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| Country |  Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 July 1914 Peshawar,British India, (now Pakistan) |
| Died | (aged 100) Aurora, Colorado, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)[1] |
Hashim KhanSITQA (Pashto:ہاشم خان;c. 1910 to 1914 – 18 August 2014) was asquash player fromPakistan.[2][3] He won theBritish Open Squash Championships (the thende facto world championship) a total of seven times, from 1951 to 1956, and then again in 1958. Khan was the patriarch of theKhan squash family of Pakistan, which dominated the sport from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Hashim Khan was born in Nawakille, a small village nearPeshawar in modern-dayPakistan, to an ethnicPashtun family, between 1910 and 1914.[1][3] Hashim was the second cousin of the two other leading Pakistani players of his timeRoshan Khan andNasrullah Khan, whose sonsRehmat Khan,Torsam Khan andJahangir Khan are also squash players.[1] Hashim Khan's exact birthdate is unknown. According to his family members, he turned 100 on 1 July 2014 (the family celebrated his birthday on 1 July).[4] Khan's father, Abdullah Khan was chief steward at a British officers' club in Peshawar. He brought Hashim when he was 8 to the squash courts which were used by military men to relax, when not performing duties. Khan's father died in a car accident when he was 11,[2] and he left school to become aball boy, fetching balls for the squash players.[4] and cleaner of the squash courts. "For sweeping the place, they paid me fourannas a day," Khan told theNew York Times in 1957. "One anna is a sixteenth part of a rupee. Two hundred and eighty rupees equal one American dollar as of March, 2025.[1][2]
Hashim Khan's father, Abdullah Khan, was the Head Steward at a club in Peshawar where British army officers stationed in the area played squash.[5] As a youngster, Khan served as an unpaidball boy at the club, retrieving balls that were hit out of court by the officers.[2] When the officers had finished playing, Khan and the other ball boys would take over the courts.[2][5] In 1942, Khan became a squash coach at a British Air Force officers' mess. In 1944, he won the first All-of-India squash championship inBombay, and successfully defended this title for the next two years.[1][2][3] After theindependence of Pakistan in 1947, he was appointed a squash professional at thePakistan Air Force, and won the first Pakistani squash championship in 1949.[3][5]
In 1950,Abdul Bari, a distant cousin of Khan's who had chosen to remain in Bombay after thePartition of India in 1947, and who Hashim had beaten in several tournaments in India before partition, was sponsored by the Indian Government to play at the British Open where he finished runner-up to the Egyptian playerMahmoud Karim. This spurred Khan to seek backing to compete in the British Open the following year.[5] In 1951, when Khan was in his 30s, thegovernment of Pakistan – particularly thePakistan Air Force – sponsored him for the British Squash Championship. It was the first time Hashim Khan wore shoes on the squash court.[1] Khan travelled to theUnited Kingdom to play in the British Open, and won the title beating Mahmoud Karim in the final 9–5, 9–0, 9–0.[1][3] He again beat Karim in the final in 1952 9–5, 9–7, 9–0. He won the tournament for the next four consecutive years, beating R.B.R. Wilson of England in the 1953 final; his younger brotherAzam Khan in two tight five-set finals in 1954 and 1955; andRoshan Khan in the final of 1956. Hashim Khan was runner-up to Roshan Khan in 1957, and won his seventh and final British Open title in 1958, when he beat Azam Khan in the final.[3] Hashim Khan also won five British Professional Championship titles, threeUS Open titles, and three Canadian Open titles.[2][5][6]
Hashim Khan relocated to the USA in the 1960s, after being invited to teach squash at the Uptown Athletic Club in Detroit.[4] Eventually Khan settled inDenver, Colorado, but continued to appear in veterans' matches at the British Open. TheDenver Athletic Club continues to hold a Hashim Khan squash tournament in his honour every year.[2]
Hashim Khan had a total of 12 children. His eldest sonSharif Khan became a player on the North Americanhardball squash circuit in the 1970s, winning a record 12North American Open titles.[1] Six other sons –Aziz, Gulmast, Liaqat Ali ("Charlie"), Salim ("Sam"), Shaukat, and Mo – also became hardball squash players.[2]
His granddaughterMaria Khan plays professional soccer.[7]
| Wins (7) | ||
| Year | Opponent in final | Score in final |
| 1951 | Mahmoud Karim | 9–5, 9–0, 9–0 |
| 1952 | Mahmoud Karim | 9–5, 9–7, 9–0 |
| 1953 | R.B.R. Wilson | 9–2, 8–10, 9–1, 9–0 |
| 1954 | Azam Khan | 6–9, 9–6, 9–6, 7–9, 9–5 |
| 1955 | Azam Khan | 9–7, 7–9, 9–7, 5–9, 9–7 |
| 1956 | Roshan Khan | 9–4, 9–2, 5–9, 9–5 |
| 1958 | Azam Khan | 9–7, 6–9, 9–6, 9–7 |
| Runners-up (1) | ||
| Year | Opponent in final | Score in final |
| 1957 | Roshan Khan | 6–9, 9–5, 9–2, 9–1 |
On 18 August 2014, Khan died in his home inAurora, Colorado due to congestive heart failure. He was widely believed to be 100 years old.[1][6]
Hashim Khan was known for his sportsmanship spirit. Showing respect for other players, he always allowed his opponents to leave the court first.[4]
TheWorld Squash Federation PresidentNarayana Ramachandran paid a tribute to Hashim Khan, "After a wonderfully long and active life we are now left with memories of a great champion, a great man who has made a wonderful contribution to squash. Hashim's passing has taken somebody so special from us. As we remember him we send our condolences and best wishes to his family at this very sad time," he said.[11]
Pakistan Squash Federation President Air Chief MarshalTahir Rafique Butt expressed grief over his death and remembered him for his achievements.[12]
Other Pakistani players likeJahangir Khan,Qamar Zaman and officials like thePrime Minister of PakistanNawaz Sharif andPakistani President also offered condolences and commended Hashim Khan.[6] "Within the game, he was an iconic player, arguably the greatest player ever," saidJames Zug, a leading historian of Squash. In Pakistan, Hashim Khan was a hero and a symbol of national pride.[1] In 2020, Google celebrated him with aGoogle Doodle.[13]
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