Pakistan beat England by 2-1 and won the 12th world Junior men’s team squash championship at Chennai in India today.
Khalid Atlas of Pakistan beat Jon Harford of England 9-4, 9-7, 9-5 and Majid Khan beat Peter Barker of England 9-2, 9-3, 9-7.
While Khiayal Muhammad of Pakistan lost to James Willstrop of England 2-9, 0-9 and 1-9.
Pakistan won this event after twenty years.
Pakistan won the world Junior team squash championship in 1982.
Great job!
Maybe this is a revival of a squash giant Pakistan.
Jahangir Hails Pakistan Junior Triumph
Squash legend Jahangir Khan today gave his vote of confidence
to some of the members of the Pakistan youth squad that won the World Junior Men’s Team Squash Championship for the first time in 20 years.
“Some of the boys have a lot of potential and with some hard work and the right kind of training, they can really do well at the international circuit in the future,” Jahangir told Khalid Hussain for SquashNow in Karachi.
Pakistan won the 12th World Junior Team Squash Championships in Chennai India, toppling top seeds and defending champions England 2-1 in the final.
The victorious team got the trophy from their hero Jahangir Khan, who was in Chennai to witness the Championships as the President of the World Squash Federation.
“I watched the final and was convinced that these boys have a good future. They played with a lot of zeal and spirit, something that is so crucial for success at that level,” said Jahangir who, despite being the best player in the world for almost ten years, never won the world junior title.
Jahangir singled out former national junior champion Majid Khan as a bright prospect for the future. “He played really well in the final. If players like him get proper training and international exposure, they can be an asset for Pakistan squash,” said Jahangir.
The former world No.1 also praised Khayal Mohammad and Khalid Atlas saying that the youngsters showed a lot of promise during the World Championships.
Jahangir said that these boys should continue to train with the new Pakistan National Coach ,Rahmat Khan. “The world junior title is just a start. These boys should work hard and make it sure that they produce similar results at the senior level as well.”
Pakistan are to host the 2005 World Men’s Team Championships; a title they have won on six occasions. But their last triumph in the biennial event came almost ten years back in Karachi when Jahangir joined the then world No. 1 Jansher Khan to help Pakistan win the crown in 1993 in Karachi. Since then the Pakistanis have mostly fared poorly in the event.
Jahangir said that the victory in Chennai is a good omen for Pakistan squash which is presently going through a re-building process.
“The world title is a big boost for Pakistan squash,” said Jahangir who was elected as the WSF president in Kuala Lumpur this October.
“It will give the Pakistan Squash Federation and the national players a lot of confidence and will also silence the critics of PSF and their boys,” felt Jahangir.
Maybe we’ll fly again like we used to do in Squash :k: