THIS is with reference to Pakistan's dismal performance in the recently-concluded World Open in Manchester, reported in Dawn.

The failing fortunes of Pakistan's squash effort to produce a world champion in the post-Jahangir-Jansher period has proved beyond any shadow of doubt that the champion-producing process in Pakistan is entirely genetic and self-driven, with a lot of help from the Pakistan Air Force, and not systemic.

Enormous and very precious and scarce resources have been deployed over the last 15 years in the grooming of a world champion to fill the void.

This has been at the cost and expense of the broad-basing of the game through a nationwide court construction programme, particularly in the school and college systems of the country.

Such a programme would have tremendously broadened the catchment area for player recruitment into the higher echelons of the world's squash ranking. It would also have constituted a befitting tribute to the memory of the past squash greats of Pakistan upon whose laurels we have basked in style.

Instead of taking the game to the grassroots we have squandered our time, effort and money on the building of lavish 'international specification' squash palaces that lie empty throughout the year, coming alive once in a long while to host a squash extravaganza that Pakistan can ill afford.

The refusal of top-ranked players to travel to Islamabad for the Pakistan Open in November this year due to security concerns, despite the $100,000 prize money on offer, has added insult to injury.

The irony that has escaped most people's notice is that our leading squash world champion of yore, Jahangir Khan, who has led the worldwide squash promotion effort for some time as the president of the World Squash Federation, has paid little heed to the game's promotion within his own home constituency. The hype surrounding squash's inclusion in the Olympic Games has lacked legitimacy.

There are no more than a few hundred squash players nationwide in Pakistan, and the primary criterion for any sport's inclusion in the Olympics is the extent of its amateur following.

Before Jahangir can effectively promote squash in the four corners of the globe, he needs to first dedicate his time and energies to promoting it in Pakistan.

ADIL AHMAD Karachi