Legends of Squash to appear at world champs

Jun 26, 2006

The two greatest players in the history of men’s and women’s squash, Jahangir Khan and Dame Susan Devoy, will attend the World Junior Championships in Palmerston North next month.

10 times British Open champion Jahangir Khan from Pakistan and New Zealand’s own 4 times world champion Dame Susan Devoy are attending the championships as ambassadors of the game and will be involved in official ceremonies. Their presence at the tournament is a massive boost to the championships profile internationally, and will serve as an inspiration to all players. Media from around the world will be focused on Palmerston North for the competition with Pakistani network television travelling with their team, in order to satisfy massive local interest from their 130 million potential viewers in Pakistan.

During his 12 years at the top Jahangir set one of the most enduring records for any sport with an unbeaten run of 555 consecutive competition matches. Since his retirement he has remained a prominent figure in squash and is currently President of the World Squash Federation. Jahangir has fond memories of the world juniors, a tournament he won at the age of just 14, and he is looking forward to seeing the future of men’s squash on display.

devoy-1.jpgSusan Devoy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

Dame Susan Elizabeth Anne Devoy (born January 1, 1964) was a New Zealand squash player who dominated the sport in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She won the World Open on four occasions.

Playing career

Born in Rotorua, New Zealand, Susan attended Mary Mackillop College (later renamed John Paul College). She first played squash when she was 6 years old, and turned professional at the age of 17. Her first World Open title came in 1985, and followed that up in 1987. Further World Open titles came in 1990 and 1992. For most of her career, the World Open was held biannually, a fact that stopped Devoy potentially doubling her tally. She did, however, win the coveted British Open eight times, a record only beaten by Heather McKay in the 60s and 70s and Janet Morgan in the 1950s.

In 1992, the year of her unexpected retirement, she was the Australian, British, French, Hong Kong, Irish, New Zealand, Scottish, Swedish and World squash champion.

Achievements

In 1986 she was awarded the MBE, which was followed by a CBE in 1993. She is also noted for her charity work, being the New Zealand Patron on the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 1988 she walked the entire length of New Zealand, over seven weeks, and raised $500,000 for that charity. Other achievements include being named New Zealand Sports Person and Sports Woman in 1985.

In 1998, she became a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, the youngest New Zealander since Sir Edmund Hillary to receive a knighthood. In between her charity work she is also a professional speaker in motivation and inspiration.

World Open Squash Results

JahangirJahangir Khan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

Jahangir Khan (born December 10, 1963) is a former World No. 1 professional squash player from Pakistan, who is considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game. During his career he won the World Open six times and the British Open a record ten times. Between 1981 and 1986, he was unbeaten in competitive play for five years. During that time he won 555 matches consecutively. This was not only the longest winning streak in squash history, but also the longest unbeaten run by any athlete in top-level professional sport.

Playing career

Family tree of squash playing Khans Jahangir was coached initially by his father, Roshan Khan, the 1957 British Open champion, and then by his cousin Rehmat Khan, who guided Jahangir through most of his career.

In 1979, the Pakistan selectors decided not to select Jahangir to play in the world championships in Australia, judging him too weak from a recent illness. So Jahangir decided instead to enter himself in the World Amateur Individual Championship and, at the age of 15, became the youngest-ever winner of that event.

In November 1979, Jahangir's older brother Torsam Khan, who had been one of the leading international squash players in the 1970s, died suddenly of a heart attack during a tournament match in Australia. Torsam's death affected Jahangir profoundly. He considered quitting the game, but decided to pursue a career in the sport as a tribute to his brother.

Five-year unbeaten run

In 1981, when he was 17, Jahangir became the youngest winner of the World Open, beating Australia's Geoff Hunt (the game's dominant player in the late-1970s) in the final. That tournament marked the start of an unbeaten run which lasted for five years and over 500 matches. The hallmark of his play was his incredible fitness and stamina, which Rehmat Khan helped him build-up through a punishing training and conditioning regime. Jahangir was quite simply the fittest player in the game, and would wear his opponents down through long rallies played at a furious pace.

In 1982, Jahangir astonished everyone by winning the International Squash Players Association Championship without losing a single point.

The unbeaten run finally came to end in the final of the World Open in 1986 in Toulouse, France, when Jahangir lost to New Zealand's Ross Norman. Norman had been in pursuit of Jahangir's unbeaten streak, being beaten time and time again. "One day Jahangir will be slightly off his game and I will get him," he vowed for five years.

Speaking about his unbeaten streak, Jahangir said: "It wasn't my plan to create such a record. All I did was put in the effort to win every match I played and it went on for weeks, months and years until my defeat to Ross Norman in Toulouse in 1986."

"The pressure began to mount as I kept winning every time and people were anxious to see if I could be beaten. In that World Open final, Ross got me. It was exactly five years and eight months. I was unbeaten for another nine months after that defeat."

Awards and service

Jahangir retired from squash in 1993 after helping Pakistan win the World Team Championship in Karachi. The Government of Pakistan honoured Jahangir with the awards of Pride of Performance and civil award of Hilal-e-Imtiaz for his achievements in squash. They also awarded him the title of Sportsman of the Millennium.

In 1990, Jahangir was elected Chairman of the Professional Squash Association, and in 1997, Vice-President of the Pakistan Squash Federation. He was elected as Vice-President of the World Squash Federation in November 1998, and in October 2002 was elected WSF President.  In 2004, he was again unanimously re-elected as President of the World Squash Federation at the International Federation's 33rd Annual General Meeting in Casa Noyale, Mauritius.  Jahangir is listed in Guinness Book of World Records as having the most world championship squash titles.