The 1970s were called the best era of international squash due to the presence of high quality tournaments and world class players.
This is the era when Pakistan was called the power house of squash. After Jeff Hunt of Australia, a large number of Pakistani players were prominent in the world rankings.
At a time when Jeff Hunt was dominant, Pakistani players, despite all their efforts, could not stop him from winning the British Open and then the World Open.
Jeff Hunt ruled these two squash events all the time except for Qamar zaman winning the British Open once. This could be stopped only after the arrival of Jahangir Khan.
During this period, although Jahangir Khan, Jeff Hunt and Qamar Zaman were talked about to some extent, but the other three players were not hidden from the eyes of the fans.
Although all three failed to win the British Open and the World Open despite their extraordinary potential, they were always a sign of danger for rivals.
Gogi Allauddin
Gogi Allauddin made headlines by winning the British Amateur Championships in 1970 and 1971, after which he reached the final of the British Open twice.
In the 1973 final, he lost to Joanna Barrington of Great Britain. He defeated Jeff Hunt in the semi-finals of the same championship.
Gogi Allauddin played in the final of the British Open for the second time in 1975 but this time he was defeated by his compatriot Qamar Zaman.
Gogi Allauddin also reached the semi-finals of the World Open twice.
One of the most memorable victories of his career was against Jeff Hunt in the semi-finals of the 1976 tournament in Karachi, which he defeated after a tough contest of two hours and five minutes.
“1975 was my best year in terms of performance. I was in great form at the time and everyone was calling me a favorite for the British Open title, but I lost to Jonah Barrington and Ken Hasco in the final lost.
I will regret this defeat for the rest of my life that I did not come very close to winning the British Open title.
Gogie Allauddin says Jeff Hunt and Jonah Barrington were two athletes who were physically and mentally fit at the time.
You had to be very mentally active while playing against them. My game was different from Power Hunting.I controlled my opponents with sidewall drop shots, nicks and lobes, so I kept my mind active if I could win against them.
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Mohibullah Khan Jr.
After Qamar Zaman in the seventies, if Pakistan relied heavily on victories, it was Mohibullah Khan Jr.
These were the two players who were sent to London by Air Marshal Noor Khan for training a few months before the 1975 British Open.
Mohibullah Khan considers it unfortunate that he did not win the British Open and the World Open and cites the draw of these competitions as one of the reasons.
Mohibullah remembers that when the World Open first started in 1976 and was held as a joint event with the British Open, he lost in the final to Jeff Hunt in a hard-fought five-game contest.
Earlier, they defeated Huda Jahan in the quarter-finals and Qamar Zaman in the semi-finals and both the matches ended in five games.
Mohibullah Khan says, “I was never impressed that Jeff Hunt is the world number one player. If that was the case, I would never have had such a tough competition with him.”
You could ask Jeff Hunt if he would say that Mohibullah always gave me a tough time.
Mohibullah Khan has won several titles in his career. He won the Australian Open and the Irish Open against Jeff Hunt.
The most memorable moment of his career was when he won the tournament in London in 1978. The trophy presented to him by the special guest on this occasion was in the form of a sword which still adorns his room today.
Huda Jahan
Hidayat Jahan is known as Huda Jahan in the world of squash. Because of his powerful strokes, he was called Mr. Hammer, which his rivals never considered easy.
Huda Jahan only reached the final of the British Open once in 1982 against Jahangir Khan, who was 15 years younger than him. Jahangir Khan won the first British Open title by defeating Huda Jahan.
There were many incidents in Huda Jahan’s career which made him leave Pakistan and take up permanent residence in England.
He represented England twice in the 1983 and 1985 World Team Championships
In the 1983 final, England was defeated by Pakistan in which Huda Jahan lost to Jahangir Khan in three games.
Huda Jahan played an important role in inspiring Jahangir Khan in his early career because of his friendship with Jahangir Khan’s elder brother Torsam Khan.
Huda Jahan belongs to this squash family in which his three other brothers Shahjahan Khan, Zark Jahan Khan and Zubair Jahan Khan have also played international squash.
Exceptional Players But Also Unlucky
Richard Eaton, a British journalist and analyst who has covered international squash for a long time, told BBC Urdu that Mohibullah Khan, Gogi Allauddin, Huda Jahan and Qamar Zaman were exceptional players.
If they were playing today, they would have won more tournaments.
It is more surprising that Mohibullah Khan did not win the World Open or the British Open because his hit on the ball was very powerful.
“Huda Jahan’s game was excellent but he was not as strong as Hunt, Jahangir and Barrington,” he said.
Gogi Allauddin was like an artist who had variety in his game. He moved on the court like a ballet dancer but his game was not very intense.
