Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed was a Pakistani professional tennis player who played for

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

before independence and for Pakistan after independence. He was one of the highest ranked players in India from 1940 to 1946, and later retained the position in Pakistan from 1947 to 1956 after the split of Indian subcontinent. He retired from the

professional sports In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

in 1962. The recipient of

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

, a state-organised honour of Pakistan and the

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

in 1960, he was one of the prominent players in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, collectively from 1940 to 1960.

Life and background

He was born and raised in British India. In 1920 when he was ten years old, he along with his father used to play on a local playground in

Chakwal Chakwal ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city in Rawalpindi Division, Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 66th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west of the federal capital, Islamabad and 270 kilomet ...

area of Islamabad, and later appeared in tennis when he was a student of 9th grade.

References

External links

* Year of birth missing Place of birth missing Year of death missing Place of death missing Pakistani male tennis players Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Recipients of the Pride of Performance Indian male tennis players {{Pakistan-tennis-bio-stub