One of the sport’s greatest thinkers and a pioneer for the professional game, Jonah Barrington offers his thoughts on all of squash’s biggest talking points in his monthly column – written exclusively for the PSA World Tour website.
In this month’s column, Jonah discusses the recently concluded WSF World Junior Squash Championships and the impending return of the PSA World Tour.
The quiet period – was it? – for our game is almost over.
We’ve just had a stunning World Junior Championships in Australia with the top seeds in the boys overturned and, at the death, the first triumph for a young Pakistani since Jansher Khan in 1986.
There was almost inevitable controversy (that seems automatic these days) as well as another remarkable young Egyptian prodigy starting to break records.
I have waited in vain for a revival of squash fortunes in Pakistan, so Hamza Khan’s triumph, regardless of age-related finger pointing, could, and really should, herald the return of that perhaps most famous of all squash countries to the international scene.
Just where has it been? I have talked to, been coached by, seen and played a stream of wonderful Pakistani stars with the two greatest players ever, Jahangir and Jansher, seemingly disappearing in the mists of time.
What happened? I could write a book about Hashim [Khan] and Roshan [Khan] and we know that their country has suffered enormous strife over so many years. But the time must finally have been reached when our sport emerges once more as a consistent force [in Pakistan].
Then I come to that other historical squash country, Egypt, so dominant in recent years, and Amina Orfi is patently a test already for those seeking success at the top end of a very remarkable women’s game.
I saw the first Egyptian girl to play competitively in England, Salma Shabana (recognize the name, ring a bell?), now we have these three superstars (Nouran Gohar, Nour El Sherbini and Hania El Hammami – please never forget Raneem El Wilily too) and a flood of young players.
Perhaps one day Pakistan’s restrictive culture will finally open its doors and we will be privy to the female squash talent that has so rarely seen the light of day.
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