KARACHI: No Pakistani squash coach has won any Asian award or recognition since 2009. Rehmat Khan won Asian Squash Federation (ASF) award for Development Coach of the Year in 2009. Since then, no Pakistani coach has managed to win any award or certificate of recognition by ASF in any category.
Fahim Gul won the Coach of the Year Award in 2007 and 2006. Fazal Shah won Certificate of Recognition in 2007. Abdur-Rasheed and Mehboob Khan won Certificates of Recognition in 2006.
Ayaz Khan won Development Coach of the Year award in 2005. Yawar Aslam won Certificate of Recognition the same year. In 2004, Rehmat won two awards: Coach of the Year and Junior Coach of the Year.
Rehmat won Elite Coach of the Year award in 2003. Interestingly, Rehmat and Fahim are not on the coaching panel of the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF). Mehboob Khan is also not doing the coaching job, and PSF is only banking on Fazal and Mohammad Yaseen with a few junior coaches for the uplift of squash in the country.
“This explains why we have been unable to produce good talent,” said an official of a provincial squash association. The official added that coaches had dual roles. “They are both referees and coaches. This is unique and happens only in Pakistan. This is why they fail to excel in both the domains,” said the official.
He said Pakistan squash would further deteriorate if the authorities failed to focus on the development of local coaches. It is pertinent to mention here that there are only three Pakistani coaches among 37 ASF Coaching Tutors in Asia.
Fahim is Level-3 ASF tutor, while Yawar Aslam and Khalid Atlas Khan are Level-1 ASF tutors. Fahim is also one of the 11 ASF consultant coaches in Asia and Khalid is also a WSF Level-1 tutor.