Ahsan Ayaz dreams of becoming the number one player in international squash. To accomplish that goal, he works his heart out every day.

It all started when he was a 10-year-old child and visited a squash court for the first time with his elder brother who used to play the game as a hobby. He fell in love with the sport at that very moment, picked up a racquet and soon started conquering courts all around the country.

The youngest of four siblings and a bright student, Ayaz was told by his teachers not to ride two boats at the same time or else he would drown. But his father, who is an Air Force officer, always encouraged him to pursue his dream. So with his family’s support and sheer hard work, Ayaz went on to win the national championships at all age levels from Under-11 to U-19, remaining the national champion for an astounding 25 times and winning a number of international junior titles, including the World Junior Team Championship in 2016.

Ahsan Ayaz is Pakistan’s junior squash champion. He also won the coveted World Junior Team Championship in 2016. Yet few have heard of his name. He tells Eos why

“My family, especially my parents, supported me all the way. My school’s principal was also very cooperative. Knowing that I am an international athlete representing Pakistan, he allowed me to participate in tournaments and camps despite strict school attendance rules,” says Ayaz.

Squash is an expensive sport. The racquet alone used in the game costs around Rs15,000 and the shoes almost Rs10,000. This is not considering access to proper squash courts which usually come with club memberships.

In 2014, at the young age of 16, Ayaz joined the men’s category and this was where he felt the difference between Pakistani squash players and their international counterparts. In order to improve their world ranking, players have to compete in different tournaments taking place in different parts of the world and for which they need financial assistance because the tournaments do not offer accommodation and other facilities. Ayaz’s father single-handedly sponsored his 22 trips to participate in tournaments –– a single tour costs more than half a million rupees, including the traveling, accommodation and training expenses. By virtue of fine performances at a number of events, Ayaz reached his career-high ranking of 87.

There was a time when the world of squash was completely dominated by the Khans from Pakistan — the Hashims, the Jahangirs and the Janshers. But, as seen in other sports in the country, this game also took a dip and has not recovered yet. Ayaz thinks there are a few factors responsible for this, and one of them happens to be the non-availability of infrastructure. There are not enough facilities for athletes and the recent Sindh Games were an example of it.

“We felt how vulnerable this situation was during the last Sindh Games, where high jumpers were falling on the ground. It was just a sorry state of affairs. You cannot expect your athletes to perform well at the international stage with the given facilities. We have completely overlooked athletics, which is the mother of all sports. You cannot have good players in any sport unless you focus on that,” he says.

Pakistan had a golden period in sports during the late 1980s and early ’90s. Afterwards, all the glory just faded away as sports became more sophisticated and scientific around the globe, Pakistan’s sportsmen started losing the plot.

“One of the many problems regarding sports in our country is the lack of education. Our players do not understand the kinetics, the mechanisms of it. We just do what we are taught without knowing why we are doing it. Our coaches are not actually coaches, they are feeders, they keep teaching using traditional methods and there is hardly any development in this area in Pakistan,” he argues.

Like many other sportsmen of the country, Ayaz also complains that cricket steals all the limelight. “The kids here do not watch squash on TV. All they get to watch is cricket or football. How can you promote the game with this kind of an approach? Squash was once played in a handful of countries, now almost the entire world is involved in it. It has become a global sport, but we choose to ignore it.

Ayaz has been the top-ranked squash player of Pakistan. He has won multiple titles for his country, and yet he depends on his father for financial support. He has not earned a penny through squash.

“The media’s support is needed badly in the grooming stage of players. When they become stars, sponsors approach them, so the promotion that comes afterwards is almost needless,” he reasons.

The difference between the sporting culture of Pakistan and that of other countries is that here sponsors search for champions and look to turn them into heroes, whereas in other countries they look for undiscovered heroes to mould them into champions.

Also, in our country, a number of talented athletes leave their passion to pursue other careers to earn a living. Ayaz has been the top-ranked squash player of Pakistan. He has won multiple titles for his country, and yet he depends on his father for financial support. He has not earned a penny through squash. “Not everyone is as privileged as I am. My father can bear my burden but I have seen players quitting the game for the sake of earning a livelihood for their families.”

The young man does not only wish to bring glory to Pakistan, he also wants to groom the kind of players for the country who can hold the green flag high in the international arena. To serve the purpose, he has founded the Ahsan Ayaz Squash (or AAS) Foundation through which he aims to give opportunities to all the deserving sportsmen of the country, by providing them with financial support, sports equipment and imparting them relevant education.

“I have seen so much talent being wasted in squash. One can only imagine how much talent must be getting wasted in other sports in the country. I have seen a bunch of players who started playing with me and were extremely talented, but they switched careers in order to make some money. Had they been playing today, they would have featured in world rankings,” he says.

Another saddening thing is that due to the lack of financial benefits in squash, many players tend to take early retirements to get settled in other countries and enter the field of coaching. Amir Atlas is an example. He was considered to be one of the best in the sport but he hung up his boots when he was just 28 years old and started coaching in the US.

“Amir Atlas, the former world No. 14 left the sport and went to the US just for the sake of a better future. He eventually took this step knowing he would not be able to earn enough through this sport to support his family. Many other players from my senior batch also quit squash just to make their future better,” he says.

Given the condition of squash in Pakistan, Ayaz too sometimes thinks of giving it all up, but it is his passion and love for the game that keeps him going. “We train for five to six hours daily. Only God knows how difficult it is to train for so many hours regularly. I have not received anything from the government, federations or sports boards. Even when I won the World Junior Team Championship with my team, we were not rewarded at all, which was heartbreaking,” he laments.

But he still dreams of being among the best in the world of squash and eventually get to the No. 1 position. Despite all the problems, he wants youngsters to follow their dreams, play the sport they want to and not just restrict themselves to academic education (though education is important, he admits). He urges parents to allow their children to pursue their passion. “I know it gets tough to play a sport professionally alongside their studies, but if I can do it, so can they,” he says. “It is just about dedication and sincerity towards one’s goals.”

The writer tweets @Arslanshkh

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 29th, 2018