Pakistan's squash legacy: how Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan ruled the world

There was a time when the world's great squash trophies seemed to have a permanent address in Pakistan. Between 1950 and 1997, Pakistani players won more than 30 British Open titles and 14 World Open titles. At the heart of that story are two names: Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan.

The foundations

The dynasty began with Hashim Khan. After independence he coached for the Pakistan Air Force, and in 1951, in his late forties by most accounts, he won the British Open, then the sport's most prestigious event, beating the Egyptian four-time champion Mahmoud Karim in straight games.

Others followed: Roshan Khan, Azam Khan, Mohibullah Khan and Qamar Zaman all became leading figures of the game. Roshan Khan won the British Open in 1957 and later coached his son, who would go on to become the most dominant player the sport has seen.

Jahangir Khan: the unbeatable

Jahangir Khan was born in Karachi on 10 December 1963. In 1981, aged just 17, he beat the Australian great Geoff Hunt to win the World Open.

What followed was extraordinary. From 1981 to 1986, for around five and a half years, Jahangir did not lose a match in competition, a run reported as 555 consecutive wins. It was finally ended by New Zealand's Ross Norman in the 1986 World Open final. It is widely cited as one of the longest winning streaks by any athlete in professional sport.

His other records are almost as remarkable:

• Ten consecutive British Open titles, from 1982 to 1991, a men's record.
• Six World Open titles, the last of them in 1988, when he beat Jansher Khan in the final.

He retired after leading Pakistan to victory at the 1993 World Team Championship in Karachi, and later served as president of the World Squash Federation from 2002 to 2008.

Jansher Khan: the successor

If Jahangir dominated the 1980s, Jansher Khan defined the late 1980s and 1990s. The two were great rivals, and in 1993 Jansher beat Jahangir in the World Open final.

Jansher won the World Open eight times, more than any other man, along with six British Open titles. He also won the World Series Finals four times and spent six years ranked world number one. Many in the sport rank him alongside Jahangir as the greatest of all time.

What came after

Pakistan's era of dominance ended in the late 1990s. Since Jansher lost the British Open final in 1998, no Pakistani man has reached the final of either the British Open or the World Open. Explanations commonly offered include limited funding for the national federation, a shortage of qualified coaches and too little exposure to top international competition.

Pakistan still produces professionals on both the men's and women's tours and hosts international events, and coaches such as Muhammad Naveed Alam are working with the next generation. In November 2025, Jahangir Khan himself presented Naveed Alam with a best coach award.

The challenge for Pakistani squash is not to recreate the impossible standards of its golden era, but to build a steady pipeline of world-class players again. The legacy of Jahangir and Jansher gives it a towering example to aim for.