September 12, 2003	Friday	Rajab 14, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: Rehmat Khan’s enthusiasm for coaching does not seem to wane as he looks ahead to next month’s World Team Squash Championship, but the man who has worked wonders for Pakistan feels he did not get the acknowledgement that he deserved.

Clearly his biggest achievement was to coach Jahangir Khan to stardom that saw his protege become a conqueror in the true sense of the word - winning the British Open a record ten times and staying unbeaten for 550 matches on the circuit.

“If this is not an achievement, then what is,” asks Rehmat whose other major honour was to help Pakistan win the World Junior Team Championship in India for the first time in over two decades.

“Why were Pakistan unable to claim the title before I took over,” he questions. “There has to be sincerity of purpose and with hard work you can achieve good results.”

Rehmat, who took charge of the juniors two years ago, seems to possess that magic touch. Under his command Pakistan took the Junior British Open by storm taking the under-17 and under-15 titles and finishing third in the under-19s while in the Scottish Open the boys made a clean sweep of titles in 2002.

However, Rehmat laments lack of acknowledgement from official quarters. “I have been working on a salary much lesser than what I can draw elsewhere but I chose to coach in Pakistan because I wanted to do whatever I could for the country.”

Rehmat has now been told that his name was being recommended for the President’s Award for Pride of Performance, an honour that should have been bestowed upon him a long time ago.

The coach thinks that a certain lobby is after him and is working against the interests of squash. “These people do not want me to get prominence and would go to any length to achieve their motives.”

Having now been given the charge of the Pakistan seniors, Rehmat hopes that his team of Mansoor Zaman, Farrukh Zaman, Majid Khan and Khayal Muhammad would put up a good fight in the World Team Championship that takes place in Vienna.

“Although I started working with the seniors only a month ago, I am confident that the boys would do well in the championship that Pakistan last won in 1993.”

“If I am given a year’s time with the seniors, soon we will have our titles back.”