The Legend of the Khan (Part III)

While Mo was related to Hashim by blood, Roshan Khan who married Safirullah’s (Hashim’s brother-in-law) sister was only related by marriage. As a result, he claimed he often experienced a feeling of exclusion from the rest of the Khans. Moreover, unlike his contemporaries, Roshan rarely left Pakistan and therefore had little opportunity to familiarize himself with the hardball version of squash across the Atlantic.

Nevertheless, he broke Hashim’s six year stranglehold on the British Open and added two Canadian Opens as well as a hat-trick of North American Open titles to his stellar resume.

What Roshan lacked in fitness, coupled with a recurrent knee injury, he made up for with his artistry and mercurial talent. Just like Hashim, he would go on to take his place in the Khan dynasty, more renowned for his parenting than his own squash legacy.

His two prodigious sons, Torsam and Jahangir had contrasting careers. The former was tragically a “what-might-have-been” and the latter turned out to be “what-was”.

Before Jahangir crowned himself as the single all-time greatest squash player, Sharif Khan spent over a decade dominating the American hardball circuit. As the eldest of Hashim’s twelve children, Sharif faced the additional pressure of a squash scholarship to Millfield School at the age of 11.

He adapted himself to a glittering junior career, winning every possible championship, including the prestigious Drysdale Cup. After reaching the British Open semifinals, he embarked on an unparalleled dominance of the North American Open, reaching the finals fifteen years in a row and winning all but three of them!

Furthermore, he dominated during a time when three brothers (Gulmast, Liaqat and Salim) were also peaking and winning tournaments by the dozen.

Once Roshan Khan’s squash days as a professional were over, he remained in Pakistan where he set his heart and mind towards turning his sons into world beaters. Jahangir was a sickly child and periodically suffered from bouts of hernia, as well as various other illnesses. As a result, he was not allowed to play as a child for fear that he would collapse.

Torsam, on the other hand, was the pride of the new Khan generation. By the fall of 1979, backed by his father’s devotion and coached by his family, he was ranked 13th in the world and had been elected as President of the International Squash Players Association.

Sadly, in November of that year, 27-year-old Torsam Khan—in the best of health and peak of his career—suffered a fatal heart attack during a tournament game. The loss shattered Jahangir, who had developed into somewhat of a prodigy, competing with the world’s top players and winning the World Amateur Championship as a 15 year old.

His father Roshan then decided to put Jahangir in the hands of his cousin, 29-year-old Rehmat Khan who agreed to sacrifice his career and took Jahangir into his home in London. 

To Be Continued...