended it twice before sports were suspended as a result of the bloody partition that ensued.
Once Pakistan was created, Hashim went on to win six consecutive British Opens and seven overall! He also won the North American and Canadian Open (hardball) thrice, adding five British Pro Championships for good measure.
Hashim Khan however, is remembered less for his own legacy and competitive record than for the forthcoming patriarchal role which he would occupy as the creator that set the Khan dynasty into motion.
It seems unfair that a man with so many professional accomplishments would ultimately take a backseat in the pantheon of players that was to follow, but this is precisely what Hashim did as squash gained slightly more exposure and popularity.
His brother Azam, younger by a decade, was a tennis enthusiast until he started practicing squash with Hashim under the scorching Peshawar sun. His progress was so rapid that he was a losing finalist to Hashim in the 1953 British Open. He then proceeded to repeat this feat twice more!
Nevertheless, by the spring of 1962 he was the proud winner of four consecutive British Open crowns, a pair of Canadian Opens and a North American Open before a ruptured Achilles tendon effectively ended his career as a professional.
One of Hashim’s contemporaries, Safirullah (himself a British Open semifinalist) married Hashim’s sister and produced two sons (Gul and Mohibullah) who by the time Azam’s career was over, were ready to step in and make the jump from "prodigious talent" to "indomitable champion."
While Gul was consistently in the Top-10, Mo captured the British Open in 1962 after losing to his Uncle Hashim thrice previously. By winning a North American Open, he would ultimately end up as one of only five men to have achieved this double.
After meeting JFK at the White House, Mo secured his assistance to become the squash pro at the Harvard Club in Boston and served there till 1995 when he suddenly collapsed fatally on court.
By then, he had put his shot making skills and volatility to good use in the North American version of squash—hardball. He won the North American Open four more times as well as five consecutive North American pro events!
To Be Continued...
Friday, 4 June 2010
The Legend Of The Khan (Part I)
The North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan is infamous today for being a forlorn battlefield littered with the remains of missiles, bombs and fallen soldiers.
It represents the senselessness of man-made violence and a people trapped on the wrong side of a self-authored history.
Down the valley of the glorious Khyber Pass, representing the last path to the mountainous regions of the Afghan border, there lies a village called Nawakille which for decades sequentially produced and sent forth Pakistan’s greatest gifts to the athletic world.
Sporting dynasties are best characterized by two crucial tenets – longevity and dominance . They possess an aura of invincibility that is anything but sporadic.
The longer the dominance, the greater the lure and this is exactly why the legend of the Khans remains the greatest untold story of a dynasty in the history of sport.
Most sports require a precarious blend of various athletic attributes. Conventional sports such as football value the conventional characteristics such as speed, stamina and endurance.
Marathon runners prize endurance and stamina; sprinters need power and speed. Rugby players need speed as well as strength – a combination which defines an athlete’s “ability to explode.”
A Formula One driver requires lightning fast reflexes while golfers rely on immense mental strength as well as muscle endurance.
Squash, much like tennis, requires all of the above.
It requires aerobic fitness to survive two hours of scampering around a closed court at a frenetic pace.
It requires an unparalleled anaerobic ability to sprint forward, backward and sideways for minutes and then do it all over again.
It requires specific muscle endurance to hit the same shot repeatedly at a three second interval up to 20 times. And it requires a quality reflex mechanism to play a small ball travelling at speeds close to 200 kilometers an hour.
The British Empire gave the sporting world enough that we hold dear. They gave us Golf in 1502; Cricket in 1787, Tennis in 1859, Hockey in 1860, Football in 1863 and Rugby in 1871 just to name a few.
And though the French theoretically "invented" the game of squash, it was the British who developed it, popularized it and spread it to the world. Brazil would do well to gift them a Jules Rimet trophy, Australia could give up a Cricket World Cup with a few Ashes trophies thrown in as bonus and perhaps Sampras or Federer could donate a few Wimbledons.
No nation could ever be more deserving.
The story of the Khans however, does not begin with its most well known - Jahangir. It ends with him.
To delve deeper into the past and trace his lineage we must go back a century when India and Pakistan were one and the British had built squash courts to entertain their officers while they served the empire.
To Be Continued.....
It represents the senselessness of man-made violence and a people trapped on the wrong side of a self-authored history.
Down the valley of the glorious Khyber Pass, representing the last path to the mountainous regions of the Afghan border, there lies a village called Nawakille which for decades sequentially produced and sent forth Pakistan’s greatest gifts to the athletic world.
Sporting dynasties are best characterized by two crucial tenets – longevity and dominance . They possess an aura of invincibility that is anything but sporadic.
The longer the dominance, the greater the lure and this is exactly why the legend of the Khans remains the greatest untold story of a dynasty in the history of sport.
Most sports require a precarious blend of various athletic attributes. Conventional sports such as football value the conventional characteristics such as speed, stamina and endurance.
Marathon runners prize endurance and stamina; sprinters need power and speed. Rugby players need speed as well as strength – a combination which defines an athlete’s “ability to explode.”
A Formula One driver requires lightning fast reflexes while golfers rely on immense mental strength as well as muscle endurance.
Squash, much like tennis, requires all of the above.
It requires aerobic fitness to survive two hours of scampering around a closed court at a frenetic pace.
It requires an unparalleled anaerobic ability to sprint forward, backward and sideways for minutes and then do it all over again.
It requires specific muscle endurance to hit the same shot repeatedly at a three second interval up to 20 times. And it requires a quality reflex mechanism to play a small ball travelling at speeds close to 200 kilometers an hour.
The British Empire gave the sporting world enough that we hold dear. They gave us Golf in 1502; Cricket in 1787, Tennis in 1859, Hockey in 1860, Football in 1863 and Rugby in 1871 just to name a few.
And though the French theoretically "invented" the game of squash, it was the British who developed it, popularized it and spread it to the world. Brazil would do well to gift them a Jules Rimet trophy, Australia could give up a Cricket World Cup with a few Ashes trophies thrown in as bonus and perhaps Sampras or Federer could donate a few Wimbledons.
No nation could ever be more deserving.
The story of the Khans however, does not begin with its most well known - Jahangir. It ends with him.
To delve deeper into the past and trace his lineage we must go back a century when India and Pakistan were one and the British had built squash courts to entertain their officers while they served the empire.
To Be Continued.....
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