KARACHI: On Wednesday, Pakistan ended an eight-year drought to win the Men’s World Junior Team Championships.

But one of the greatest sportsmen ever wants the youngsters, who delivered the long-awaited title, to aspire for more.

“This should not stop here,” the legendary Jahangir Khan told Dawn in an interview on Friday. “This title should only be the beginning for more success. The target should be to translate this success to senior level.”

Pakistan won the crown with a 2-1 victory over Egypt in the final in Poland.

Israr Ahmed gave Pakistan the ideal start when he romped to a 3-0 victory over Saadeldin Abouaish but Egypt, who have beaten Pakistan in the final for the last three years, levelled when Youssef Ibrahim Abdallah beating Ahsan Ayaz 3-1.

Abbas Shoukat, however, delivered the title for Pakistan when he cruised to a 3-0 win over Marwan Tarek Abdelhamid in the decider.

“Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) president Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman deserves credit for this triumph,” Jahangir, a former world number one professional squash player, said.

“His contribution has been crucial as he has collected all legends of the game for the promotion of the game and the initiatives taken are helping the youngsters.”

Jahangir hopes the likes of Israr, Ahsan and Abbas will help revive the sport in country.

But still it’s a long journey for the players to emulate the likes of Jahangir and his contemporary Jansher Khan, who claimed the last senior title for Pakistan when he won the 1996 World Open.

“We used to rule the sport,” Jahangir, a six-time World Open winner, said. “We’ve seen talented players emerge over the years but they’ve never reached their potential. We can return to the top table in squash. But that needs a lot of hard work and determination.

“The youngsters need to be hungry to achieve more. There is no doubt that winning the world junior team championship is a big achievement but this shouldn’t satisfy them. This should fire them up for more. They need to dream for more glory.”

The 52-year-old Jahangir reflected on his rigorous training which saw him go on a remarkable 555-match winning streak — a record in top-level professional sport.

“That success was a result of spending hours in training,” he said. “That’s what these starlets need to do. Success doesn’t come easy and they should be willing to work hard for that.”

In the end, Jahangir appealed to the government and the corporate sector for support.

“For squash to regain the level it once had, we need extensive work on grassroots level. And for that we need the government and the corporate sector to come forward and support us.”

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2016