Abdul Bari was a

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

player. He was one of the leading players in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the 1940s. Bari was a distant cousin of brothers

Hashim Khan Hashim Khan ( ps, ; – 18 August 2014) was a squash player from Pakistan. He won the British Open Squash Championships (the then ''de facto'' world championship) a total of seven times, from 1951 to 1956, and then again in 1958. Khan ...

and Azam Khan, who went on to dominate the international squash scene in the 1950s and early 1960s representing

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

while Bari preferred to stay in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India after the independence of India and Pakistan. He was sponsored to travel to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to compete in the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

(the effective world championship of the sport at the time), where he finished runner-up in 1950 to the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian player

Mahmoud Karim Mahmoud el Karim (1916–1999) was a squash (sport), squash player from Egypt. He won the British Open Squash Championships, British Open men's title four consecutive times from 1947–1950. Playing career Karim first played golf and tennis at the ...

. Two years later in 1952 he became the first Asian to become a professional coach in England when he was appointed by

Junior Carlton Club The Junior Carlton Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1864 and was disbanded in 1977. History Anticipating the forthcoming Second Reform Act under Benjamin Disraeli, numerous prospective electors decide ...

in London. Bari died of a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in 1954.

Career

Bari was defeated by Karim at the 1950 British Open Squash Championships in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by a 9–3, 9–4, 9–0 margin. Bari lost to Karim again a few months later at the Scottish Championships in four-game match.

References

External links

Article at Indian Squash Professionals website
Bari, Abdul Pashtun people Year of birth missing 1954 deaths {{India-squash-bio-stub