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HASHIM
KHAN IN GOLDEN BRITISH OPEN COMEBACK
last
updated on: June 3, 2001 0:17
Hashim Fifty Years Later By Howard Harding, SRA
Exactly 50 years after winning his first of a record seven British Open squash titles, Hashim Khan will compete in next week's 2001 British Open in Birmingham - at the age of 86!
One of the
greatest squash players of all time - and founding father
of a distinguished line of Pakistan players bearing the famous Khan name -
Hashim won his first British Open title in April 1951 shortly after arriving
in England for the first time from his home in Peshawar.
Remarkably, he was then in his mid-thirties, but went on to dominate the sport throughout most of the fifties, picking up a further six British Open titles to establish a record which stood till 1981 - when it was extended to eight by Australia's Geoff Hunt, then later to ten by Jahangir Khan in 1991.
| Hashim in 1990 British Open - photo by Stephen Line |
Now based in the USA, Hashim began an annual pilgrimage back to England in 1978 to compete in the British Open Vintage (O-55) championships - and collected six successive Open titles at this age group to bring his overall total to 13. Next week in Birmingham, Hashim will compete in the British Open Over-60 Championships -conceding some 26 years to the event's leading contenders! Hashim faces 61-year-old Englishman John Shaw, from Durham & Cleveland, in his first round match at the Edgbaston Priory club at 4.30pm on Monday 4th June.
Stuart Courtney, Chief Executive of the Squash Rackets Association (SRA), commented: "Hashim's remarkable entry into this year's British Open is testament not only to his continuing love for the sport but also to the Open itself, which is held in the highest esteem by all players both past and present."
Event promoter Paul Gittings, of the Eye Group, added: "Hashim Khan is as much revered in the world of squash as Don Bradman was in cricket - and we are delighted that he is still keen on participating in British Opens at the age of 86." Following qualifying rounds at Edgbaston Priory beginning on Saturday 2nd June, the 2001 British Open moves to the NIA in Birmingham from Tuesday 5th through to the finals on Sunday 10th June.
