I was searching for the greatest sportsman of world and got the name of this great sportsman which we all have almost forgotten or no knowledge about him. There is a long list of his achievements for Pakistan which no one have done but most of the part of this player I love his humbleness, he never cried out like others great players and never asked for any favor from Govt. of Pakistan or people of Pakistan saying he has served Pakistan so do something for me. He is one & only Great King of Squash Jahangir Khan. I have read this post on famous cricket site and sharing with you guys but there is lot more to say about this great living legend which Pakistan has ever produced.
Jahangir Khan had been dubbed as the fittest player of the planet. “Hard work, discipline, commitment and ambition. To be the best, I had to work harder than everyone else. I trained for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week.” - is how Jahangir himself explains the reasons for his remarkable success.
Note: I know this thread should be opened in Other Sports but no one dare to go there so I am opening this thread here in Cricketnama but MOD can move if they wish.
Jahangir Khan - World’s biggest sports achiever | Cricistan - The Territory of Pakistan Cricket
Whenever we look at the all time top sporting icons or achievers list published anywhere in the world, it is littered with some truly great names like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, Carl Lewis, Babe Ruth, Don Bradman, Garry Kasparov, Tiger Woods, Diego Maradona, Pele, Michael Schumacher etc.,
Every single person listed above and many more have my utmost respect at what they have achieved in their sporting career.
But, there is one name that I always think of first in my mind more than anybody I listed above and it saddens me that this name many times does not even feature in the final list of sporting personalities to be chosen by sports fans all around the world. Well, we have Cricistan here and lets take the opportunity to salute perhaps the finest sporting legend of all time- Jahangir Khan–indubitably the best squash player that ever existed on this planet.
Before we even begin to make a case for Jahangir Khan as the World’s biggest sporting achiever-let us look at what he has achieved in sheer numbers:
- Jahangir Khan has won the World Open six times.
- He won the British Open a record ten times.
- At the age of 15, Jahangir became the youngest winner of World Amateur Individual Championship.
- At 17, Jahangir was the youngest winner of the World Open.
- In 1982, Jahangir Khan won the International Squash Players Association Championship–hold your breath—without losing a single point. Simply stunning.
- Jahangir then decided to prove his mettle on the North American hardball squash circuit. Hardball squash is a variant of squash played in America, with smaller courts and a faster moving ball. Jahangir played in 13 top level hardball tournaments in USA out of which he won a mind boggling 12. Jahangir defeated the then top American player Mark Talbott 10 times in 11 finals they played.
- No squash player has ever dominated both the softball and hardball versions of squash.
- Jahangir Khan with this enviable stamina succeeded so heavily in America that he is credited with revolutionizing interest in the softball version in North America.
The last record which I am about to write deserves to be carved in gold and preserved in the national archives of Pakistan—if such a thing exists.
- Jahangir Khan holds the Guinness Book of World Records for remaining unbeaten during 1981-1986 in competitive squash and in doing so winning–take a deep breath—a mind numbing, trail blazing, logic defying 555 games in a row. Yes ladies and gentlemen FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIVE games in a row. Can you even begin to imagine the enormity of this achievement? Take a second and start counting from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 till 555. If just counting seems to be such a difficult task, imagine actually winning that many number of games in a row. There is no athlete in no sport anywhere in the sporting world, who has dominated his sport in such an overwhelming fashion as did Jahangir Khan. He was simply unbeatable during that period. Legend of Legends.
But have we truly recognized Jahangir? Why does the Western media never project him alongside other legends which of all people consists of names like David Beckham, lol. Forget about that, did Pakistani media ever project him the way the Australian media does with Sir Don Bradman?
Anyway I am not against the Western media but there certainly is a lot of bias towards American athletes in ranking the greatness of sports persons.
The reason why Jahangir Khan in my book is the world’s greatest sporting icon is—unlike his American or other Western athletes–he was born in Pakistan—a country not necessarily known for providing full fledged support to sports with world class facilities perhaps barring cricket and hockey. On top of it Jahangir Khan was a very sick child and physically very weak. In fact doctors have advised him not to take part in any physical activity at all. From such a nadir to be known as the “fittest squash player ever” is stuff of legends.
Being born in Pakistan, Jahangir unfortunately did not have the kind of training facilities or coaches that you expect in first world countries. Jahangir never had any fixed training regime or specific diet designed for him. All he ate was good food and 2 glasses of milk every day.
Jahangir Khan would for his training run a 14 kilometer jog which he would complete around 60-120 minutes at a medium pace followed by super short bursts of sprints. Later he would do some weight training in the gym and cool himself in the pools. He would do this 5 days in a week and on 6th day have a practice match. On the 7th day of the week he would rest.
Jahangir Khan experienced running on all kinds of surfaces from knee-deep waters, asphalt roads, rugged farm fields to top of the line custom built tracks. Sometimes he would also visit the Northern Areas of Pakistan to train in high altitude fields with low oxygen levels.
The result was the world’s most mentally and physically supremely fit athlete.
Jahangir Khan is the best of the best. Jahangir’s story exemplifies courage, determination, talent, genius, ambition, hard work and grace. Even after the death of his coach-brother Torsam-- Jahangir did not relent.
Overall I thought this man deserved to be told his story, his biggest legacy is the fact that this piece is written by an Indian like me proving that–true sporting genius inspires admiration over and above nationalistic allegiances.
**Hail the Hero Jahangir-Pakistan’s–nope World’s biggest sporting icon. :jhanda: **