Jahangir Khan to be honoured at World Open LONDON: Former world champion Jahangir Khan is among four Squash legends who will grace their presence at a Gala dinner on November 6 during the course of the Men’s World Open 2009 being hosted by Kuwait.
According to the Professional Squash Association announcement, the hosts of the prestigious premier event being staged from November 1 to 7,will honour the achievements of some of the sport’s greatest players of all time at an official Championship Gala Dinner.
In addition to the sport’s greatest players from the past, the Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009 Higher Organising Committee will also recognise and honour the achievements of some of the players currently competing on the international circuit.
Apart from Jahangir, the other Squash legends include Geoff Hunt of Australia, Susan Devoy of New Zealand and Sarah Fitz Gerald of Australia.
Jahangir Khan, widely acknowledged to be the greatest player in the history of the sport, burst onto the international scene as a 15 year old in 1979 when he became the youngest ever winner of the World Amateur Individual Championship.
In November 1981, he became the youngest World Open champion of all time at 17 years of age beating Australian favourite Geoff Hunt in the final and went on to establish a remarkable 555 match unbeaten run over five and a half years, from April 81 until Nov 86, winning six World Opens and a record ten British Open titles.
A former Chairman of the Professional Squash Association, Jahangir retired from the sport in 1993 after helping Pakistan to win the World Team Championship in his home town Karachi. First elected Vice President of the World Squash Federation in November 1998, Jahangir was President of the WSF from 2002¡2008.
One of the greatest sportsmen Pakistan has ever produced, Jahangir was nominated as ‘Sportsman of the Millennium’ by the Government of Pakistan.
Geoff Hunt dominated the men’s game for most of the 1970s, winning the first four World Open titles, between 1976 and 1980, and a then record eight British Open trophies, from 1969 to 1981.
The formidable 62 year old Australian, who topped the world rankings for five years until December 1980, went on to serve as Head Squash Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport from 1985 2003, where he helped develop a new generation of Australian squash stars.
The Kuwait MenÆs World Open which boasts a prize fund of US$277,500, the largest ever offered by any World Tour event, is being held in the memory of His Highness Sheikh Saad Abdullah Al Sabah, The Patriarch Amir, in whose name the trophy shall be presented.
Meanwhile, leading Egyptians Ramy Ashour and Amr Shabana will be hoping to contest their third successive final in Kuwait after sharing similar honours in the 2007 and 2008 editions.
The pair are seeded three and four, respectively, in the premier event on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour.
Jahangir Khan to be honoured at World Open,10/31/2009 11:16:01 PM
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