Torsam Khan (sometimes spelled "Torsan Khan") (1952-1979) was a squash player from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He belonged to a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

family from Nawakille,

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

. He is the son of the 1957

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

champion Roshan Khan, and the older brother of the great

Jahangir Khan Jahangir Khan (Pashto, born 10 December 1963) is a former professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982–1991). He is widely regarded as the greatest squash player ...

, who went on to become arguably the greatest squash player of all time. Torsam was moulded into a squash player by his father. In 1979, Torsam reached a career-high ranking of World No. 13 and was elected President of the International Squash Players Association. However that November, at the age of 27 and seemingly in excellent health, Torsam suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

during a tournament match in

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and died suddenly. His death profoundly affected his younger brother Jahangir, who was aged 15 at the time. Jahangir once revealed in a documentary telecasted on GEO Super that at the time of his death, Torsam had been on the verge of quitting as a player in order to concentrate on coaching Jahangir. Jahangir considered quitting the game himself immediately after Torsam's death, but instead decided to pursue a career in the sport as a tribute to his brother. Coached by Rahmat Khan (a cousin who was a close friend of Torsam's), Jahangir went on to achieve unprecedented heights in the game including a 555-match unbeaten streak between 1981 and 1986.

References

External links

* *
The Incredible Khans of Squash Part II

* Pakistani male squash players Pashtun squash players 1979 deaths Khan family (squash) 1952 births 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen {{Pakistan-squash-bio-stub