Roshan Khan (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

/ ur, ; 26 November 1929 – 6 January 2006) was a

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

player from Nawakille,

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. He was one of the leading players in the game in the early-1960s, and won the

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 ...

title in 1957.Profile of Roshan Khan on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government website
Retrieved 16 July 2019 His son

Jahangir Khan Jahangir Khan (Pashto/ ur, جهانگير خان born 10 December 1963) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times , and the British Open title ten times (1982-1991). Jahangir Khan is ...

became the world's leading squash player in the 1980s.

Career

In 1949, Roshan finished runner-up to Hashim at the inaugural Pakistan Open. He went on to win that title three consecutive times between 1951 and 1953. In 1956, Roshan faced Hashim in the final of the British Open (which was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time), with Hashim winning 9–4, 9–2, 5–9, 9–5. In 1957, the following year the pair met again in the British Open final, and this time Roshan won 6–9, 9–5, 9–2, 9–1 to end Hashim's six-year reign as champion. Roshan made a third British Open final appearance in 1960, when he lost to Azam 9–1, 9–0, 9–0. Roshan also won the US Open three times and the Canadian Open twice. Hailing from

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

family from Nawekalli,

, Roshan had three sons – Torsam Khan, Hassan Khan and

– both Torsam and Jahangir were groomed by Roshan to become top international squash players.Profile of Roshan Khan on the-south-asian.com website
Published November 2001, Retrieved 16 July 2019 Torsam reached a career-high ranking on World No. 13 in 1979, when he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

while playing a tournament match in Australia at the age of 27. In the wake of Torsam's death, Jahangir considered quitting the game, but instead decided to pursue a career in the sport as a tribute to his brother. He went on to achieve unprecedented heights within the game – capturing ten British Open titles, six World Open titles, and enjoying a five-year unbeaten run which stretched to over 500 matches. He was the brother of Nasrullah Khan and uncle of

Rehmat Khan Jahangir Khan (Pashto/ ur, جهانگير خان born 10 December 1963) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times , and the British Open title ten times (1982-1991). Jahangir Khan is w ...

. Roshan was the second cousin of the two other leading Pakistani players of his time – the brothers

Hashim Khan Hashim Khan ( ps, ; – 18 August 2014) was a squash player from Pakistan. He won the British Open Squash Championships (the then ''de facto'' world championship) a total of seven times, from 1951 to 1956, and then again in 1958. Khan ...

and Azam Khan. He was also connected to them by marriage – Roshan's brother-in-law was married to the sister of Hashim and Azam's.

Awards and recognition

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

Award by the President of Pakistan in 1960.Roshan Khan's award info on Pakistan Sports Board website
Retrieved 21 July 2020

Death

Roshan Khan died on 6 January 2006 in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

British Open final appearances

References

External links

Pakistan Squash – The Khan Supremacy Part III
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Roshan Pakistani male squash players Pashtun people 1929 births 2006 deaths Recipients of the Pride of Performance Khan family (squash)