Squash revival

Pakistan placed fifth at the World Squash World Junior Squash Championship 2025 men’s competition at the Black Ball in Cairo last Friday, securing a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Korea. The team, comprising Abdullah Nawaz, Anas Ali Shah and Muhammad Umair Arif, were previously eliminated at the quarter-finals stage of the tournament, suffering a 0-2 defeat to England. The defeat also marked the end of Pakistan’s overall journey in the World Junior Squash Championship, as all of the national players had already been knocked out of the individual competitions at the round of 16 stage. While no one would call this a stellar end to the tournament for the country, it is arguably a pretty impressive feat, considering the fact that the nation is not exactly giving maximum support to any sport that is not cricket. In this context, the Pakistan Squash Federation was correct to deem their players’ performances as ‘encouraging’. The nation’s squash players often toil in obscurity and with little prospect of the lucrative financial earnings that cricketers who make it big can look forward to. Pakistan’s squash glory years of the 1980s and early 1990s, when world titles were won with regularity, are now long gone.

That being said, the financial dominance of cricket is not really reflective of dominating performances. Pakistan cricket has been floundering for some time now, with the team most recently losing to Bangladesh for the first time ever in a T20 series. And no one has forgotten the country’s humiliating early exit in the group stages of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year, despite being the host nation. Squash players reaching the quarterfinals of a premier global tournament is a much better result, one made even more impressive by the fact that squash players are not given the kind of resources and attention cricket has. Those in charge of sports in the country should consider this the next time they are making decisions about funding.

However, when thinking about how best to develop or revive certain sports in Pakistan, it is important for the country’s sports administrators not to repeat the same mistakes that have been made in cricket. The model of paying pros millions through national team contracts, private T20 leagues and lucrative sponsorships, while the grassroots and amateur circuits remain underdeveloped, does not lead to long-term success. As such, any revival of squash or other sports, such as hockey, must start from the ground up. The money should be allocated to establish new academies across the country, where children can learn the game and develop solid fundamentals at an early age. Coaches, the builders of future talent, need compensation that actually makes training the next generation worth it. Funds also need to be spent in a transparent manner and a culture of merit and results needs to be the bedrock.