‘As a squash World No.1 you should be sending out a positive message’

By Alan Thatcher

April 7, 2023 - 7:11am

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On the eve of the British Open which Jahangir Khan made his own as the top-ranked player, the Pakistani great admits he is concerned just how badly Mostafa Asal’s ban will hurt him when squash’s oldest major gets underway on Sunday. “It is shocking to have the World No.1 banned,” said Khan.

Jahangir, who bestrode squash like a colossus spanning two decades between the 1980s and early 1990s, won ‘The Wimbledon Of Squash’ on a record 10 occasions consecutively between 1982 and 1991.

Yet despite the fact he also annexed six World Championships to become the game’s greatest ever male major winner, with a 16-trophy haul, it was and still is the British Open which the Pathan reveres above all.

Jahangir, who has just been awarded Pakistan’s highest civil honour of Nishan -i- Imtiaz, told Squash Mad: “A lot of people will have been looking forward to seeing how things would maybe change at this year’s British with Asal coming in as the new No.1 but that will not happen now.

“Mostafa has had good results before the end of 2022 but maybe his results were not so good since then and perhaps this whole business has been hanging over him a bit but I’m sure he would have been looking forward to playing in the British.

“I have never seen a No.1 in the world getting banned from the British Open, it has never happened in the history of squash or the British Open and I am sure it will be hurting Mostafa right now. It would hurt anyone and that is something we must remember about in all this.”

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The World No.1’s absence from the British is due to a six – week suspension and the £2,000 fine he had slapped on him by the PSA is a dual punishment for Asal’s conduct in the quarter-final and semi-final of the CIB Egyptian Open on September 22 and 24 against Mazen Hesham and Ali Farag respectively.

While in January 2022, Asal accepted a two-month suspension from the PSA, following on-court disciplinary matters and was disqualified from the US Open last Autumn after opponent Lucas Serme was hospitalised.

‘If you can play the clean game you play it’

From his Karachi base Jahangir has looked on as the furore surrounding Asal, the squash player no one can stop talking about, polarises the sport.

Now for the first time he has shared his thoughts on the game’s biggest talking point and he said: “I have heard a lot of stuff on social media and of course I have seen some of Mostafa’s matches and I know that he is a big guy and has a big physical presence on court, as I myself did, but he doesn’t need to use this physicality to cover everything on court.

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“There are lots of ways you can play in a more sporting manner and basically the way I approached it is if you can play the clean game you play it.

“In the professional game everyone knows what is the clean game and what is, I would maybe describe it as, the harsh, blocking game.

“So that is not going to be hidden from the other players, they will know how he plays and if he uses that style because you don’t share a squash court with someone and not understand these things.

“If that is the case then of course Mostafa must change his style as at the very top, when you are World No.1, you are a role model.

“For me if you are going to be rough on court with blocking and hitting that does not count as the proper professional way to play.”

Of course Jahangir was the game’s youngest ever world champion and World No.1 reaching the game’s highest ranking as an 18-year-old back in January 1982 which was also the first year he annexed both British and World Open titles together.

Back then everyone talked about Jahangir himself when he was viewed as the ultimate role model for the now creaking generation of eighties youth, and so his opinion on the importance of being a positive figurehead for the game is particularly relevant.

Reflecting on all of this the 10-time British Open champion said: “Youngsters learn when they see the top guys play and then they want to do it just like them. So if someone plays a blocking game and a dirty game, and he is at the very top, then there is no doubt the youngsters will try and play that way.

“But when you are at the very top, No.1, you should be sending out a positive message of how the game should be played properly.

How Asal can turn the tide

“Asal is 21, and he is young but when you have been playing the professionals circuit, and he has been for a couple of years now, then you learn from the other professionals.

“He will also have looked up to Mohamed El Shorbagy, who I believe is his hero, or (Ali) Farag, (Greg) Gaultier, Nick Matthew and I’m sure he will have seen all the top players over this period.

“So he should have learned how they did it. But Mostafa must know that if you do it the professional way and play clean, people appreciate you so much more.

“If everyone is talking about the same thing and that thing is negative it’s not a good thing.”

Warming to his theme, ‘JK’ was keen to recall those he revered above all as he made his way to the head of squash’s top table of great champions: “To be honest I watched as many players as I could like Geoff (Hunt), Jonah (Barrington), (Qamar) Zaman, Mohibullah (Khan) and Hiddy (Jahan) but they were very clean and technically all excellent.

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“So I learned from their qualities and I always looked closest at the No.1 whether that was Jonah or Geoff, whoever was No.1 was the player I wanted to look at closest and learn from.

“When you are No.1 the message you want to send is that it is your quality of game and also playing the game in a sporting fashion that is the best way – it is the only way to play your squash.”

Honoured with highest award

Still revered for his achievements in squash recently in Islamabad Jahangir received the Pakistan Civil Award of Nishan-i-Imtiaz which was conferred by the nation’s president Dr Arif Alvi in recognition of services in the field of sport.

It is a poignant recognition squash’s greatest champion treasures: “This is one of the highest awards in our country and in 75 years only 38 people have been awarded it. So to be one of them and the first sportsman is a great honour and one I never thought I would achieve.

“It is the highest award in my country and I am very proud to have been awarded it.”

Jahangir next assesses this year’s British Open contenders and reveals the day he won the 1983 British Open before he even crunched his first mighty forehand in the tournament.

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