‘Pakistani squash players lack lust for victory’

— Jansher Khan terms Khaqan Abbasi as a sports lover, urges the PM to take special initiatives to promote sports

Living squash legend Jansher Khan has lambasted the current squash players in the country, saying that the players of today lack fitness, work ethic and lust for victory.

Squash wizard Jansher Khan said that the players lack interest and fitness and that stained Pakistan Squash Federation’s (PSF) efforts to produce a world champion. When asked if he could name a player in the pipeline, who can become a world champion, Jansher said that he got the honor at the age of 17.

“It was a really historical occasion for me. I feel like a kid when I recall the 80s and 90s, when Pakistan ruled the world of squash,” a soft spoken Jansher Khan added. “I miss my days of supremacy. It was hard work and playing tough squash. My routine was to play for two hours and then run for one hour on a daily basis,” Jansher said.

“Once, I named both Aamir Altas and Farhan Mehboob to have the potential to reach the top 10, but they are failing because of their commitment toward squash,” Jansher added. He said that the current players were reluctant to do physical training and are only interested in the game practice for an hour or two, which is not sufficient for an individual to become champion.

Jansher said that there is no dearth of talent in Pakistan, but due to lack of professionalism and poor physical fitness, none of the players could reach that prime. “The players also lack lust for victory,” he said, adding that the players do not imagine what the world champion is and what sort of efforts one should be needed to achieve that glory,” Jansher said.

“There are players, who are above 23, playing in the junior category,” he added. Answering a question, he said that he was fully satisfied the way PSF is providing facilities to the players despite their poor performances.

He said that during their time – Jahangir and him – there were no facilities like the players have today, but they are not hard working. The only reason for PSF’s failure of not producing a champion is that the players refuse to work hard.

Jansher termed Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as a sports lover and urged him to take a special initiative for the promotion of sports in the country. “It is the time to think over the downfall of sports and announce steps for revamping old and frustrated strategies to bring Pakistan in a position to attain lost glories for which it was famous for,” Jansher Khan told APP.

Congratulating Abbasi on becoming PM, Jansher recalled that during 1997-1999, when he (Abbasi) was PIA chairman, he announced special incentives for him and the players of other games, which clearly indicated his love for sports, sportsmen and sportswomen.