ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: Former champion Jahangir Khan Saturday became the first Pakistani to be elected as the president of the World Squash Federation (WSF) and immediately vowed to fight for WSF’s inclusion in Olympics.

“I am delighted to be elected president and will continue WSF’s efforts to get the sport in Olympics because the circuit is not complete without an Olympic status,” Jahangir said.

Jahangir, a record ten-time win ner of the British Open, defeated Mike Corby of England in elections held during the Annual General Meeting of the WSF in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Out of a total 56 member countries, 38 took part in the polls where Pakistan were represented by Air Marshal Syed Qaiser Hussain, the senior vice president of the national federation, the PSF.

A beaming secretary of the PSF, wing commander Sajid Waheed told Dawn that Jahangir’s victory would benefit the sport, especially in Pakistan.

“The good thing is that the WSF office would now shift to Pakistan and with a person like Jahangir at the helm, squash is bound to make rapid progress.”

And progress it must make, as Jahangir had vowed in the run- up to the elections. “I would aim to expand its spectator base, encouraging school children to participate first of all as spectators,” he had said.

Attracting and retaining interest of the casual public and helping squash get into the Olympic fold and making aggressive merchandising efforts are some of the areas that need attention, Jahangir said in his pre-poll campaign.

Jahangir, who was elected the vice president of WSF in 1998 was helped greatly by the PSF which backed him fully in his fight for the post of president.

“We supported him all along and dispatched letters to all the federations abroad seeking their support for him,” Sajid pointed out.

“We also sent him to the Manchester Commonwealth Games so that he could lobby for himself ahead of the elections. Now that he has been successful, we are pinning high hopes on him and expect that he would be able to create an environment that is helpful to Pakistan squash.”

Jahangir, the greatest player the sport has ever seen, was up against an opponent who himself was a squash player, representing Great Britain in three World Championships in 1967, 1969 and 1971. He remained vice president of the WSF from 1996 till this year and like Jahangir was ranked among the top 1000 sportsmen of the last century.

Coach Rehmat Khan who moulded Jahangir into a world-beater that saw him remain unbeaten for an incredible five years and eight months, said that he was delighted to hear the good news. “Having been his coach, I will always be happy to see whatever he achieves in life.”

Asked what good Jahangir could do for Pakistan squash, Rehmat said that there were a number of things including coaching and refereeing that needed to be discussed with him. “We will sit together along with the officials of the PSF and decide on a strategy for the future.”

Meanwhile, at the AGM, A. Sani Karim of Malaysia and Neven Barbour of New Zealand were elected the vice presidents of the WSF while Ireland’s Joyce Buckley was re-elected to the post.