Pakistani Sports Hero Quits, Devotes Himself To Islam
WASHINGTON June 21 (IslamOnline) - Jansher Khan, Pakistani squash legend and former world champion, announced Tuesday he is retiring from professional sports to devote himself to the preaching of Islam.
"Allah bestowed on me the unique honor of retaining the top world ranking for a decade. All other squash players of the world have been envious of my record of winning the World Open Squash title for eight times... I achieved what few people have achieved at the international level and I enjoyed my career to the hilt," said Khan, 33, who has won more than 100 international titles, including eight World Opens, six British Opens and nine Hong Kong Open crowns.
"Now, in order to pay my gratitude to Allah, I feel I must devote time for spreading Allah's message across the world. As a part of that mission, I will train squash players anywhere in the Islamic world in general and Pakistan in particular," added Khan.
The Peshawar-born Khan was often criticized for his short temper, but was nonetheless a national hero. He first made headlines after winning the world junior championship in Brisbane in 1986. He was world number one for a record 10 years from 1987 to 1997.
Khan won the last of his world titles in Karachi in 1996 before sustaining a serious injury. He made his last international appearance in the Dutch Open in 1998, where he lost to Canadian Jonathan Power.
Announcing his future plans, Khan said, "I will play exhibition matches and hold coaching clinics, but have not made up my mind about fulltime coaching."
He said that he would be spending three months each year in the United States, and an equal number of months in Europe. He will be leaving for Cairo on July 8th to play an exhibition match with top-ranked Egyptian squash star Ameer Wagih on July 10th.
