Jahangir Khan (

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

, born 10 December 1963) is a former professional Pakistani

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

player. He won the World Open title six times, and 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 ten times (1982–1991). He is widely regarded as the greatest squash player of all time, and the greatest sportsman in Pakistan history. From 1981 to 1986, Khan was unbeaten and won 555 consecutive matches during that time – the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sport as recorded by ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

''. He retired as a player in 1993, and served as President of the

World Squash Federation World Squash, formerly World Squash Federation, is the Sport governing body, international federation for the indoor racket sport of Squash (sport), squash. It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Glob ...

from 2002 to 2008. Later in 2008, he became Emeritus President of the

Early and personal life

Khan was born on 10 December 1963 in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. His family originally hailed from Nawan Kalli, a small village near

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 ...

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# ...

. A member of the Khan family, he was born into a family of squash players; his father

Roshan Khan Roshan Khan (Pashto / ; 26 November 1929 – 6 January 2006) was a squash player from Nawakille, Peshawar, Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the early 1960s, and won the British Open title in 1957.

won the

title in 1957, and his older brother was

Torsam Khan Torsam Khan (sometimes spelled "Torsan Khan") (1952-1979) was a squash player from Pakistan. He belonged to a Pashtun family from Nawakille, Peshawar, Pakistan. He is the son of the 1957 British Open champion Roshan Khan, and the older brother ...

. Two of his nieces are

Natasha Khan Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released six studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Haunt ...

(better known as

Bat for Lashes Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released six studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Haunt ...

), a British singer, and Maria Khan, a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who has played for the Pakistan women national football team.

Career

Khan was coached initially by his father Roshan, the 1957 British Open champion, then by his brother Torsam. After his brother's sudden death he was coached by his cousin Rehmat, who guided Khan through most of his career. In 1979, the Pakistan selectors decided not to select Khan to play in the world championships in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

but he entered the World Amateur Individual Championship, at the age of 15, and became the youngest-ever winner of that event. In November 1979, Torsam Khan, who had been one of the leading international squash players in the 1970s, died suddenly of a heart attack during Australian Open match in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Australia. Torsam's death profoundly affected Khan. He considered quitting the game, but decided to pursue a career in the sport as a tribute to his brother. He retired as a player in 1993, and has served as President of the

from 2002 to 2008, later became Emeritus President.

World Open final appearances

British Open final appearances

Honors and awards

* 1981 – At age 17 became the youngest winner of the World Open, beating Australia's Geoff Hunt in final. * 1984 – Featured on a Government of Pakistan issued postage stamp. * 1999 – Sport and Youth Award by French Government *2005 – Times Award –

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

named Khan as one of Asia's Heroes in the last 60 years. * 2007 – Awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate of Philosophy by London Metropolitan University. * 2017 – Featured on a Government of Japan issued commemorative stamp * 2018 – Winner of the 8th Asian Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sport * 2023 – Nishan-i-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan.

Philanthropy

Shahid Afridi Foundation (SAF)

In 2018, Khan became global President of Shahid Afridi Foundation (SAF) in a ceremony held at Japan. SAF was founded by former cricketer

Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (, ; born 1 March 197is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman. Afridi made ...

which aims to provide

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

and

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

facilities in Pakistan.

Niaz Support

In 2023, Khan was appointed as a global goodwill ambassador for Niaz Support, a Pakistani social enterprise that provides customized wheelchairs to people with disabilities.

Books

*''Winning Squash'',

Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was a major American publishing#Textbook_publishing, educational publisher. It published print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market. It was an independent company throughout the bulk of the twentieth cen ...

, 1986. Co-written with Charles Seely. *''Go and Play Squash : Techniques and Tactics'',

Stanley Paul Stanley Paul were a firm of publishers founded in London in 1906. The original firm published mainly "cheap editions of thrillers and romances, and some light non-fiction" and traded until 1927 when it went in liquidation. In 1928 the imprint was ...

, 1992. *''Learn Squash and Racquetball in a Weekend'',

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

, 1993.

References

External links

* *
The Incredible Khans of Squash: Part III Jahangir

* ttp://www.squashsite.co.uk/world_squash_awards.htm World Squash Awards
The KhanSquash Management Group
– (archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Jahangir Pakistani male squash players Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of the Pride of Performance Pashtun squash players 1963 births Living people Khan family (squash) Government Islamia College alumni Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen