Last week I called up Rahmat Khan. The legendary squash coach has been settled in San Francisco for the last several years. I called because I had just learned that Pakistan's young squash players had been deprived of a golden opportunity to take a shot at the British Junior Open after the country's squash authorities failed to obtain British visas in time for the national team. Two of the Pakistani players Hamza Khan, the reigning US Junior champion and Noor Zaman were among the favourites to win the title. I told Rahmat about it and he wasn't surprised. "It has almost always been like that," he said. "The primary reason why we had so many world champions in the past was because of sheer hard work and little else," he added.

We were talking after several years so there was some catching up to do. But soon it turned into an interview. Rahmat passionately talked about how Pakistan achieved tremendous success in squash and how our authorities failed to capitalise on it. Following are the excerpts of the interview.

TNS: You were instrumental in helping Pakistan achieve great heights in international squash as Jahangir Khan's coach and mentor. Tell us what do you think were the reasons behind Pakistan's success in squash in the past?

RK: If we go back and take a look at the history of our squash, we will know that international laurels were won by our legends through sheer hard work. From Hashim Khan to Roshan, Azam and Mohibullah senior, they all worked very, very hard. They were all self-made champions. They had the hunger to succeed which is why despite their modest background they became the best players in the world. It wasn't an easy ride. Thankfully in the case of Hashim, Azam and Mohibullah Sr, there was some support from the Pakistan Air Force. The PAF helped them to go and play in the British Open. Roshan Khan was sent to play the British Open by the Pakistan Navy. My father Nasrullah Khan, who was Roshan's elder brother, was the driving force behind Roshan's career. He coached Roshan in Karachi and then with the help of his friends and students from Aligarh Old Boys Club he managed to get a job for Roshan in the Navy. When Roshan was going to England to make his British Open debut he had to borrow an overcoat from the Navy store. He only got it after promising that he will return it. He travelled to England by ship.

The reason why I'm telling all these stories is to underline the fact that those legends of the past fought hard against adversity and helped Pakistan win 13 British Open titles. They did it with little help from the authorities. But once they became champions there were many who jumped in to take the credit. Hashim, Azam and Mohibullah Sr had to leave Pakistan after developing differences with the authorities. Hashim and Mohibullah went to the United States and earned glory and respect there. Azam moved to London. Nasrullah also got a good job there. Roshan opted to stay in Pakistan though he had great offers from USA and UK. Personally, I believe that the past legends should have received better treatment at home. They were world champions. They should have received support from the authorities. They should have been given opportunities to set up squash academies in Pakistan to produce world class players. Instead, they were fired from their jobs and had no choice but to leave their country and make their future in foreign lands. Take for example Nasrullah. Working in England, he helped produce Jonah Barrington, who went on to win six British Open titles.

Back in Pakistan, there was no player who could help the country win the coveted crown. For 13 years Egyptian, Australian and British players ruled the world of squash. It was only after Nur Khan took over command of PIA that a serious campaign was launched to develop various sports especially cricket, hockey and squash. It was because of PIA that Pakistan squash was revived. PIA built a squash complex, held international tournaments, gave jobs to squash players and sent them to compete in international events all over the world. Soon, there was a big crop of talented players from Pakistan. These included Aftab Javed, Mohammad Yasin, Gogi Allauddin, Saleem, Hidayat Jahan, Sajjad Muneer, Mohibullah Khan Jr, Qamar Zaman, Torsam Khan, Maqsood Ahmad, Umar Hayat and Jahangir Khan. But despite having so many players, Pakistan was still failing in its mission to win back the British Open. Then, suddenly Qamar Zaman gave the squash world a surprise by beating Geof Hunt in the British open to win back the title for Pakistan after a long gap. But Hunt bounced back and Pakistanis were once again struggling to win the title. Nur Khan made a lot of plans but initially nothing worked. Meanwhile, Torsam and I moved to England. At that time, Jahangir was coming up as an exciting talent. He was part of the PIA Colts programme. Torsam wanted to give up his professional career to coach and mentor Jahangir. That's why he took Jahangir to England. But unfortunately Torsam tragically passed away while playing a tournament in Australia. Torsam was my close friend. He was like my brother. With him gone, I decided to take the responsibility of training Jahangir. I soon realised that there was too much politics in Pakistan. There were people in the squash community who would create hurdles in the way of anyone with potential and Jahangir had great potential. I had to take Jahangir away from that negative atmosphere and train him somewhere where there was no interference from anyone. His father Roshan Khan agreed with me. Soon we put up a plan in front of Nur Khan. We told him that Jahangir would go on to become a world champion but not if he stays in Pakistan. Before agreeing to the plan, Nur khan told me: "Ok Rahmat you can take Jahangir but if you don't show the result you have to answer the nation."

It was a big task for me but I had faith in Allah. My intentions were clear, which was to help my young and talented cousin. I had given up my career to focus on providing all the facilities -- boarding, lodging, training, coaching etc. I made all the travel plans for various competitions. We worked hard, day and night for the single purpose of making Jahangir the world champion. And with the help of Allah within two years, Jahangir rose to become the best player in the world. He went on to become the best in the history of the sport winning 555 matches in a row and remained unbeaten for five years and 8 months. People ask me the reasons that made Jahangir so successful. It was sheer hard work, faith, focus, discipline. He stayed on the right track and realised his true potential and we worked as a team all the way.

I must say that Jahangir's astonishing success inspired a new breed of players in Pakistan. And the young Jansher Khan was one of them. Jahangir's success story gave everyone a blueprint for success. Hard work and a right approach with the help of a good coach can help you produce results. Jansher wanted to emulate Jahangir. He worked very hard and then he, too, moved to England and had Mohammad Yasin as his coach. It was the right move. I was the one who suggested it. I was asked by John Timperly, who used to manage Jansher's elder brother Mohibullah Jr, to take Jansher under my wings. But I knew I couldn't since I was completely focussing on Jahangir. So I suggested that Jansher should move to England and live and train with Yasin. They agreed and as they say the rest is history.

TNS: What do you think are the reasons behind Pakistan's downfall in squash?

RK: After Jahangir and Jansher there was no plan or system to develop squash. PIA no longer offered much support. There was no Nur Khan to offer his vision. The squash federation was there but it just enjoyed the individual glory earned by stars like Jahangir and Jansher. They made no efforts to make sure that younger players can one day take over from Jahangir and Jansher. There was too much politics and squash went down and down. Just take my case. I gave Pakistan their best ever sportsman. Time and again, I proved my worth and ability as a coach. I still remember the time when Jansher defeated Jahangir on nine consecutive occasions. Uncle Roshan asked me to once again supervise Jahangir's training. I worked with Jahangir again and he went on to beat Jansher and win a record 10th British Open title. Jahangir was 15 years old when I became his coach and at 17 he became the world champion. Despite all that, the squash federation in Pakistan never bothered to ask me whether I can help Pakistan in its efforts to regain its lost glory in squash.

TNS: You returned to Pakistan as national coach and achieved a lot of success. Why did you quit?

RK: The late Air Chief Mushaf Ali Mir, when he took over as President of the squash federation, invited all top players and coaches. He asked them as to why Pakistan has failed to produce a world champion despite all out efforts. Everyone kept quiet. Then Jahangir told him that there is one man who can do it. He is the one who helped me become the world champion, he said. He recommended my name. The Chief told Jahangir that it was his responsibility to rope in my services. I was in London when Jahangir called me. I gladly took this responsibility to once again serve my country. At that time Pakistan had not won any major title in a long time. I was given all facilities and a free hand. I worked hard with the available lot of junior players. My first goal was to help Pakistan regain the World Junior Team title which we did in just 18 months by beating England in the final in Chennai in 2002 and then our team beat Egypt in the next final in 2004. The foundation was now set to groom these junior world champions into senior champions. Unfortunately Air Chief Marshal Mushaf lost his life in a tragic plane crash. Things changed after that. There was a lot of favouritism and injustice. I couldn't take it any more and decided to quit. I was immediately offered a job by Kuwait. I became their national coach.

TNS: You must be aware of talented Pakistani youngsters like Hamza Khan and Noor zaman who have been winning at the international junior level. Do you think these kids can be groomed into world champions like Jahangir and Jansher?

RK: I'm sure there is still a lot of talent in Pakistan. Talent is gifted by Allah. No coach can give talent. Yes a good coach can help translate talent and potential into success. What we need in Pakistan is the right and positive culture. There should be no place for politics and vested interest elements should be shown the door. All stakeholders should sit down and work hard to make a concrete development plan. We should have sincere coaches who can help talented young kids like Hamza Khan and Noor Zaman in their mission to become world champions. Pakistan ruled the world of squash for many years. The rest of the world has learned from us but we have unlearned our recipe for success. Our legends showed us the path. They taught us that nothing can replace hard work. Today the squash world has moved forward and we need much more than just hard work to succeed. We need planning and execution. So I will suggest that all of us should sit down at one table and chalk out a plan. We have wasted too much time. And unless we change our course, we will continue wasting our talent.

Khalid Hussain is Editor Sports of The News    

khalidhraj@gmail.com