Jahangir Khan, (born 10 December 1963, in Karachi, Pakistan[1]) (sometimes spelled "Jehangir Khan") is a former World No. 1 professional squash player from Pakistan, who is considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game.[2][3][4] Jahangir Khan is originally from Neway Kelay, Peshawar.[5] During his career he won the World Open six times and the British Open
a record ten times. From 1981 to 1986, he was unbeaten in competitive
play. During that time he won 555 matches consecutively, the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sports as recorded by Guinness World Records.[6] He retired as a player in 1993, and has served as President of the World Squash Federation from 2002 to 2008, when he became Emeritus President.
Playing career
Jahangir was coached initially by his father, Roshan, the 1957 British Open champion, then by his late brother Torsam. After his brother's sudden death he was coached by his cousin Rehmat Khan,
who guided Jahangir through most of his career. Jahangir was a sickly
child and physically very weak. Though the doctors had advised him not
to take part in any sort of physical activity, after undergoing a couple
of hernia operations his father let him play and try out their family
game.
In 1979, the Pakistan selectors decided not to select Jahangir to
play in the world championships in Australia, judging him too weak from a
recent illness.
Jahangir decided instead to enter the World Amateur Individual
Championship and, at the age of 15, became the youngest-ever winner of
that event. In November 1979, Jahangir's older brother Torsam, who had been one
of the leading international squash players in the 1970s, died suddenly
of a heart attack during a tournament match in Australia. Torsam's death
profoundly affected Jahangir. He considered quitting the game, but
decided to pursue a career in the sport as a tribute to his brother.
Notable achievements
- Won World Amateur Championships at age 15
- Youngest ever World Open Champion (aged 17)
- Unbeaten in 555 consecutive matches over 5 years and 8 months
- Won the British Open Championship 10 times in succession (1982-1993)
- Six-times World Open Champion
- First player to win World Open Championships without dropping a game
- Played longest squash match in history (1983) – 2 h, 46 min
Five-year unbeaten run
In 1981, when he was 17, Jahangir became the youngest winner of the World Open, beating Australia's Geoff Hunt (the game's dominant player in the late-1970s) in the final.[verification needed]
That tournament marked the start of an unbeaten run which lasted for
five years and 555 matches. The hallmark of his play was his incredible
fitness and stamina, which Rehmat Khan helped him build up through a
punishing training and conditioning regime. Jahangir was quite simply
the fittest player in the game, and would wear his opponents down
through long rallies played at a furious pace.
In 1982, Jahangir astonished everyone by winning the International
Squash Players Association Championship without losing a single point. The unbeaten run finally came to end in the final of the World Open in 1986 in Toulouse, France, when Jahangir lost to New Zealand's Ross Norman.[verification needed]
Norman had been in pursuit of Jahangir's unbeaten streak, being beaten
time and time again. "One day Jahangir will be slightly off his game and
I will get him", he vowed for five years.
Speaking about his unbeaten streak, Jahangir said: "It wasn't my plan
to create such a record. All I did was put in the effort to win every
match I played and it went on for weeks, months and years until my
defeat to Ross Norman in Toulouse in 1986.""The pressure began to mount as I kept winning every time and people
were anxious to see if I could be beaten. In that World Open final, Ross
got me. It was exactly five years and eight months. I was unbeaten for
another nine months after that defeat."
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