Death of a star

Published August 20, 2014
Hashim Khan was the founding father of the Khan dynasty that has dominated the sport for the better part of the last five decades. — Courtesy photo by Josh Easdon/archive.feedblitz.com
Hashim Khan was the founding father of the Khan dynasty that has dominated the sport for the better part of the last five decades. — Courtesy photo by Josh Easdon/archive.feedblitz.com

Squash legend Hashim Khan who died in the US on Monday night will forever be remembered as one of the greatest players to have played the game.

The little, great man from the back hills of Peshawar was the first sportsman from Pakistan to gain the status of world champion, creating a rallying point for a fledgling nation.

Hashim Khan, born somewhere around 1914 (his exact year of birth remains disputed) in Nawakilli, a small village in the suburbs of Peshawar, won the first of his seven British Open crowns in 1951 at Wembley.

He was around 37 years then, an age when most athletes call it a day. But the squash star was made of sterner stuff. He won the tournament from 1951 to 1956 and then again in 1958 to set a record that was only surpassed years later by Australian legend Geoff Hunt.

But it had not always been like that for Hashim Khan. In his formative years, he quit school to become a ball boy at the courts and played the game barefoot before joining the ranks of the professionals.

As one of his sons put it: “He was a whirlwind who came out of the distant Himalayan mountains and conquered the world. It sounds mythical but it’s sort of fitting that it stays that way.” Hashim Khan was the founding father of the Khan dynasty that has dominated the sport for the better part of the last five decades.

He made his younger sibling Azam switch from tennis to squash and groomed him into a worthy successor. He also taught the art to his nephew Mohibullah Khan Sr, who, like his uncle, won the British Open trophy.

Later, his descendants ruled the hard ball version of the game in North America for years. Hashim Khan brought about a world of a change in the sport and his innovations made it extremely popular and exciting. The game of squash owes a huge debt to this legend.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2014

Opinion

Editorial

Afghan turbulence
Updated 19 Mar, 2024

Afghan turbulence

RELATIONS between the newly formed government and Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban rulers have begun on an...
In disarray
19 Mar, 2024

In disarray

IT is clear that there is some bad blood within the PTI’s ranks. Ever since the PTI lost a key battle over ...
Festering wound
19 Mar, 2024

Festering wound

PROTESTS unfolded once more in Gwadar, this time against the alleged enforced disappearances of two young men, who...
Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...