Daily Times

Pakistan’s Azam Khan, who died of Covid-19 at the age of 95 in London on March 28, 2020, was one of the world’s finest squash players. He won the British Open four times between 1959 and 1962. The younger brother of legendary Hashim Khan, Azam’s remarkable and brilliant victory in the British Open final was in 1960 when he routed Roshan Khan with a dominating 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 scoreline that forced the Squash Rackets Association to introduce a playoff for a third place to make it worthwhile for the audience to buy tickets. Squash by most measures is among the top ten most-followed sports in the world. It is not only hugely popular in Asia and Europe but also in Americas. The game has enjoyed enormous growth around the globe in the last six decades – those in which the Khans of Pakistan were arguably its dominant force and its most recognisable stars. Azam was the last survivor of the four Khans of Pakistan who kept the British Open among themselves for 13 consecutive years, from 1951 to 1963. But Azam’s victories (1959-62) came when the British Open was already Pakistan’s, rather the Khans, own domain. At the time, winning the title as many as seven times before him, his elder brother Hashim had already raised the benchmark. And after Hashim, the foursome who attained comparable achievements and can be mentioned in the same breath are Jahangir Khan (10), Jansher Khan (06), Geoff Hunt (07) and Jonah Barrington (06).

Azam was at the peak of his career when he last appeared on the professional circuit in 1962. The same year he clinched the most important hardball tournament, the US Open, for the first time. Winning the British Open four times in succession is no small feat, yet Azam has not been given due recognition by sports historians. There is a reason for this. His victories came at a time when the British Open was already dominated by Pakistan players. Still, many regard Azam as the greatest wielder of the squash racket the world has seen and there are reasons for that. Like all the squash Khans of that era, he too came from a humble background.

Born in 1925 in Nawakille, a small village outside Peshawar, Azam’s story is almost as interesting as the life of his elder brother Hashim, who played a key role in shaping the career of his younger sibling. Azam was 11 years younger than Hashim, who was almost like a father figure to him. Ever since their father’s demise when Azam was still an infant, Hashim had taken him under his wings. When Hashim was making a name in the world of squash, Azam was trying his luck as a tennis player. But Hashim knew that if there was any future for Azam it was in squash. Azam never played the game until he was 26. Soon after winning his first British Open title in 1951, Hashim started preparing his kid brother Azam to succeed him. From that day onwards, Azam gave up tennis and took up squash. But switching from one sport to another wasn’t easy. Azam had to really work hard and Hashim was there to guide him. Within a short span of eight months, Azam established himself as a world class squash professional. It was a miraculous transformation.

Had it not been for two factors — first, respect for the elder brother, and second, mourning his son — Azam would have engraved his name in gold as the greatest squash player of all time.

In 1953, the Pakistan Air Force raised funds for Azam’s trip to Britain by holding exhibition matches in various bases. Azam’s first competition was the British Professional Championship, where he surprised everyone by reaching the final. He lost to his brother. Despite this, he was pushed into a trial match against leading British amateur Brian Phillips to enter the 1953 British Open. He dispatched the fellow in straight games to get an entry in the tournament. That was how the unseeded Azam progressed to the British Open semi-finals, only to lose again to elder brother Hashim. The very next year he reached the final of the British Open for the first time, losing to his elder brother Hashim again. And the 1955 final was a replica of the previous year. Azam continued to feature in all major events and his first British Open title finally came in 1959 when Hashim was forced to pull out of the tournament because of an injury. Azam won the coveted title for the first time, beating his nephew Mohibullah in the final in straight games. He went on to win the title four times in succession after. The most memorable of those four triumphs was that of 1960. He trounced Roshan Khan, a distant relative and the legendary Jahangir Khan’s father, in the final. It’s still the shortest final in the history of the tournament, lasting just 19 minutes.

Azam was at the peak of his game when he had to abstain from competitive squash due to an Achilles tendon injury in 1962. The injury healed in 18 months but there was another wound that he sustained and which never could be healed. He completely lost interest in competition when his 14-year-old son died. Thereafter, his squash activities were confined to his club, the New Grampians Club in London. Azam had joined the club in 1956 as a full time coach after settling down in the United Kingdom. Soon, the club’s owner, who was not keeping good health, asked him to buy the club. Azam bought the club by paying him in installments over a period of five years. New Grampians, the renowned private squash club of London, closed down a few years ago because of financial reasons. But during his more than half-a-century association with the club, Azam oversaw the emergence of many squash stars there.

During an illustrious career, Azam featured in seven British Open Championships and was regarded as one of the world’s best shot-makers and strategists. Even his elder brother –– mighty Hashim –– could never beat a British Open final opponent the way Azam routed compatriot Roshan Khan. So why did Azam remain under the shadow of the other great Khans? There was one main presumption: the Khans had their own strict rules of respect for elders, and younger ones were allowed to win and move forward only when their elders decided. It is certainly ‘suspicious’ that in the three British Open finals Azam lost, his opponent was his brother Hashim. During his lifetime, Azam neither confirmed nor denied the rumours, but simply said: “Respect for an elder brother is very much ingrained in Pushtun culture.” Azam could have won at least 12 British Open titles if he had wanted to. Had it not been for two factors — first, respect for the elder brother, and second, mourning his son — Azam would have engraved his name in gold as the greatest squash player of all time.