KARACHI: Noor Zaman will walk into the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Nagoya on Saturday carrying Pakistan’s flag. The 22-year-old from Peshawar will also carry something heavier — the memory of a sport Pakistan once ruled.

“I want to bring Pakistan on top in squash, make my country champions again,” Noor told Dawn on Thursday. “And I am working towards that goal, doing my best.”

It is a mission that once belonged to Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, the two men who made Pakistan squash synonymous with dominance for nearly two decades.

Noor is old enough to have heard the stories, not old enough to have lived them. His own grandfather, Qamar Zaman, was a world champion. His uncle, Mansoor Zaman, was a former world No. 11.

Pakistan has not produced a world champion since Jansher retired in 1998, and the country’s squash programme has struggled for funding and international exposure in the decades since.

“There is responsibility,” Noor said. “But there is no pressure on me at all. Because of what my grandfather did for Pakistan, the name he built for himself — I am also working hard for that.”

He is the third generation of his family to receive the President’s Pride of Performance award — announced just weeks before he was named flag-bearer for Asiad.

“This is a very proud moment for me, for my family, for all of us,” he said. On the court, Noor enters as the third seed in the men’s singles, behind Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng and India’s Abhay Singh.

“They are all tough — nobody is easy in this tournament,” he said.

He has faced India before at the Asian Games — in 2022, as a junior, he was part of the team that lost the final to India.

This time, he returns as Pakistan’s leading hope.

The stakes are higher than usual. For the first time, an individual gold at the Asian Games carries direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I have worked very hard for that,” Noor said. “I am fully prepared and will try my best to win gold.”

His confidence is built on a breakthrough year. In 2025, he won the Under-23 World Championship in Karachi — the first time in years Pakistan had hosted a World Championship.

“I worked really hard in that tournament with my fitness coach,” he said. “It was a proud moment for the country, my family and for myself. That victory gave me a lot of motivation as my PSA ranking improved.”

Noor is currently ranked 29th in the world. His target is to break into the top 13 or 12 in the next cycle, which begins in January.

“That’s the target I have set for myself and I am working hard towards it,” he said.

Noor’s preparation has been built on the PSA Tour, where he competed in London and Qatar. He lost in the first round of the Qatar Classic, going down 3-2 to Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey after leading two sets to none.

“You can’t go directly into the Asian Games without match practice,” he explained.

He trains at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad under the Pakistan Squash Federation.

“The federation and Pakistan Airforce have supported me well in my preparations,” he said.

Noor is not chasing this alone. Alongside him is Ashab Irfan, Pakistan’s No. 2, ranked 48th in the world. Both are 22-year-olds. Both came up through the same system. Both are carrying the same weight — the belief that Pakistan squash can be rebuilt, not just remembered.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2026