Ross William Norman (born 7 January 1959) is a New Zealand former professional

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 is best remembered for winning the World Open in 1986, when he beat

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 ...

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# ...

in the final 9–5, 9–7, 7–9, 9–1 to end Jahangir's unbeaten streak dating back to 1981. The win marked the end of an unbeaten run for Khan that had stretched for over five years (the longest in the history of professional sport). Norman had been ranked the World No. 2 behind Khan for some time going into the match, but despite a single-minded determination to end his unbeaten run had been unable to end the total dominance that the Pakistani had held over the game. Norman had vowed: "One day Jahangir will be slightly off his game and I will get him." That day finally came in the final of squash's biggest tournament, which was held that year in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Norman retired from the professional squash circuit in 1995, but has remained active in seniors events. He now has two sons, Brett and Alex. In the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, Norman was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services to squash.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Ross New Zealand male squash players 1959 births Living people People from Whitianga People from Sunningdale Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Sportspeople from the Bay of Plenty Region Sportspeople from Waikato 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen