ISLAMABAD, May 19: Former champion Jansher Khan on Wednesday slammed the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) for choosing a small complex in Abbottabad to be named after him.
"Keeping in view my achievements, I think the PSF should have opted for a bigger and better venue to honour me, a place where international tournaments are held regularly, like the cities of Karachi and Lahore," Jansher told Dawn.
The PSF in a move to acknowledge all the good that Jansher has done for the country had sought his consent over naming the Abbottabad Complex which is currently being upgraded.
Jansher while confirming that he had accepted to have his name associated with the complex, said that he had never been given a fair deal by the federation. "My only fault is that I have always spoken the truth and because of this I have suffered."
"I had asked the late president of PSF Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir to name the Roshan Khan Complex in Islamabad after me but the federation paid no attention."
Jansher, an eight-time winner of the World Open who remained No. 1 for 10 years, said he had told the PSF that a complex in Roshan's name already existed in Karachi but all his requests were simply ignored.
"I feel bad that after years of hard work during which I won almost everything the game had to offer, I end up having my name on a complex in a small, sleepy town."
Work on the project in Abbottabad is halfway through where a court is being added to the two existing ones. The new court will provide for a seating capacity for about 300 spectators.
The extension would allow the PSF to have nine to 10 players train at the venue at a time. Previously the federation could not hold a training camp for more than five players there. The project is expected to be ready by this November with Jansher performing the inauguration.
Jansher also minced no words in expressing his anger over PSF's refusal to seek his coaching services. "They do not want me because I speak the truth and that hurts them."
He asked which good player the federation had been able to produce in the past four years. "The state of affairs is such that today we do not even have a junior player among the top 15," he pointed out. "If the PSF officials continue to run affairs in a haphazard manner, Pakistan will not have a player among the top 20 in the next 20 years."
