Roading towards the Glorious Past: Pakistan has hopes

Amir Atlas, who won a silver and gold medal at the Asian Games, aspires to be a world champion.

Armored by a gold and silver medal in the 16th Asian Games, Aamir Atlas Khan still feels the pressure to prove himself as good as his uncle and squash legend Jansher Khan.

Aamir won the silver medal in the individual event and bagged the gold in the team category but coming from a family of a squash legend, Aamir has a long way to go.

His dreams of becoming the world champion seem distant and even though he turned professional eight years ago, he is yet to win a prestigious event. However, his mere participation in the events prior to the Asian Games, has a story of determination behind it. His sharp returns and unrelenting strength on the court earned him the name of ‘Speedy Gonzales’ against the likes of World Champion Gregory Gaultier and Egypt’s Amr Shabana.

“Being the 23rd in the world is not good enough,” said Aamir. “Nobody even talks about the players who are second. In Pakistan, we have too many great players, so feeling proud over being 23rd is fooling yourself. My only ambition is to get to the top.”

Aamir’s career began at an early age. At six, he practised with his father Atlas Khan and uncle Jansher and it was then the childhood dreams propelled the boy to convert them to reality. However, his career-best ranking of 14 dropped but a selfless decision to skip the Qatar Classic to participate in the Asian Games for the country won many admirers.

“I can’t be selfish when it comes to the game. Asian Games was my priority over Qatar Open because I had a chance to play for my country. I don’t think it’s morally acceptable to ditch your country for individual rankings.”

He was on cloud nine after winning the Pakistan Open 2008 defeating Mansoor Zaman in the final which was unfortunately the last time the prestigious national event took place in the country. The Pakistan Squash Association since then has been scared to hold the tournament due to security concerns.

Aamir’s fitness has been slammed but he said that he trains for seven hours each day to hit back at the critics. “He’s a gifted athlete. But it’s that speed that requires him to be twice as strong than what he is now,” said Jansher. “I think he hasn’t done enough but he is on his way.”