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No one dismissed Janshers return as daydreaming. On the other hand there was strong opinion that the game has changed in the time he has been away.
Jansher arrived in Maastricht after months of very hard training. The trouble with assessing Jansher is that he displays none of the usual signs of fatigue, so it has always been difficult to assess his tiredness.
He started confidently against a nervous Power to take the first game hitting effortless winners. He took the third game as Power lost concentration but in the three games that Power won, the world champion seemed to be cruising: confident, in control and untroubled by the still legendary skills that made Jansher one of the greatest players of all time.
"I was very happy with the way I played. I wanted a tough match and so that was why I was happy to play Jonathon. I mis-hit some shots because this is the first time I have played on a glass court for almost two years and it affected my timing. My knees are OK and my groin is OK - I just need to play more matches," Jansher said at the press conference, promising to play in Hong Kong, Cairo and Qatar.
"It was more of a mental battle than anything," Power commented. "Its hard to play Jansher, theres a lot of things going on in my head. Ive always had a hard time against him. He came out playing well and I was playing tactically very poorly, so I was in a hole from the beginning. I had a mental lapse in the third - I was hitting the ball decently but I didnt compete as hard as I normally do. But even at 2/1 down I knew I could win if I put in two good games."
Of Janshers performance he observed: "I think he was hitting the ball well and controlling the middle of the court, but was definitely not as explosive as he normally is. It was harder for him to run his way out of trouble which he used to do quite comfortably. But his sense of the game and control of the centre of the court will certainly beat any player on the circuit."
Was the big question answered? I dont think so. That will have to wait until after Hong Kong in August and the World Championships in Cairo in September. Well let Jonah have the last word.
"I think in the short term he might well do quite well, pain free, but I still feel the recovery will be short term. Remember, too, that two years ago all the other players were in awe of him; now they will be itching to have a go at him".
JANSHER
RETIRES - OFFICIAL 29-May
Martin Bronstein was in Maastricht to
watch the international comeback of Jansher Khan. Janshers presence
dominated the event but questions remain: Can he really come back? Will he come
back?
JANSHER RETIRES (OFFICIALLY) - March 2001 Since 1987 when he burst on the squash scene by
beating the nigh-unbeatable Jahangir Khan eight times in a row, Jansher Khan has
been not just the man to beat, but clearly head and shoulders above the rest.
Eight world titles and six British Open titles flowed from his racket. He was first admired for his fitness, then his
movement and, in the three years before knee problems forced him to rest in
1998, for his wonderful racket skills and incisive finishing. Would that skill,
that razor sharpness, that uncanny anticipation evaporate in twelve months? "I cannot accept that he has lost the
ability to think the game and to hit the ball where he wants to hit it; the
question is whether he has actually won back a level of physical performance
that will allow him to do that," commented Barrington. In 1998 after Peter Nicol beat him in the British
Open, Jansher underwent surgery on both knees. A nagging groin tear kept him on
the sidelines for another five months. Jansher had no doubts about his ability to not
only to handle Jonathon Power but also get back his number one spot. In a
breathless interview for a Pakistani paper he gave a typical Jansher display of
bravado concerning his meeting with the reigning world champion. "I am not scared of him. I am still a much
better player than him - I give myself a 60 per cent chance of beating him. I
think I can go on to win the tournament," Jansher boasted. The man who has been close to Jansher for nine
years is Satinder Bajwa. As coach-cum-manager Baj knows Jansher as well as
anyone. He thought the gap in tournament play might simply have been too long. "Twelve months out for Jansher is a like a
three year recession. Its as if Power, Nicol and Barada are three years ahead
of him. I would not count him out - I would give him a fifty-fifty chance,"
was Bajs forecast.
It remains to be seen if a role in squash can be found for
Jansher. Certainly his experience and expertise would be welcomed by the
Pakistan SRA, which finds itself in something of a competitive vacuum
following almost five decades of global squash dominance.
Their failure to compete on the international scene is regarded as an acute
embarrassment by the Pakistani squash hierarchy, although Jansher has given no
intimation of any desire to take up coaching.
Pakistan's
former world number one said he intended to formalise his position on June 15,
his 33rd birthday. He had completed only one match, a first round defeat
against Jonathon Power in Maastricht, since losing in the final of the 1998
British Open to Peter Nicol in Birmingham.
Jansher has not been a member of the PSA for some time and his announcement
came as a surprise only because most people thought he had already retired.
Jansher told the Reuters news agency from his home in Peshawar: "I have
made up my mind to call it a day. It has been a difficult decision but
considering a two-year lay-off because of injuries, I think it is better to
forget about staging one last comeback."
His fall from the top slot, now fought over by Nicol and Power, was
accelerated by knee and groin injuries. He had a series of operations but
failed to find the same agility, rhythm and court coverage which made him the
heir to compatri
When I asked Jonah Barrington whether a 29 year
old squash player could make a comeback after over a year out with injury, he
pointed to Peter Marshall, who reached the semi-final of the World Open after a
longer absence because of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. When the player in question
is Jansher Khan the answer becomes even more elusive.
Jansher was always more of a rival than a friend of Jahangir's, but in
retirement he reveals his admiration for the man who ruled the game so totally
until Jansher came on the scene promising to end his domination. Jansher said:
"Of all the highlights of my career, more than anything I would remember
my duels with Jahangir, who has not only been a role model for me but for
squash enthusiasts the world over."
He was never one of the game's great communicators, preferring instead to let
his racket do the talking for him in such eloquent and dazzling style. To return to the game at his age, and compete at the top
level with super-fit athletes like the current world champion, Nicol, would
have required a superhuman effort. Jansher has opted not to go through the
pain barrier for one final swansong, as romantic a notion as it may have
seemed.