Fans are expecting an interesting contest between the two.
A week before the final, the duo played the final of the Edinburgh Scottish Open, in which Hashim Khan scored 9 points. 9 zero and 10. Despite achieving a score of 8, everyone knows that Mahmoud al-Karim will not easily go to the British Open title with his hand, but what happened is a surprise to everyone.
Hashim Khan won the first game by a score of 9-5. After that it seems that only Hashim Khan is playing in the squash court and no one is in front of him.
The next two games are 9. Zero and 9 Had won by zero. The match lasted only 33 minutes. In other words, a new date amounted to only half an hour.
The next day, British newspapers published Hashim Khan's success significantly.
In the Telegraph, John Olive wrote that Hashim Khan was so fast that it was not difficult for him to reach the ball.
The Times reported that his pace was amazing and his strokes were perfect. They played cross court shots with such force that their rivals did not have the answer.
It was Pakistan's first introduction to international squash.
At that time, the British Open was somehow a World Championship, so Hashim Khan was considered the first Pakistani winner in this regard.
How to make a dream a reality?
It was a long night for Hashim Khan to travel to the UK to participate in squash competitions. His desire was further exacerbated by the fact that his Mumbai-based relative Abdul Bari was playing in Britain.
He had beaten Abdul Bari in a squash tournament in Mumbai and he was sure if he could go to the UK then why not?
This is also true because Hashim Khan defeated Abdul Bari in a tough five-match match in the British Professional Championship final before the British Open.
Abdul Bari was sent to the UK by the Mumbai club. The club had rich members, so Abdul Bari's finances were easily raised, but who can help Hashim Khan?
That was the important question.
Pakistan Air Force raises fleet to send Hashim Khan to UK Money was collected for his travels and he was flown to the United Kingdom by a special ship, but before that there were some incidents which caused frustration for Hashim Khan.
In this regard, Captain Raza of Pakistan Air Force Group encouraged him greatly.
Brigadier FHB Angal, a retired officer who was impressed with seeing Hashim Khan playing in the Peshawar club, told Pakistani High Commissioner Rahmatullah in London that Hashim Khan was definitely a world champion, so he should be given a chance to play. The Commissioner wrote a letter to the Government of Pakistan that reached Pakistan Air Force through various locations.
Trials were conducted to test Hashim Khan, although he defeated all the players but senior officials were not impressed with Hashim Khan's game that his game was not known to international standards. However, Captain Raza of the group succeeded in convincing him.
It was also from Hashim Khan's mind that he was old enough to play the British Open.
Interestingly, Hashim Khan had given his age at the British Open three years short because he feared that he would not be allowed to attend the British Open because of his old age.
When Hashim Khan returned home after winning the British Open, he was welcomed as a hero in Karachi and Peshawar.
Those who welcomed him included the Governor General. They were presented with a gold watch. He was made a regular gazetted officer by the Pakistan Air Force and was given the rank of Lieutenant Instructor. His job was to teach squash to the cadets of PAF school in Risalpur two days a week.
When Hashim Khan returned to winning the British Open, he had a new scooter. It is also important to mention that for the first time winning the British Open, Hashim Khan received fifty pounds of prize money, which at that time was Pakistan's worth of Rs. 650.
No comments:
Post a Comment