- Title: CYPRUS: JANSHER KHAN WINS RECORD SEVENTH WORLD OPEN SQUASH TITLE
- Date: 11th November 1995
- Summary: NICOSIA, CYPRUS (NOVEMBER 11, 1995) JANSHER KHAN (DARK HAIR) V. DEL HARRIS (BLONDE HAIR) 1. HARRIS SERVES, BALL CALLED OUT 2. SLOW MOTION REPLAY 3. JANSHER KHAN SERVES, WINS MATCH 4. JANSHER AND COLLEAGUE HUG EACH OTHER, BOW DOWN ON COURT Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 26th November 1995 12:00
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- Location: NICOSIA, CYPRUS
- City:
- Country: EUROPE Cyprus
- Reuters ID: LVA8UN4HQB61ID2ZBNI4J6OODFRL
- Story Text: Jansher Khan of Pakistan captured a record seventh World Open squash title on Saturday (November 11) and immediately set his sights on winning three more.
"I want to take 10 titles. This would be something really great and now that I have won seven times, I have the time," Jansher said after beating British challenger Del Harris 15-10 17-14 16-17 15-8.
But though the 26-year-old assured his place in the history books by passing compatriot Jahangir Khan's six world open titles, the Englishman gave him his toughest final, saving three match points to win the third game and stretching the champion for a gruelling 101 minutes.
Harris, seeded number seven, showed the form which has sent him shooting 15 places up the world rankings in the past few months.
But in the end his stamina and guts were not enough to combat Jansher's stroke play.
Jansher started off playing his inch-perfect drop game, but took to hitting deeper in the face of Harris's incredible powers of retrieval in the forecourt.
He took a 2-0 lead but had to fight for every point in games that lasted 24 minutes and 27 minutes respectively.
As the record title came within his reach in the third, he became visibly nervous and hit six unforced errors, most of them into the tin.
Harris, sensing his chance, took three match points back off the champion to win that game, showing both grit and style. At 15-14 down, he returned a Jansher serve from the back of the court with a risky but magnificent drop shot.
But Jansher came back in the fourth, using his accumulated store of energy to dominate and take the match.
He stroked the ball from corner to corner and Harris's legs, having carried him as far as that, seemed finally to desert him.
The 1,000-strong crowd, packed with Pakistanis, got to its feet and roared as Jansher volleyed the ball into open space, threw his arms up in victory and then dropped to the floor of the court in Moslem prayer.
The slim man from Peshawar said he had dreamed of this day ever since taking his first World Open title at the tender age of 17 back in 1987. If he sticks to his intentions, he is not finished yet.
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