Jansher Khan

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Jansher Khan
Full name Jansher Khan
Nickname(s) King Khan, The Punisher
Country  Pakistan
Residence Peshawar, Pakistan
Born (1969-06-15) June 15, 1969 (age 43)
Peshawar, Pakistan
Height 6'1"
Turned Pro 1986
Retired 2002
Plays Right handed
Racquet used Head
Men's singles
Highest ranking No. 1 (January, 1988)
Title(s) 99
World Open W (1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996)
Last updated on: September 19, 2010.

Jansher Khan (born 15 June 1969, in Peshawar, Pakistan1) is a former World No. 1 professional squash player from Pakistan. During his career he won the World Open a record eight times, and the British Open six times.

Contents

Family

Jansher is of Pashtun ethnicity and belongs to Nuwai Kelai, Peshawar.2 He came from a family of outstanding squash players. His brother Mohibullah Khan was one of the world's leading professional squash players in the 1970s. Another older brother, Atlas Khan, was a highly-rated amateur competitor.

Rivalry with Jahangir

Jansher won the World Junior Squash Championship title in 1986. He also turned professional that year. At the time, the men's professional tour was dominated by another great Pakistani player – Jahangir Khan. At the World Open in 1986, Ross Norman finally ended an unbeaten run by Jahangir in tournament play which had lasted five and a half years. But from 1987 onwards, Jansher turned men's squash into a sport which now had two dominant players. Jahangir won the pair's first few encounters in late-1986 and early-1987. Jansher then scored his first win over Jahangir in September 1987, beating him in straight games in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open. Jansher then went on to beat Jahangir in their next eight consecutive encounters. This included a win in the semi-finals of the 1987 World Open, following which Jansher claimed his first World Open title by beating Australia's Chris Dittmar in the final.

The Jansher-Jahangir rivalry would dominate squash in the late-1980s through to the early-1990s. The pair met total of 37 times in tournament play. Jansher won 19 matches (74 games and 1,426 points), and Jahangir 18 matches (79 games and 1,459 points).

With Jahangir retiring, Jansher came to establish himself as the sole dominant player in the game in the mid-1990s. He won a record total of eight World Open titles, the last being in 1996.

Retirement and after squash

Jansher officially announced his retirement from squash in 2001. He won a total of 99 professional titles and was ranked the World No. 1 for over six years.

In July 2006, Jansher was in the international headlines again when he was arrested in Pakistan for allegedly forcefully occupying a house over an ownership dispute, and harassing a woman and her family and threatening them with an illegal firearm.34

In August 2007, Jansher announced that he was coming out of retirement to play in a Professional Squash Association tournament in London in October 2007. He said in a news conference that the reason for his comeback was that, "I feel I am mentally and physically fit to play the international circuit for another three to four years".5 He lost in the opening round of the event to England's Scott Handley 11–9, 6–11, 6–11 0–11.6

In October 2011, It was revealed that Jansher was suffering from Parkinsonism and is currently being treated in Pakistan.7

World Open final appearances

Wins (8)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
1987 Chris Dittmar 9–5, 9–4, 4–9, 9–6
1989 Chris Dittmar 7–15, 6–15, 15–4, 15–11, 15–10
1990 Chris Dittmar 15–8, 17–15, 13–15, 15–5
1992 Chris Dittmar 15–11, 15–9, 10–15, 15–6
1993 Jahangir Khan 14–15, 15–9, 15–5, 15–5
1994 Peter Marshall 10–15, 15–11, 15–8, 15–4
1995 Del Harris 15–10, 17–14, 16–17, 15–8
1996 Rodney Eyles 15–13, 17–15, 11–15, 15–3
Runner-ups (1)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
1988 Jahangir Khan 6–9, 2–9, 2–9

British Open final appearances

Wins (6)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
1992 Chris Robertson 9–7, 10–9, 9–5
1993 Chris Dittmar 9–6, 9–5, 6–9, 9–2
1994 Brett Martin 9–1, 9–0, 9–10, 9–1
1995 Peter Marshall 15–4, 15–4, 15–5
1996 Rodney Eyles 15–13, 15–8, 15–10
1997 Peter Nicol 17–15, 9–15, 15–12, 8–15, 15–8
Runner-ups (3)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
1987 Jahangir Khan 6–9, 0–9, 5–9
1991 Jahangir Khan 9–2, 4–9, 4–9, 0–9
1998 Peter Nicol 16–17, 4–15, 5–15

References

  1. ^ "Jansher Khan". Britannica. Britannica.com. Retrieved 2 March 2010. 
  2. ^ Hafiz, Javed. "The civil society has developed into a formidable force". Retrieved 2 March 2010. 
  3. ^ Jansher faces death penalty, The International News (Pakistan), 19 August 2006
  4. ^ Squash legend could face death sentence, gulfnews.com, 27 August 2006
  5. ^ Pakistan's Jansher to return after five-year absence, Reuters India, 30 August 2007
  6. ^ Handley gives Jansher a reality check, SquashTalk, 11 October 2007
  7. ^ "Jansher Khan diagnosed with Parkinsonism". The Times of India. timesofindia.com. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 

External links