ISLAMABAD: After becoming the first Pakistani to win the World Junior Squash Championship title in 37 years, Hamza Khan is now eyeing the senior’s crown.

The 17-year-old Hamza beat Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria in the tournament’s final in Melbourne, Australia to emulate the achievement of Pakistan squash legend Jansher Khan’s, who was crowned the junior’s champion in 1986.

Reigniting Pakistan’s sports fans interest in squash, Hamza gathered praise from all over the country.

“With this support, I can become the world seniors cham­pion as well,” Hamza said during a ceremony held to honour his feat at a local hotel here on Wednesday. “I worked very hard to prepare myself for the championship and I will continue my efforts to win more titles for Pakistan.”

The event was attended by Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) officials as well as Hamza’s colleagues from the domestic squash circuit.

PSF secretary Zafaryab Iqbal, said the Peshawar-born Hamza was a “source of inspiration” for the young players in the country, while also appreciating the athlete’s parents and coaches for their support towards him.

One of Hamza’s fellow junior players, Anas Shah Bokhari said the former’s title-winning show had “raised the morale” of all junior players and that his victory will boost the promotion of squash in Pakistan.

“Now, when we will visit any other country for playing squash, we will get special treatment,” said Anas.

The ceremony also saw Hamza’s parents hold their son’s international trophy.

Reminiscing his son’s early days in the sport, Hamza’s father Niaz Khan revealed “he used to practice hitting balls against the wall when he was a kid”. The proud father said that he had noticed that Hamza had good hands for becoming a good squash player.

Niaz would then enroll Hamza in the Hashim Khan squash centre in Peshawar and that after six months Hamza became the junior national champion and won many more national and international events including the Asian Championship and British Junior title.

Niaz vowed to support Hamza in his future endeavours and expressed the wish to see his son bring glory like Jansher and Jahangir Khan did in their days of dominating the sport.

Hamza’s mother, on the other hand, expected her son to show humility as a sports person and put in the hard work required to stay successful.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2023