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SQUASH IN PAKISTAN.
Term Paper ID:26811
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Essay Subject:
Examines this sport's development & the central role of the Khan clan of Pakistan in its popularity in that nation.... More...
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14 Pages / 3150 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Examines this sport's development & the central role of the Khan clan of Pakistan in its popularity in that nation.
Paper Introduction:
INTRODUCTION
Squash is a game that developed as a tournament sport in this century and which has achieved considerable popularity in much of the world. That popularity is much greater in certain regions of the world, notably those that are British or that were under British rule earlier in this century. The game has been dominated form the first by several major players and by a number of players from one family, the Khans of Pakistan. Hashim Khan was a major player in the 1950s and helped contribute to the growth of the game and especially to its great popularity in his native Pakistan. Jahangir Khan took his place in the family pantheon beginning in the 1980s, and he has been followed by another in the family, Jansher. Hashim Khan changed the nature of the game of Squash as it had ben played to that time in the
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The 34-year-old six-timeworld champion offered his services to SRAM because of a desire to coachand spar with the young players. Hashim Khanchanged the nature of the game of Squash as it had ben played to that timein the British system and in the process began a dynasty that continues tothis day. The ISRF thrivedand was amalgamated with the Women's International Squash Federation in1985. In the British Open, these two played again, and Hashim won with ease. In 1949, a professional fromPakistan who was not in the same class as Hashim reached the final of theBritish Open, regarded as the premier championship in the world, and theofficers of the Air Force Club then collected enough money to send Hashimto London for the British Open in 195 . People Weekly, 145. "History of Squash." United States OlympicCommittee http://www.olympic-usa.org/sports/az_3_33_1.html. Mohibullah won the United States Open in 1964, 1965, 1966, and1968. Today, Jahangirworks for the Pakistan national airline (PIA) and has moved into the toplevel post of General Manager Sport. One reason given for the ability of this clan to continue to dominatethe sport is the nature of the game itself, suggesting that Jahangir haseither inherited certain abilities or has garnered them from watching hisfamily members and from competing with them. THE GAME The game of squash dates from 183 , though it followed along historyof human beings playing different games in which players would hit a ballwith either a closed fist -- as in "fives" or "bunch of fingers" -- or withsome form of bat or racket. His ambition atthe time was to win the 198 British Amateur Championship, but he had topass up the event when he fell and sprained his back. Rudd's forecast was correctin that Squash grew rapidly and soon left Rackets sport far behind inpopularity (Wallbutton). The first recorded reference to "Squash" outside Harrow schoolappeared in 189 in the English book The Badminton Library of Sports andPastimes written by the Duke of Beaufort. HASHIM KHAN Hashim Khan arrived on the international scene in 195 , and when hedid, he changed the game of Squash, which to that time had been seen aslargely the preserve of the upper classes. CONCLUSION Jahangir Khan comes from a family of championship squash players andcarried on a family tradition, but he did so not just because of familyties but because of his own strong training program, his dedication toevery aspect of the game, and his love of the sport. Asprofessional sports go, the money to be made from squash is not usuallythat impressive, but in 1985, Khan's manager, Ron Morton, estimated thatJahangir would earn about $4 , from tournaments and exhibitions thatyear. Jahangir had his first hernia operation when he was 5, thesecond at age 12, and was not bothered by the problem after that. After initially retiring form Squash, Jahangir had a number ofoccupations. In the final at the Scottish Opena week before, Hashim met Mahmoud El Karim from Egypt, the British Openchampion the previous four years, and defeated him in three straight games. This kind ofbusiness does well in Pakistan because of the weather. The family was surprised that Jahangir could play thegame at all, let alone at such an elevated level, since he was born with ahernia and told by doctors that he could never exercise vigorously. Hashim was his elder son, ten years older than the second son, Azam. When he could playagain, he decided to become a professional; he was then sixteen. He won the worldchampionship in Toronto when he was 17 and the British Open the followingyear. . The British dimensions were proposed in 1911but not ratified until 1923. Squash was thus officially founded as asport in its own right (Wallbutton). Both courts have the same length of32 feet (Wallbutton). He would spend an hour on the court by himself doingcalisthenics and squash drills, including the star drill, which is thestiffest and most valuable squash player workout a player can make part ofhis daily routine: The player races from the T to one of the four corners of the court, pivots, returns as fast as he can to the T, then races to another corner, pivots, returns at full tilt to the T, and so on, without letup, for as long as he can. He himself says he hasnothing more to prove, suggesting that proving himself was one of thereasons he worked as hard as he did in his career. There were then courts in schoolsand universities in England and some also in private houses. Each day except SundayJahangir would rise at six in the morning and run approximately ten miles.He would eat a leisurely breakfast, read the newspaper, and go to theSquash Centre. He continues to serve thesport today as a world ambassador, inspiration, and coach to youngerplayers, including those in his own family who continue the tradition. His career was impressive: he won the United States Openthree times; the Australian Open once; the Canadian Open three times; theBritish Professional Championship five times; the Scottish Open eight yearsin a row; and the British Open seven times. Jahangir recently began another career in squash when he was elected aVice President of the WSF in Stuttgart. The reason lies in the very simplicity of squash. There were 32flavors of ice cream. In 1992, the name of the Federation was changed to the World SquashFederation (WSF), a name which also finally recognized that the sport hadbeen universally referred to simply as "Squash," rather than "SquashRackets," for most of its existence. At some time in the early19th century, this obsession with rackets and balls spawned another varietyof the sport in Fleet Prison in London where prisoners in "The Fleet,"mainly debtors, took their exercise by hitting a ball against walls withrackets and so started the game of "Rackets." By some strange route,rackets progressed to play at Harrow and other select English schools about182 , and it was from this source that the sport of Squash, or SquashRackets, developed. The plant was imported from the United States, butthe ice cream was made in Pakistan. The administrative structure of the game developed along with the gameitself. Still, he remains verykeen on sports. In 1966, however,representatives from Australia, Great Britain, India, New Zealand,Pakistan, South Africa, the United States, Canada, and the United ArabRepublic met in London and agreed to form the International Squash RacketsAssociation (ISRF), holding the first meeting in 1967. PIA is a something like an Institute of Sport would be in manyother countries, and it acts by sponsoring sportsmen and helping them withtravel, salaries, and jobs. The effects of this training regimen were noted: "By the beginning of 1981, the British squash authorities were talkingabout Jahangir's superb condition" (Wind 11 ). . Since players slow as they tire, the best player will be the fittest player, first physically and then--when legs are cramping and the heart is at breaking point--mentally ("Squash Has No Room for the Faint-hearted"). He remains an importantfigure in the sports world and has become an ambassador to the world onthat basis. The story of how Jahangir overcame his initial disability to become sucha strong player is balanced by the cautionary tale of his older brotherTorsam. Jahangir came to dominate the game because of his skill and hispersonality alike, and he remains an important force as a coach and rolemodel who continues to act as a world ambassador for the game, helping toraise interest, increase the number of courts in the world, support thedifferent tournaments, and develop the game around the world. After his father's death in a truckaccident when the boy was eleven, Hashim became a devotee of Squash and thepupil of the instructor at the Peshawar Club. Karim of Egypt next won the title four times from 1947 to 195 , andthen followed the Squash-dominating Khan dynasty from Pakistan with wins byHashim (1951-1958), Roshan (1957), Azam (1959-1962), Mohibullah (1963),Jahangir (1982-1992), and Jansher (1993-1994)(Wallbutton). Amr Bey won the first of hisfive British Open Championships, then considered the World Championships.M.A. Giventhat his family had ruled the game of squash for three decades, though,Jahangir was clearly drawn to the game. The first discrete national associations to be formed were theUnited States Squash Racquets Association in 19 7 and the Canadian SquashRacquets Association in 1911. Hewould successfully defend his title for the next five years until he wasbeaten in 1956 by his distant cousin, Roshan Khan. The World Squash Federation now has1 9 Squash playing National Associations as members and is the soleInternational Federation for the sport, as recognized by the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC). He has an ideafor developing an institute for squash {"Jahangir's Back"). The Khan family dominated the sport during these years and hascontinued to include members ever since. Squash spread rapidly in its early days, and the major growth areasfor the game were wherever British forces were stationed so that SouthAfrica, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, and many othercountries learned their Squash from the military and soon adopted it astheir own. He always made himself available if a member of the clubwanted to have someone to play against, and he used his diplomacy and sodid not play his best in these matches: He was, however, a person of considerable ambition: his aim was to become the best in the world, and to that end he made himself into an increasingly redoubtable player. In addition, he had formed a company to market a line of racquetsand clothing, calling it Unsquashable ("Jahangir Proves Squash Is Still theUltimate Khan Game" 145). Torsam's death hitJahangir hard and turned him even more inward for a time. One observer writes, Where tennis is about stroke-making and badminton about tactics, squash is pre-eminently about physical and mental toughness--and its peculiarity is that the best player very rarely loses even to the second best. Initially, Jahangir was shy inpublic so that his smooth and articulate coach, Rahmat Khan, made all thepublic appearances and statements for him, but Jahangir has become morepersonally passionate about promoting the sport. Hashim Khanwas a major player in the 195 s and helped contribute to the growth of thegame and especially to its great popularity in his native Pakistan.Jahangir Khan took his place in the family pantheon beginning in the 198 s,and he has been followed by another in the family, Jansher. Hashim would return in1957 to win the British Open for the seventh and last time against hisbrother Azam, and Azam would win the British open the next year, in 1958,holding the title for four years until he would be beaten in 1962 byMohibullah Khan, the son of a sister of Hashim and Azam (Wind 1 1). In the mid-197 s, RoshanKhan was the head professional at the Fleet Club of the Pakistan Navy, inKarachi, while his elder son, Torsam, was among the top twenty players inthe world. His son Jahangir was also coming along quite well, surprisinggiven his childhood infirmity. TheEconomist. Some critics in the 195 s claimedthat the Khans would arrange among themselves before each tournament whichone would win, whether Hashim, Azam, Roshan, or Mohibullah. The organization's centersare found at the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex, Jalan Duta Squash Centre,Bandar Penawar (Johor), Penang and Sarawak ("Malasian Squash Association toHire Jahangir Khan"). He started with a sawed-offracquet when he was seven years old, hitting balls against a wall everyafternoon. Jahangir has also been involved in theproperty business and has given exhibitions in Europe, the United States,and Asia. Tournament courts appeared in different countries, and publicsquash courts sprang up in the United States and Great Britain (Wind 1 7).The success of the Khans had a greater influence on how that game wasviewed in Pakistan. Although it was considered likely that hewould be present only for short spells, it was also assumed that he wouldhave a positive influence on the young people. In 1923 H.A.L. In its early days, internationalSquash was controlled by the Squash Rackets Association of England and theUnited States Squash Rackets Association. The point-a-rally scoring system to 15 wasused universally in Squash until 1926, at which time the current hand-in,hand-out system to 9 points was introduced outside North America. The group was uncertain about the issue of pay but reported that itwould start negotiations with Jahangir soon. Hashim Khan was born nearPeshawar in what would become Pakistan with the partition of India in 1947,and until the partition, Peshawar was the site of the key encampment of theBritish troops then guarding the North-West Frontier Province of India.Earlier in the century, the chief steward of the Peshawar Club, the socialheadquarters for the British Army officers in the region, was AbdullahKhan. Much about the clan remains unclear. He has also been elected a VicePresident of the Pakistan Squash Federation, and in Stuttgart he became aVice President of The World Squash Federation. Wallbutton, Ted. Rahmat set up a rigorous training program for the young man, aprogram that contributed to his great success. In that early period, Squash had no form of internationalstandardization, and inevitably, slight variations in the way it wasplayed, and the equipment used, occurred. Thatpopularity is much greater in certain regions of the world, notably thosethat are British or that were under British rule earlier in this century.The game has been dominated form the first by several major players and bya number of players from one family, the Khans of Pakistan. Once the game was givenstandardized rules, only two main streams emerged, one in England with its21 feet wide courts and "soft" ball and the other in North America with its18.5 feet wide courts and "hard" ball. The name "Khan" is more a Pathan ethnic identification than a Western-style surname. (April 8, 1985). Jahangir himself has been with PIA for morethan 2 years, having started with them as a 13 year old. After India was partitioned, Hashim became the professional of theRoyal Pakistan Air Force Club in Peshawar. He ended the day with light exercises and a half-hour swim inthe Squash Centre's pool. He was 13 years younger than Torsam (Wind1 8). The WSF maintains responsibility for the rules ofthe Game, Court and Equipment Specifications, and Refereeing and Coaching.It also maintains a World Calendar of events and organizes and promotesWorld Championships for Men, Women, Junior Men, Junior Women, and Masterage groups in both singles and doubles play. Recently, the Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) decided totry hire Pakistani Jahangir Khan as their consultant coach, and theorganization was given approval for this by the National Sports Council(NSC). Others doubtthat such conferences ever took place, noting how competitive they werewhen playing one another. He is therefore makingmore use of his renown to carry the message to others and to promote Squashas a world-class sport ("Jahangir's Back"). Hashim contributed much to the game, including almost his entirefamily. In 1933, the great Egyptian player F.D. The first book on Squash waswritten by Eustace Miles, a world champion at both Tennis and Rackets, in19 1, and he stated that the sport was enjoyed by thousands of players invarious parts of the world by that time. More often than not the best player is from the Khan clan, Pathans from northern Pakistan . And in England, the game was regulated by aSquash subcommittee of the Tennis and Rackets Association from 19 8 untilit gained full status as the Squash Rackets Association in 1928. For seven years he would visit Brunei once a month, spendingtwo weeks at home and two in Brunei, to coach members of the Sultan ofBrunei's royal family. Once intournament play, Khan would spend ten months a year playing in tournamentsand would live with his family in Pakistan the rest of the time. Hashim acquired his realeducation in the game, however, by acting as a racquet stringer and then aball retriever. These short, wheeling sprints increase a player's aerobic capacity and build up the stupendous fitness required in a match that may last two hours or longer (Wind 1 9).After lunch and a period of relaxation, Jahangir would begin his afternoonworkout by practicing with Rahmat, and these sessions consisted of hard,extended rallies as Rahmat pointed out certain moves the he thoughtJahangir was not executing in the best way possible. TheAmerican hardball game continued to be played to 15 points, though, andthis system was also adopted for the men's professional circuit in 1991 inan effort to shorten the matches (Wallbutton). Once his session withRahmat was over, Jahangir would play 45-minute matches with three freshopponents, usually high-ranked tournament players such as Abbas Khan orHiddy Jahan. It was an illness in the family that stopped Jahangir fromplaying in the World Doubles in Hong Kong, and it would seem that hiscompetitive days are over except for exhibitions. Theoretically, no shot, from the down-the-wall drive to the forecourt boost, is beyond reach, given the right amount of anticipation and speed. "The Khan Dynasty." The NewYorker , 1 -119. He firstentered such English fixtures as the Stockton and Chichester tournaments,played some exhibition matches on the continent, and appeared in the UlsterOpen, the Irish Open, the German Open, and the World Open, put on by theInternational Squash Players Association (Wind 1 8-1 9). These andother Khans hold a special place as the family whose members have beenprominent in the game since tournament play began in the 192 s and whocontinue to be major players to this day. He showed how successcould be achieved by a dedicated player in top physical condition whosestamina was greater than that of other players. Sharif successfully defended his title for elevenof the next twelve years, losing once in 1975 when the match was played inMexico City, noted for its thin air (Wind 1 4-1 5). In 1984, he conquered the North American game, which is played witha hardball and which is very different from the international game, playedwith a softball. In a claustrophobic four-walled court 32 feet by 21 feet (9.8 meters by 6.4 meters), two players whack a small rubber ball, so soft that it hardly bounces, back and forth above a "tin" metal strip 17-19 inches (43-48 cm) high on the front wall. He follows cricket and also plays it and is both a batsmanand bowler. In Karachi, Jahangir used to have a chain of"Snoopy" ice-cream parlors as part of a franchise operation. For instance,Hashim's exact age is not known because no one has ever found his birthcertification, and though he claims to have been born in 1916, some believeit was a few years earlier than that. Wind, Herbert Warren. Works Cited "Jahangir Proves Squash Is Still the Ultimate Khan Game." (June 11,1984). When Hashim won the British Open for the first time in195 , the railway stop in his home town was changed from "Nawkaville" to"Hashim Khan's Village." Squash now became the national game of Pakistanand produced a number of competitive players. The firstprofessional Squash Championship was held in 192 in England, at which C.R.Read (Queens Club) beat A.W.B. "Jahangir's Back." Squash Player,http://www.squashplayer.co.uk/magazine/jahangirs%2 back.htm. When Jahangir was 15 and won the World Amateur crown, thecelebration was short-lived because Torsam, playing a tournament inAdelaide, suffered a fatal heart attack on the court. (1998). This was how the most successful Squash nation of all time,Australia, had its Squash seed planted. Asnoted, this was one of the defining elements for any champion in this gameand could be the deciding factor in tournament play. Around 1148, the French played "le Paume,"meaning "the palm of the hand," a game which developed into Jeu de Paume,Real Tennis, Royal Tennis, or simply Tennis. Ruddwrote in Baily's Magazine that Rackets would lose many players to Squashwith the arrival of the first English Amateur Championships, and heexpressed concern at this prospect because he considered Rackets to be a"manlier" game, stating as his opinion that Squash afforded a good "sweat"but did not demand the same skill as Rackets. "Squash Has No Room for the Faint-hearted." (October 21, 1995). It has been a while since Jahangir played. Squash was thus invented in Harrow school around 183 when the pupils discovered that a punctured Rackets ball, which "squashed"on impact with the wall, led to a game with a greater variety of shots andone which required much more effort on the part of the players because theycould not simply wait for the ball to bounce back to them as with Rackets.This variant proved popular so that in 1864, the first four Squash courtswere constructed at the school. It was during this period that a new interest in Squash spread aroundthe world, an interest only tangentially helped by the world travels of theKhans. JAHANGIR This family background was obviously important in the success ofJahangir Khan as he was born into the premiere squash family of Pakistan.His first name means "conqueror of the world" in Persian, and when he was2 years old, he had already conquered the squash world. Johnson (RAC Club). In 1969 the Open was won by Hashim's son Sharif, the next greatchampion in the family. INTRODUCTION Squash is a game that developed as a tournament sport in this centuryand which has achieved considerable popularity in much of the world. His training regimenwas extensive and took up most of his waking time. He won the last of his tenBritish Open titles in 1991 and last played competitively at the WorldChampionships in Pakistan in 1993 while in semi-retirement, when he reachedthe final and helped Pakistan win the World Team title. He practiced by himself when the broiling noonday sun drove everybody else indoors, and also when night emptied the courts (Wind 1 ).In 1944, he won the All-India Championship, inaugurated by the BombayCricket Club, and he retained that championship for the next two years. The Federation leads itsMember Nations in programs for the development of Squash and is currentlyworking with the IOC towards the target of having Squash included as asport on the program of the Olympic Games in the year 2 (Wallbutton). They would win when they played players fromBritain, the United Stats, Canada, Australia, or Egypt because of theadvantage they have with their ability to anticipate and to use strongfootwork: There was one point on which all devotees of squash were agreed: they had never seen anyone cover the court the way the Khans did (Wind 1 3).Hashim has been described as "one of the great athletes of this century"(Wind 1 4). At PIA, he is in charge of eleven sports including squash,hockey, tennis, and cricket, and he oversees all the great players in thesegames. TheSquash court built at the Bath Club in London at the beginning of thecentury was selected to be the model for the standard size of a Squashcourt, 32 feet by 21 feet or 9.75 meters by 6.4 meters, and this was muchsmaller than the court for Rackets, which measured 6 feet by 3 feet, or18.3 meters by 9.1 meters. This was another of the reasons why Jahangir achieved his dominance ofthe game -- he was highly dedicated, something he inherited along withothers in his family, and he trained until he was in peak condition.
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