Robert Edwards
on the match that might have been ...
 During many tournaments down the years I have enjoyed the company and
the banter of some of the best players in the world. Being somewhat
older than the guys on the circuit I am sometimes asked my opinion of
players from years gone by - and how they would match up with the
stars of today. All sports fans like to play the game.
Now I am asked the question "In a match between Jahangir Khan and
Jonathon Power, who would win and why?"
Let me begin by saying that I am sure that both of these mighty
warriors would bet on themselves - and so they should. When you are as
good as these two players then you also have to have the supreme self
belief that goes with their respective talents.
O.K. let us assume that they were both in their best shape - at the
height of their game & such things as equipment were equal.
Here we go...........................
Jonathon
 Jonathon is one of the quickest players of all time - he has amazing
touch and feel for the ball. A gossamer touch and a superb brain. Over
the years I believe that he has developed into one of the all time
great players. It is a fact that his contemporaries always use
Jonathon as the example in the imaginary match vs. JK.
Clearly this
shows that they consider him to be the most naturally gifted player of
this era.
If you look at Jonathon's career you will see that he has been dogged
by injury & accident - sometimes at a crucial moments. A perfect
example is the semi final that he played against David Palmer in
Antwerp during the PSA World Open in 2002. In what was clearly a
cruel accident, he was hit in the face by Dave's racket and suffered
terrible damage to his eye. Though keen to continue. Jonathon finally
listened to the medical advice and withdrew at a crucial stage of the
match. David went on to win the title against John White in one of the
best matches I have ever witnessed.
Jahangir
 Personality wise JK & Jonathon could not be further apart. Jahangir
was coached as a boy by his father, Roshan Khan, the 1957 British Open
Champion. Deeply religious and quietly respectful Jahangir dedicated
his life to the game. At 15 he became the youngest ever winner of the
World Amateur. He followed this progress to become the youngest player
ever to win the World Open when he defeated Geoff Hunt at the tender
age of 17!!!
He was to win 10 British Open titles in a row- The World
Open no less than 6 times. He was to go five and a half years without
defeat. When he eventually retired from squash in 1993 the legend was
born. Now the President of the WSF he is a wonderful ambassador for
squash whether he is talking with children or sharing the company of
Royalty.
Some will claim that the loss of his brother Torsam, who died
during a match with Kevin Shawcross in Australia, spurred him to even
greater efforts. Certainly Jahangir trained and lived a monastic life
style during his formative years when in search of squash immortality.
Power restored
Like Jahangir, Jonathon was one of those multi talented children who
was good at all games that he played. From Ice Hockey, golf,
basketball to Tennis he excelled. When you consider that his father
was & is a squash coach of some considerable renown it is not
surprising that he eventually became a squash professional on the PSA
tour. A grunge dresser and a non conformist Jonathon is his own man.
On tour he has a large group of supporters - he is a natural leader
with strong opinions and a sharp mind.
Often labelled the John McEnroe
of squash - Jonathon would probably call McEnroe the Jonathon Power of
tennis!! Over the years I have experienced the many faces of this
Canadian. The histrionics & then the silky skills. My best personal
memory of Jonathon is playing golf with him in Qatar when we both
arrived early for the Qatar Classic.
Again he showed his natural
talent with a fine round of golf on a testing Championship course -
having not played golf for months!! Yes, he won and I can tell you he
was excellent company. Humorous and relaxed.
Earlier this year I
suspected that maybe we had seen the best of Jonathon and then at the
Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters 2005 he blew the opposition away
with a phenomenal all around performance. In the first round he beat
Mark Chaloner for the loss of only 11 points. In the second round he
took 5 games to beat one of his close friends Gregory Gaultier.
Like
others I thought that the match had taken a lot out of him and that he
would struggle against the super fit World No.1 Thierry Lincou in the
quarters. What a match - another five games of fabulous skills and
emotions. Thierry was left shaking his head and Jonathon was through
to the semi final where he met John White.
These two gave us yet
another 5 games of roller coaster squash before a walking dead
Jonathon left the court to prepare for a final against Lee Beachill
who had practically cruised there on auto pilot. Beach had only
dropped one game and had beaten Peter Nicol 3/0 in the other semi.
There were few takers for a Jonathon win in the
final .......................... and then the man created the magic
winning 3/0 and dropping only 13 points.
Both players share a common denominator - they both come from solid
family back grounds.
So who would win?
Could Jonathon use his silky skills at the front of
the court? Would Jahangir out punch him with a sustained attack of
brutal intensity? Would Jonathon be able to use his disguise to create
doubt for Jahangir? Would the steely mental strength of the Pakistani
be too potent a weapon? Could Jonathon bring his personality to bear
on the match or would Jahangir just steam roller him?
I have watched both of them play the best players of the two eras.
Jahangir vs. Geoff Hunt. Jahangir vs. Chris Dittmar. Jahangir vs.
Rodney Martin & Jahangir vs. Jansher
Khan.............................Jonathon vs. Peter Nicol. Jonathon
vs. David Palmer. Jonathon vs. John White & Jonathon vs. Thierry
Lincou. Everyone of them deserving of a place in the Who's Who of
Squash.
It is my opinion that Jahangir would win 3/0 maybe 3/1.
 Never has there been a more complete player than Jahangir
Khan................it was world news if he lost a game - he simply
didn't lose matches during that golden period.
He played the best
players consistently and he destroyed them. When he entered a
tournament you only questioned who he would meet in the final. His
pure pace and aggression was awesome- his hitting power on the
backhand was so destructive it chewed up the opposition.
His physical
strength was unique - as was his mental approach. His attention to
detail and fitness was something that the next generation of
professionals were to chase.
He had simply raised the bar.
Jonathon is a wonderfully talented and exciting player but you have
asked me to compare him in a one off match against the player I
consider the greatest of all time.
When we ask the question is Pele as
good as the best of today? Would Mohammed Ali be the "Greatest" fighting
the best of today? And what about Geoff Hunt vs. Peter Nicol? We will
never have the answers but it is fun playing the game.
Sorry Jonathon - anyone other than Jahangir!!!!
What about our Fram's readers - do you agree with me or not?
How about a poll Fram? [see the top of the page]
Keep enjoying the best game in the world
Robert S. Edwards
The Voice of Squash
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ANDREW
SHELLEY:
There
is nothing like a question with no definitive answer to
stimulate debate, but I would have to say that to me there
can only be one response.
The match would be something to savour, but if they were
both performing at their peak then the P man would win. No,
not Power but Pakistani.
You don't rule the squash world for so many unbeaten years
without
being
a bit special, and the level of fitness, strength and
endurance that were JK's hallmark would have nullified the
wonderful control and racketwork of JP.....in the end.
But who cares about comparisons; JK was a legend, JP is very
special. If you caught JK in his pomp you were privileged;
you still have time to do so with JP.
Andrew Shelley |
TED WALLBUTTON:
I am always wary of trying to answer 'who would have won'
questions. But when it comes to Jahangir I think the only
player who could have lived with him at his peak was Jansher.
Jahangir had pace, power, skill, stamina and a fearsome will
to win. Jonathon is highly talented, but has never achieved
the unbroken sequence of wins delivered by JK.
Ted Wallbutton |
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