Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu assured all-out support to World Junior Squash champion Hamza Khan for his future endeavours.
The Air Chief met young squash sensation in Islamabad today after he returned from Australia with the junior title.
"The nation is proud of Hamza Khan who brought laurels to the country by winning the World Championship after 36 years. Such players are an asset for the country and a beacon for other youngsters to emulate,
"We have introduced a systematic profiling process of young talent which would go a long way in professional grooming of our squash players through assessment of their physical and technical skills, as well as their mental and emotional attributes," he said.
Hamza beat Egypt's Mohamed Zakaria in the final with a scoreline of 10-12, 14-12, 11-3 and 11-6 to hand the junior title to Pakistan after 37 years. Hamza's victory was celebrated countrywide. On his return, he received heroic welcome at the airport.
Sidhu, who is also the President of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), also lauded coaching staff for preparing the young gun for the world event.
"Pakistan Air Force would continue to take revolutionary steps for the promotion of Squash in the country. I would like to appreciate coaching staff here for their hard work," he said.
He also appreciated the efforts of PSF in making concerted efforts for bringing back the lost glory in the game of Squash and hoped that Pakistan, with the sheer hard work and sincere efforts of its players like Hamza, would once again rule the world of Squash.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.