Jansher Khan

Jansher Khan

PP SI HI NI

Personal information
Native name	جان شیر خان
Nickname(s)	King Khan, The Punisher
Citizenship	Pakistan
Born	(1969-06-15) 15 June 1969 Peshawar, Pakistan
Occupation(s)	• National Head Squash Coach to Pakistan Squash Federation (2010–2011)  • 1st Advisor to the President of the Pakistan Squash Federation (2010–2012), (2015–2018)  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Head Squash Coach (2020-2023)
Years active	1986–2023
Employer	Pakistan Armed Forces (1984)
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Spouse(s)	• Violet Sough (m.1986; div.1989) • Naseem (m.1989)
Children	3, including Kamran Khan Ayaz SherKhan, Ali SherKhan
Sport
Country	Pakistan
Sport	Squash
Rank	From the Pakistan Government 1988 • Pride of Performance 1993 • Sitara-i-Imtiaz 1997 • Hilal-e-Imtiaz 2023 • Nishan-i-Imtiaz
World Open	1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
Federation	Pakistan Squash Federation
Turned pro	1986
Retired	September 2002
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	No. 1 (January 1988 till January 1998) (513 weeks) (118 months) (9.8 Years)
Updated on January 8, 2024

Jansher Khan PP SI HI NI (Pashto:جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969) is a former professional Pakistani squash player. During his career, Khan won many championship games and received several awards, and held the rank of number 1 in the world for over a decade. During his career, he won 293 out of 331 PSA Professional matches and 99 out of 118 PSA Professional Tour Finals matches. From 1990 until 1996, he remained unbeaten in 81 matches for a record six years; this was the longest winning streak in top-level professional sports, as recorded by Guinness World Records.

Career

Jansher Khan first came to prominence at the age of 16 when he won the World Junior Squash Championships in Australia in 1986 and then the Senior World Open title in the same year, by beating Australia's Chris Dittmar in the final. At the age of 16, he became the youngest winner in the history of squash and in the same year, he also defeated world No.1 Jahangir Khan in the Hong Kong Open and kept defeating him in consecutive 7 matches.

Jansher Khan started his career as an employee of Pakistan Air Force. During his career, he won PSA Professional 293 matches out of a total 331, PSA Professional Tour Finals 99 out of 118 and from 1990 until 1996 in 81 matches he was unbeaten for record six years; his longest winning matches streak in top-level professional sports as recorded by Guinness World Records. His main competitor Jahangir Khan won PSA Professional 134 matches out of a total 164, PSA Professional Tour Finals 61 out of 80 and from 1981 until 1986 in 70 matches he was unbeaten for five years.

Jansher Khan announced his retirement from squash in 2001. In late 2011 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In 2020, after suffering from severe back pain while praying and walking, Khan underwent double back surgery successfully at a Shifa International hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Jansher Khan had these words of advice for young players after his successful surgery:

"I would advise today's young players that along with their hard training they must take special care of their back, knee and groin injuries and treat minor ailments timely to avoid serious problems in future."

Squash Coaching

In September 2020, at the request of the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan, Jansher Khan joined the Directorate General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a head squash coach.

The facilities available to athletes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are unmatched in most other countries. On his appointment, Jansher Khan said, “I will do my best to fill the gap created in the game of squash and make the country a new world champion.”

Jahangir Khan rivalry

One of the major squash rivals of Jansher Khan was Jahangir Khan, who was also his Pakistani counterpart. During the 1980s and 1990s, Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan won the majority of the 14 World Open titles and 16 British Open titles. The records cover the 37 tournament matches, besides exhibition and league matches, played between Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan from their first meeting at the Pakistan Open in 1986 to the Spanish Open in March 1991. Out of those 37 matches, Jansher won 19 matches and Jahangir won 18.

From 36 matches played between Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan won 19 Matches and Jahangir Khan won 17 matches.

36 Matches (19 Win, 17 runner-up)

Year	Total Matches Played	Won By Jansher Khan	Won By Jahangir Khan
1986	1	0	1
1987	11	7	4
1988	8	3	5
1989	9	2	7
1990	5	5	0
1991	2	2	0
Total	36	19	17

36 Matches (19 Win, 17 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Tournament	Round	Opponent	Score in the final
Runner-up	1986	Pakistan Open	First-Round	Jahangir Khan	9–6, 9–6, 5–9, 9–3
	1987	Spanish Open	Final		9–6, 7–9, 9–7, 9–1
	1987	British Open			9–6, 9–0, 9–5
Winner	1987	Hong Kong Open	Semi-Final		9-2, 10–8, 9–2
	1987	Pakistan Open	Final		1–9, 1–9, 10–8, 9–5, 9–0
	1987	World Open	Semi-Final		3–9, 9–4, 9–7, 9–7
	1987	US Open			17–16, 8–15, 4–15, 15–10, 15–3
	1987	Swiss Masters			7–9, 2–9, 10–8, 9–1, 10–9
	1987	PIA Masters	Final		9–2, 5–9, 9–4, 5–9, 9–2
	1987	Al-Falaj Masters	Semi-Final		9-2, 9–2, 5–9, 9–2
Runner-up	1987	Dubai Challenge Match	-		9-6, 9–5, 9–1
	1987	Abu Dhabi Challenge Match	-		9–4, 8–10, 9–1, 9–7
Winner	1988	Spanish Open	Final		5–9, 9–6, 9–6, 9,0
Runner-up	1988	French Open			15–9, 10–15, 15–13, 15–5
Winner	1988	Monaco Open			3–9, 3–9, 9–3, 9–0, 9–4
Runner-up	1988	World Open			9–6, 9–2, 9–2
Winner	1988	Singapore Open			15–8, 15–11, 9–15, 10–15, 15–9
Runner-up	1988	Pakistan Open			16–17, 10–15, 15–9, 15–9, 15–7
	1988	President's Gold Cup			15–10, 15–7, 10–15, 15–8
	1988	Al-Falaj Open			9–0, 10–8, 2–9, 9–1
	1989	Mennen Cup			12–15, 15–12, 15–2, 15–7
	1989	Spanish Open			15–10, 15–12, 15–7
Winner	1988	Monaco Open			7–15, 15–11, 7–15, 15–12, 15–7
Runner-up	1989	Working Challenge Match	-		16–17, 10–15, 15–9, 15–8, 15–7
	1989	AIWA Invitation Match	Final		9-15, 15–10, 15–6, 3–15, 15–5
	1989	Pakistan Open			15–11, 15–12, 15–10
	1989	C.O.A. Trophy			0–9, 7–9, 9–2, 9–2, 9–1
Winner	1989	Canadian Open			15–4, 7–15, 15–6, 9–15, 15–7
Runner-up	1989	Stuttgart Open			15–9, 15–13, 15–14
Winner	1990	Mennen Cup	Semi-Final		17-15, 15–12, 15–9
	1990	Austrian Open	Final		13-15, 15–11, 15–12, 15–5
	1990	Pakistan Open			9–2, 4–9, 9–2, 9–2
	1990	President's Gold Cup			7–9, 5–9, 9–2, 9–2, 9–5
	1990	Pimm's Premier League	-		9-1, 7–9, 9–4, 9–2
	1991	Pimm's Premier League	-		8-10, 9–2, 9–2, 9–1
	1991	Spanish Open	Final		15-11, 10–15, 15–4, 15–7

Awards and recognition

• Pride of Performance Awarded by the President of Pakistan in 1988
• Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Awarded by the President of Pakistan in 1993
• Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Awarded by the President of Pakistan in 1997

Career

• World Championships: 9 finals (8 winner, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1987	Birmingham, England	Chris Dittmar	9–5, 9–4, 4–9, 9–6
Runner-up	1988	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Jahangir Khan	9–6, 9–2, 9–2
Winner	1989	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Chris Dittmar	7–15, 6–15, 15–4, 15–11, 15–10
	1990	Toulouse, France		–8, 17–15, 13–15, 15–5
	1992	Johannesburg, South Africa		5–11, 15–9, 10–15, 15–6
	1993	Karachi, Pakistan	Jahangir Khan	14–15, 15–9, 15–5, 15–5
	1994	Barcelona, Spain	Peter Marshall	10–15, 15–11, 15–8, 15–4
	1995	Nicosia, Cyprus	Del Harris	15–10, 17–14, 16–17, 15–8
	1996	Karachi, Pakistan	Rodney Eyles	15–13, 17–15, 11–15, 15–3

• British Open: 9 finals (6 winner, 3 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1987	London, England	Jahangir Khan	9–6, 9–0, 9–5
	1991			2–9, 9–4, 9–4, 9–0
Winner	1992		Chris Robertson	9–7, 10–9, 9–5
	1993		Chris Dittmar	9–6, 9–5, 6–9, 9–2
	1994		Brett Martin	9–1, 9–0, 9–10, 9–1
	1995	Cardiff, Wales	Peter Marshall	15–4, 15–4, 15–5
	1996		Rodney Eyles	15–13, 15–8, 15–10
	1997		Peter Nicol	17–15, 9–15, 15–12, 8–15, 15–8
Runner-up	1998	Birmingham, England		17–16, 15–4, 15–5

• Hong Kong Squash Open: 9 finals (8 winner, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1987	Hong Kong	Chris Dittmar	9–6, 9–2, 9–5
	1988			15-11, 9–15, 15–6, 12–15, 15–1
	1989			5–8, 16–17, 15–2, 15–6
	1990		Chris Robertson	15–6, 14–15, 15–10, 15–5
	1991		Tristan Nancarrow	16–17, 15–6, 15–17, 15–4, 15–5
	1994		Peter Nicol	15–7, 15–10, 15–6
	1995		Brett Martin	15–12, 15–7, 15–3
Runner-up	1996		Rodney Eyles	15–10, 15–10, 15–5
Winner	1997		Jonathon Power	14–15, 15–12, 15–7, 15–2

• Pakistan Open: 9 finals (6 winner, 3 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1987	Pakistan	Jahangir Khan	1–9, 9–1, 10–8, 9–5, 9–0
Runner-up	1988			16–17, 10–15, 15–9, 15–9, 15–7
	1989			15–11, 15–12, 15–10
Winner	1990			9–2, 4–9, 9–2, 9–2
Runner-up	1991			9–15, 15–10, 15–10, 15–5
Winner	1992			15–13, 15–5, 15–12
	1994		Peter Marshall	14–15, 15–14, 15–10, 9–15, 15–6
	1995		Rodney Eyles	15–9, 15–12, 15–8
	1997		Anthony Hill	15–11, 15–7, 15–8

• World Super Series: 4 finals (4 winner, 0 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1993	Zürich, Switzerland	Chris Dittmar	15–10, 10–15, 15–13, 15–8
	1994		Peter Marshall	8–15, 15–8, 15–7, 15–9
	1997	Hatfield, England	Brett Martin	9–7, 9–5, 9–2
	1998		Simon Parke	15–12, 13–15, 15–11, 15–10

External links

• Jansher Khan – PSA World Tour profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 2013-04-03)
• Jansher Khan at Squash Info