17 October 2004	Sunday	02 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 16: Pakistan's squash legend Jansher Khan blamed players for the downfall of squash in the country, which was once dominated by them for many years.

Talking about the pathetic condition of sport in the country he said, "Players do not put in too much effort. In the past, we had to knock on so many doors to seek help, there were no sponsorships, no financial help but now there are a lot. It is up to the players to make use of them."

In an interview to an international magazine he said, "Now they (squash players) have all the needed facilities and opportunities but they are not ready to grab them."

Squash was dominated by two JKs in 20th century - Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan. Jansher was a dominant force in 90s who collected British and world titles by the handful.

Since 1998 British Open, he suffered many injury problems, making a couple of short comebacks. But the glorious Khan era finally came to an end when the mercurial champion called it a day in 2002.

He also held Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) responsible for the continuous decline as he said that PSF was also party to this downfall because they did not hire persons capable of extracting the best out of these talented youngsters.

He did not agree that the new rules had affected the local players and favoured the Europeans saying, "They have changed the rules a bit in a bid to make the game faster. In my opinion these new rules should not affect our players."

Talking on the standard of the game he said that in Pakistan, there were many tournaments being organized at international level but they were still not able to produce players who can win these events. He added that the players were not fit enough to face the challenge.

He maintained that in his time when Jahangir Khan and he was there, the competition was quite tough.

About being harsh on the higher authorities, he said, "I am a straightforward person and whenever I see anything wrong I say it openly and fearlessly. People may think in a different manner but my conscience is clear. I am not a yes sir kind of a person. If PSF does something wrong I say it openly. I truly wish that there should be somebody like Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan."

About the renewal of squash relations between the two arch foes India and Pakistan he said that sports conveyed the message of peace and tolerance and both the countries should keep playing each other. It will help players financially and governments politically.-PPI