Sharif Khan (born 1945) is a Pakistani-Canadian retired professional

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 is widely considered to be one of the all-time great players of

hardball squash Hardball squash is a format of the indoor racquet sport squash which was first developed in North America in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is sometimes referred to as being the "American version" of the sport. Compared to the "Br ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n variant of squash played with a faster-moving ball and on slightly smaller courts than the international "softball" squash game). He was the dominant player on the hardball squash circuit throughout the 1970s. Sharif was born in

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 ...

, and is the son of the legendary squash player

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 ...

(who dominated the international squash game in the 1950s).

Biography

Sharif is the eldest of Hashim Khan's 12 children, and a member of the Khan squash family. At the age of 11, he was awarded a squash scholarship at

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding scho ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Despite having almost no knowledge of the English language when he arrived, he performed well academically and also developed into an outstanding squash player who, by 1962, had won every public school title open to him including the public schools under-15 championship (three times), the public schools under-16 championship, the Evans Cup, and the Drysdale Cup (considered at the time to be the unofficial world junior championship). At the age of 13 he also captured the Somerset County Men's A title. In the two years after he left Millfield, Sharif won the West of England title, the East of England title, the Surrey Open and the Scottish Amateur title. In 1970, he reached the semi-finals of 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 ...

(which was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time). Khan's greatest achievements came on the North American hardball squash circuit. He settled in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1968, and came to dominate the professional hardball squash circuit for well over a decade. He captured every major North American hardball title, and won the

North American Open The North American Open is an annual international professional squash tournament. Started in 1966, this tournament was one of the most prestigious professional events behind the British Open and the World Open. The 2014 North American Open is l ...

(the most prestigious hardball title at the time) a record 12 times in 13 years between 1969 and 1981 (he reached the final 15 consecutive times between 1968 and 1982). He also won the US Professional Championships nine times in ten years between 1970 and 1979. In winning his final North American open title in 1981, Sharif beat his younger brother Aziz Khan in the final. Three other brothers, Gulmast, Liaqat Ali ("Charlie"), and Salim ("Sam"), also competed in top-level hardball squash. In 2004, Khan became the first non-US citizen to be inducted into the United States Squash Racquets Association Hall of Fame. On September 24, 2015, Khan was inducted into the

Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

References

External links

* * *
Article on Sharif Khan's induction into the USSRA Hall of Fame
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sharif 1945 births Living people Pakistani male squash players Pakistani emigrants to Canada Canadian sportspeople of Pakistani descent Khan family (squash) People educated at Millfield