Squash players need to work on fitness

It certainly was not the squash we all know. In a country that has produced champions such as Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan, it was shocking. Tayyab Aslam was playing Asim Khan in the semi-final of the Pakistan International Squash Tournament on Thursday and the standard of the game on display forced one to believe that it was a match between amateurs or between players who are not well versed with the sport.

The quality of the game was not worthy of a professional. But more surprising was the players’ inability to stand up to the challenging task. Once the semi-final entered the fourth game, the level of stamina of both players started exposing their lack of physical fitness. The urge to get better is a forte of a leading squash professional, but that was not visible at the Mushaf Ali Mir Squash Complex.

Every time Tayyab and Asim got engaged in an eight to 10-shot rally, they spent the next few minutes sitting on the floor, trying to buy time to recapture their breath. That happened on no less than 15-18 times in the second half of the match. These scenes portrayed the true picture of where Pakistan squash stands and why our players are behind when it comes to making their presence felt at the international level.

Our players are lacking in physical fitness, stamina and quick reflexes. We have heard so much that an academy is there to look after the players’ fitness and other related development. However, actually we have not seen any improvement on ground. These key elements are missing from Pakistan’s leading players. It seems, either not enough is being done to improve the physical fitness of players or the players themselves are not serious in this regard.

Had it not been to more than a dozen international events hosted by the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) last season, we might have seen even the top player struggling to get into the top 80 in the world rankings. Thanks to Air Marshal Shahid Akhtar Alvi’s effort and the support from the top, some of our leading players are ranked amongst the top 80. But they might not sit there for long considering the standard of their physical fitness and their lack of appetite to get better.

In recent times every effort has been made by the Pakistan Squash Federation to improve the players’ fitness and standard of the game. Administratively, the last four years can be considered as the best in recent times. Players have been given every opportunity to bring the best out of themselves. A record number of international events for seniors, juniors’ training abroad and focus on junior players’ participation in international tournaments are some of the impressive steps taken by the PSF.

In modern day sports, however, the main focus has been on physical fitness. A less technically sound player with good physical fitness has a greater chance to excel than a player having good technique but no real fitness. Hiring a qualified trainer for the players — both junior and senior — must be a top priority for the squash federation.