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| August 22, 2002 | Thursday | Jamadi-us-Saani 12,1423 |
Jansher looks to Europe for comeback
DUBAI, Aug 21: Former world squash champion Jansher Khan said Wednesday he aims to be back on court within three months, but not in his homeland of Pakistan, which refused him a wildcard for an upcoming tournament.
“I hope to be a member of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) within a week or two ... and back on court within three months at a PSA event,” Jansher told a press conference here en route from Pakistan to Europe.
Jansher said he was sure he would be offered a wildcard at “any of the 35-40,000 dollar tournaments in Europe.”
“I need to play three or four (minor) tournaments to get confidence,” before challenging the world’s top players “within eight months,” Jansher said, adding that he thought the standard of squash had come down from his heyday 10 years ago.
The Peshawar-based player also blasted the Pakistan Squash Federation for refusing him a wildcard for the 30,000-dollar September 18-23 Chief of Naval Staff Open in Karachi.
“I am quite upset and sad with the decision,” Jansher said, stressing that the federation had not given him a reason why an original verbal offer of a wildcard was rescinded.
But Jansher, with only two competetive matches under his belt in four years, refused to play in any tournament qualifying rounds: “That would be shameful ... I won’t do that.”
After two knee operations in 1997, Jansher failed to regain full fitness and his last competitive match resulted in a first round defeat to Jonathan Power of Canada in June 1999.
“I’ve been playing every day for the last four months. I don’t feel any pain and am gaining confidence every day,” Jansher said of his knee and groin injuries.
Jansher Khan, 33, won eight world titles and six British open crowns during an illustrious career between 1987 and 1999.—AFP
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