KARACHI: It is fair to say that, whenever the game of squash is part of a discussion, Pakistan is one of the first things that comes to mind because of its rich history. From Hashim Khan to Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, Pakistan dominated squash till the 1990s by winning titles left, right and centre.
However, Pakistan made the mistake of resting on their laurels as the sport has been on the decline for nearly two decades in the country. But, 2023 showed that there is still light at the end of the tunnel as Pakistan impressed on the world stage multiple times.
Pakistan won the 21st Asian Junior Team Squash Championship after beating India in Chennai, while also claiming a silver medal at the Asian Games. Meanwhile, Hamza Khan became World Junior Squash champion as he became the first player to win the event from Pakistan after Jansher Khan, who clinched the title 37 years ago.
The players rightly deserve to be in the limelight for their achievements but it would be unfair to not highlight the contribution of coach Fahim Gul — who was a common factor in all the aforementioned achievements this year.
“We focus on short-term planning rather than the long-run. Also, if there was consistency in policies for squash, we would never find ourselves in such a position,” Fahim said while talking about the reasons behind downfall of squash in Pakistan in an exclusive interview with GeoSuper.tv.
Fahim, a former top 10 player in the world, has played a key role in nurturing the players and offered guidance on back of years of experience that he has gained while coaching players all over the world.
Fahim’s association with Pakistan squash as a coach goes back three decades. Under his tutelage, the Green Shirts won the silver medal in the World Team Championship in 1995. He was also the coach when Jansher Khan won the World Open for the eighth time in 1996.
However, Fahim left Pakistan to become national coach of Singapore in 1997 after being “sacked without any reason” by the Pakistan Squash Federation. He has also done coaching in the United States as well as Middle Eastern countries for several years in the past.
Despite being in and out of Pakistan over the years, Fahim is determined to help squash regain its lost glory.
Hurdles
Pakistan squash players struggle to gain the necessary experience needed to compete at the highest level due to inadequate planning, little or no investment at grassroots level and absence of sponsors.
“Lack of sponsors, proper training plans and qualified coaches has been a major hurdle for squash players in Pakistan,” said Fahim.
“The international exposure at senior level is significantly low as compared to juniors. In my opinion, the titles won in senior is what matters the most rather than those claimed at junior level. I agree that junior level is the first step but the real achievement is winning in seniors.
“We also need to work on the grassroots level in order to unearth new talent. There is no squash in schools or colleges which makes it difficult to grow the game in the country.”
The absence of quality coaches has also stunted progress of players in Pakistan to a great extent.
Fahim is one of the few highly qualified coaches in Pakistan, with a WSF level three certification, and has also served as an international referee. He initiated courses for coaches and referees in Pakistan in order to implement internationally accepted standards in Pakistan. But, not a single referee course has been conducted in the last 13 years while the same has been the case with coaching courses for eight years.
“We are not following the latest approach towards coaching and improvement in squash. Some of the qualified coaches left Pakistan because they got better opportunities abroad. As long as we don’t focus on this, we will continue to struggle,” he said.
“The previous management didn’t pay much attention to this but I’m hopeful that the current people in charge will do better in this regard. For January next year, we will also conduct WSF level 1 and level 2 coaching courses in Pakistan. Along with that, we will also conduct referee courses.”
Learn from Egypt and Malaysia
Fahim also cited the examples of Egypt, who regularly produce some of the best players in the world, and Malaysia while talking about the work that needs to be done at the grassroots level.
“Look at Malaysia’s example, they have a separate association of squash for schools which helps the national federation in terms of finding talent. We can also adopt such a thing in Pakistan if we want to improve our squash,” he said.
“On the other hands, Egypt were patient in their approach as they worked for 8-10 years on their juniors. They increased competition so much at the junior level that one stage around 4,000 players were just playing Under-13 level squash. This eased their process of identifying stars for the future and the results can be seen now as they produce the best players in the world and dominate events all over the world.”
Turning his attention to the work which was being done for the betterment of squash in Pakistan, Fahim said that Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which produced legends like Hashim Khan, Roshan Khan and Jansher Khan in the past, are leading the way in terms of revival of squash in the country.
“There is a lot of talent and interest in squash in Peshawar and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The work which is being done for squash in KPK is much better as compared with provinces in Pakistan,” he said. “There is also substantial talent in Punjab which can go on to represent Pakistan if they are given the required backing.”
But Fahim was disappointed by the fact that “little was being done for women’s squash in Pakistan”. He urged authorities to design policies which encouraged women to take up the sport in Pakistan.
Hails Noor Zaman and eyes Paris Olympics
Noor Zaman, grandson of former World No.1 Qamar Zaman, is among the most talented young squash players in the country at the moment. He was part of the team that won the Asian Junior Team Squash Championship while also clinching the International Squash Championship 2023 in Islamabad recently. Noor could have also won the gold for Pakistan in the Asian Games if he had converted one of the two championship points he had in the decider against India’s Abhay Singh.
Noor had a reputation for being short-tempered on the court but Fahim has improved his mindset with his coaching which has turned him into a better player.
“Noor has all the skills to become one of the best players in the world. He was previously a bit short-tempered but I have focused on improving his mindset ever since I have started coaching him. You would have seen during the Asian Games that he was only focused on his game, rather than arguing with the referee or doing thing such as blocking his opponent on the court, which helped him perform better,” he said.
It goes without saying that Noor Zaman, along with fellow teenager Hamza Khan, will be among Pakistan’s medal hopefuls in the years to come, especially bearing in mind that squash will also be part of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. However, according to Fahim, the planning for the mega event must start as soon as possible.
“There is no bigger thing in sports than winning a medal in Olympics. Pakistan have a rich history in squash but it was not an Olympic sport. If we get a chance to play in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, I think we have the ability to do well. Participating in the Olympics is an honour and we need to start planning for it well in advance,” said Fahim.
While a multitude of issues plague squash in Pakistan but the presence of selfless people like Fahim Gul, who continue to put in the hard yards without recognition or rewards, you can be rest assured that the future is in safe hands.
Muneeb Farrukh
