03 August 2004	Tuesday	16 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

MUMBAI, Aug 2: Former world champion Jahangir Khan on Sunday called for squash to be included in future Olympics, but conceded it was unlikely to happen in near future.

"Squash deserves to be played at the Olympics, but we may have to wait till 2012 for that to happen," said Jahangir, the president of the World Squash Federation (WSF) who is on a private visit to India.

"Many other sports like rugby, cricket and golf are trying to become Olympic sports. We are also trying. But it is not going to be easy. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have set a limit of 10,000 sports persons at every game. They are trying to take out a few sports and include others.

"Millions play squash. We have about 123 countries affiliated to the world body. I definitely feel it should be included in the Olympics. But I am not very hopeful yet." The Athens Olympics begin on Aug 13, while the 2008 Games will be held in Beijing.

Jahangir, who won six world and 11 British Open titles, said he preferred the earlier scoring system where games were decided over nine points instead of the present 15.

"Fitness mattered a lot when games were played over nine points," he said. "Then, a player could win points only on his serve. Now he can win points on the opponents' serve also. "The present system gives 50-50 chance to fitness and technique." -AFP