JK Academy gets new lease of life

KARACHI: Jahangir Khan Squash Academy at National Coaching Center here has got a new patron while Pakistan Sports Board has also extended its support to the academy.

It has been learnt that complete renovation and upgradation of the academy is being carried out these days under a revenue sharing agreement with PSB.

“I have taken all necessary permissions from PSB to make this academy a state-of-the-art talent pool and a revenue generating entity at the same time,” said President Sindh Squash Association (SAA) Adnan Asad while talking to ‘The News’.

He added that they would provide advanced training, accommodation and food to a group of players in order to produce new talent for national squash.

Adnan said that he would make it a model academy in the country for the production of new talented squash players for Pakistan within a short period.

It has also been learnt that PSB was reluctant to hand over the squash courts at NCC in Karachi to SSA for the academy due to lack of squash players in Sindh.

Director General PSB Asif Zaman during the latest annual general meeting of PSF stated that Sindh does not have any players to train [at the academy] and efforts should be made for talent hunt.

“If they provide a group of squash players in the province, PSB will extend every kind of assistance to the provincial squash body in the shape of playing facilities,” said Asif.

This was the reason Senior Vice President of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) in the same meeting showed concerns over the poor performance of SSA in the recent past.

Adnan acknowledged that due to uncertain Covid-19 situation, SSA could not arrange considerable squash events in 2020-21.

It is pertinent to mention here that Jahangir Khan Academy was established at the NCC in February 2016 with the support of PSF.

The academy had 12 players from under-11 to under-19 categories. Its head coach was Asif Khan, who was assisted by M Naseem, Aslam, Bilal, Murtaza, and Naveed Alam.

The academy promised up to Rs5000 to each player along with equipment. The PSF deployed three officers from the Pakistan Air Force to look after the affairs of the academy.

But in 2017, PSF stopped funding. Though the initial support for six months by PSF was extended to nine months, the federation owing to financial constraints stopped funding after paying Rs4 million to the academy in 10 months.