Arif Khan, a scion of the Khan clan, is one of the most accomplished table tennis players the nation has produced to date. A product of Islamia Club, of course, Arif represented the country for almost a quarter-of a century, from 1974 to 1998, which envisaged four Asian Games between 1974 to 1986, eight biennial world championships and as many Asian championships, apart from the Commonwealth table tennis championships, Asia Cup, the US Open, China Open, Japan Open and numerous other events.
The 53-year-old Arif, who grew up playing in Islamia Club, has taken over the reins from his late father and is making concerted efforts to fill the vacuum. Though, like a player, he has also made his mark in coaching globally as ITTF course conductor, he, somehow, lacks the charisma of his mentor.
He started the game at a tender age and soon made his place in the national team picked for the Tehran Asian Games in 1974, when only 14. He first got a job in PIA’s sports department from where he moved to UBL. He resigned from the bank in 2001 when serving as AVP there.
The three-time national champion in men’s singles — 1983, 1987 and 1993 — apart from capturing many other honours, Arif rose to fame by pocketing back-to-back gold medals at the Kolkata SAF Games in 1987 and the Islamabad SAF Games in 1989 besides fetching a mixed doubles gold with Nazo Shakoor, also at Islamabad.
He describes Islamabad’s the Asian Championship quarter-final against a North Korean player as the “best” of his career despite suffering defeat. He had beaten the then China No 1 in the qualifying round before getting the better of the 1979 world champion from Japan in pre-quarters.
Arif attributes the success of his playing career to the training lessons from two Chinese coaches during their three-year stint from 1975 to 1978 and terms the period of 1984-1993 as the golden era of Pakistan table tennis.
A recipient of the President’s Pride of Performance award in 1990 on his outstanding performances in international events, he picked up coaching in 1996 and since 2004, as an ITTF Level-I course conductor and coach, has travelled to Maldives, Malawi, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Laos, Oman, Dominica and Kenya to name a few. — A.Z.