Same year, when Jahangir beat Geoff Hunt in World Open 7-9, 9-1, 9-2, 9-2, Geoff Hunt remarked," Now I know what I was doing to others.." That was the start of 6 World Open and 10 consecutive British, 555 non stop wins. Hats Off to the athelete of the century.............. Mumbai
amazing amazing video really great work thanks alot for that golden upload that was a amazing squash days how hard it is to even think to play with these wood rackets and how they good are with it really amazing
The rally at 49:45 - 50:00 that ends in a let - absolutely brutal on both players - particularly Hunt - at that stage of the game. My guts were hurting just watching it.
It's like a game of long ball. Not a single boast or drop shop in the first few rallies. Good length and cross courts but that's it. Wondering if the older wooden frames had some impact on the style of play?
Does anyone have any footage of 'Abdelfettah Abou Taleb' British Open Champion in 1964, 1965, 1966 and runner up in 1963, 1967. Would be much appreciated, thank you
Make allowances for the much bouncier single yellow dot ball. The modern players have a massive advantage playing shots with a real maggot-dead double yellow dot. The modern ball gives much better value going for shots and it changes the psychology of the game completely. The modern players trying to put away the single yellow dot ball would struggle. Both Hunt and Jahangir hit really great nicks even with this damned bouncy single yellow dot. Some of the 1970s and early 80s players, like Jahangir, Qamar Zaman, Jansher Khan, Ken Hiscoe, Cam Nancarrow ... they would smoke the double-yellow dot - floor-skidding nicks all night. Cam Nancarrow used to sometimes train on cold nights with a red dot, and still hit maggot-flat nicks. Not knocking the skill of the modern players - they are jaw-dropping ... But the change in the ball is massive. The double-yellow brought a lot of spectacular shot-making into the game and gave players real value for going for more nicks.
No, afraid not. many memories but no videos of guernsey players. Have a a short video of the 1989 world championship team event but not very interesting
JK would just out wait Ramy. What he would do his just keep the rally going until he would see his opening. Todays players just shoot without a care in the world while jk would be happy to keep playing the long waiting game. Pall Coll has started to play like that now. He only shoots now when he has the perfect opening. JK would do just fine with todays game. With his skills it would be so easy for him to shoot with todays rackets.
@@brendanflanagan7392 Yes, and to establish a benchmark you'd make an apples-to-apples call. Comparing players not in the same league is misleading, let alone comparing across sports. By the way, my brother hasn't beaten me in 20 yrs either. Pretty good streak if you ask me.
The court movement of both players is so smooth, effortless. It's a shame squash is a game you have to play to appreciate what exceptional athletes these two are. As an American, I know most of my sports loving friends who don't play squash would see this match as boring. Of course it's difficult to appreciate the racquet skills if you haven't played, but these two move so easily the uninitiated would profoundly underestimate the endurance required.
Great upload, thanks for posting. Geoff Hunt's movement is terrific, he seems to stroll round the court. As for the debate about these guys and the modern era, that's a tough one to call. It's a bit like asking if George Best was as good as Ronaldo. I do think the game is more attacking these days and less attritional but I'm sure the older generation would have adapted their game, they've got the same racquet skills and if anything, these two hour slogs on British scoring would make them fitter
And there's a massive difference in the ball. The single yellow dot that is used here is so much more bouncy, so the rallies are brutally long and you get less value going for nicks. It makes a huge difference with length as well. The deader modern double yellow is constantly dying in the back so openings come more often as players are digging the ball out under more pressure more often than with the single yellow dot, which bounces off the back wall more and allows for an easier drive. So the 1970s-early 80s game is very different to the game since they changed the ball and changed the scoring. The modern point-every-rally scoring really changes the psychology of the game. The chance to win a point with a winner using a deader ball is a great incentive to play your shots more than holding on in the rally to win the hand out back, against the serve, where any error concedes a point to your opponent.
I used to put Barrington at 4 but I rate Ramy highly so I would put him above Barrington, as I think Barrington (although exceptionally fit) would not be quick enough for Ramy. The top 3 were quick fit and too accurate for Ramy so would give him nothing for his winners.
absolute gem of footage . Thank you . Those rackets were 250 -300gms ? and 70% smaller . 3-4 years after this footage Jahangir switch to graphite of 200-220gm and you can see he was very modern and became the most domineering squash player ever. Ashour may be among most skillful perhaps and my fav. today but may be abt same genius class as Jahangir , Jansher , Hunt . Ashour however a lot less domineering much due to injuries.
John Thompson : yes, should have reference as most domineering men players instead . Well aware of Heather McKay on paper's records but honestly don't think the competitions was equally intense in the 60s & 70's for ladies vs the 80 & 90's of men. Heather McKay indeed had incredible records ( undefeated for 19 years and 16 British Open ) and also represented Aust on field hockey ! Have seen some you-tubes of Heather master's game in early 90s. She still incredibly strong at those age.
Sorry, I meant Jahangir Khan gave more of a fight to Jansher than the modern players did. They finished almost equal in there matchups. So I believe it's fair to say that older players could have competed today. They would have to change there game as Jansher Khan had to change his game and he was succesfull in doing so
Jahangir Khan has to be the supreme athlete in recorded history, or any sort of non-documented recall. Comparisons can be made to other sportsmen like Babe Ruth, Rocky Marciano, Bill Shoemaker, Wayne Gretzky -- perhaps Ruth (who still holds pitching and hitting records to this day) comes closest. Comparisons to other "racket sport' stars (i.e., Federer, or Rod Laver) only emphasize the gap -- as great as some of the tennis player's records are, none went on a winning streak of such duration or breadth (Jahangir played both soft and hard-ball versions of this game). In fact, most tennis greats are notable for the ephemeral nature of their reigns. Rod Laver may be excepted in this regard, given the massive gap between his two calendar year Grand Slams. Nonetheless, Jahangir Khan's utter suzerainty of the squash world is non-pareil. This man sat astride the sport like a Colossus.
Courts are a different size, points are won every rally, and the tin is lower now. All facilitating shorter more fast paced games. Watch a new game with any of the younger players that play riskier shots and it looks like a different sports entirely.
In my opinion, squash was a bit boring to watch back then (when I was active myself). Very focussed on safety, little risk. That has changed today. The players play much more to win points directly.
I guess it's the same pattern you see across basically all sports, where defensive techniques evolve, and then rules often have to be adjusted to redress the balance of power. In the case of squash, clearly the fitness and speed of the players increased (certainly overall, even if the top couple would be similar). Also the changes to equipment to allow lighter, more powerful racquets changed the game dramatically. Once you include both of those factors, you get into the world they did where they changed the height of the tin, and used slower balls etc.
@@MelHarbour With tennis, it's the other way round. It used to be more interesting back then when, for example, a serve and volley player like Sampras met a groundstroke specialist like Agassi. Today, all the top players play a similar game, mainly with a lot of power from the baseline.
I suspect that anyone who believes that Hunt or Jahangir couldn't compete with modern day players have never seen them. I refereed the BO final between these 2 in 1981: been watching international squash since 1972 and I would say that Hunt, Jahangir and Jansher are the 3 greatest players of all time.
Its so hard to compare but if you put peak Hunt against peak Mo Shorbagy, it would be hard to get any points for Hunt. But if any modern top player would try to play with those old wooden raquets and with that hyper bouncing ball, that would be hard, too. Skillwise nowadays top playesr are for sure on a totally different level.
How bouncy is this ball compared to the maggot they play with these days (the double yellow). Things that really surprised me about this ... 1. How often Hunt played off the wrong foot on the backhand. 2. How close Hunt gets to the ball on the forehand, particularly in the back corner. 3. Huntie playing reverse boasts - like wha????? I remember back in the day talking about how brutal this game was - particularly on Geoff. Apparently, he pissed blood for days after this. I remember reading that he was getting desperate in the 4th and went for a backhand overhead nick winner off Jahangir's serve. He hit it flush and said later if he hadn't got that shot and won the handout to give himself a mental lift, he thought he was spent. But that nick was enough to give him the mental shot he needed to steel himself for a final push to the win. This will forever be THE classic British Open final.
Amazing footage. Jahanghir and Jansher would demolish any modern player. Some idiot commented the amount of cross court shots. These are wooden rackets. Many of these shots would be in the nick with modern tennis like rackets. Also it easier to dig out without boasting with modern rackets. The old scoring system reminds me of 15 round boxing fights. This ball is like a bouncy ball as it is weighted differently
I would love to see todays pros at least try the old raquets out in a practice video just to see if they could pull off the same tricks that they can do today. If people really want to compare the skill level then have them try the old raquets.
Mel Harbour Had some great sessions led by Reg with the Guernsey squad in the late 70’s early 80’s after picking my share of tomatoes in the early mornings!
But the level of squash has increased... look at the attacking drop shots now, in early days of squash they played drop shots on rare occasions. The game has become more and more aggressive and picked up speed!
I guess you have very limited knowledge of the sport. The racket head size was way smaller, much heavier rackets and it was an effort to crouch low with those tight bottoms for drop shots. I doubt if any of the current era players would be closer to the players of that era.
Josh, you have obviously never played squash then. I played professionally in that era and coach top world players now. The older players could hold their own with the new guys. Hunt could probably beat them all if he was at his prime now.
Well before. Years before. But remember theyre using wooden rackets, the ball is just super hot from the huge length rallies. The english ball was considered to be slower and spongier than the Australian, which I personally can confirm.
Definitely in the single yellow dot era. Also - different makes of ball were very different. The CSG ball (Consolidated Sporting Goods) was slower, bounced flatter and I found much more controllable. The Slazenger ball was faster, skidded more, got shinier quicker, and didn't want to stay in the nick when you hit it there. So, a lot of adjustment needed just to accommodate the ball. Different temperature and even latitude really acted on the ball very differently too. Playing in Sydney or Brisbane with the single-yellow dot was very different to playing in Hobart or New Zealand. I would imagine playing in Britain with a Slazenger ball would be very different to playing in Sydney with a CSG ball. Then of course, the American ball was totally different again. It was like playing with a super-ball by comparison. Americans back then, played squash on a racquetball court, which was longer, so they used a faster ball to compensate for the extra length in the court. I think i prefer playing the old game, but prefer watching the new game.
Hi Mel -Ii will most certainly have met him but can't recall, as I knew John Le Lievre, Lisa Opie & Martine Le Moignan, and your dad probably coached all of them at some time or another .Guernsey was a bit of a centre of excellence at the time, probably in no small part to your Dad.
what would you say are the differences in Squash between 1981 and 2013 are like ? Are the players more "complete" or did the game become even "faster" than in the older days ? I just started to fancy watching squash games online but had played myself 35 years ago but later lost contact to it and focussed on job etc. Will appreciate to receive comment(s).
These discussions go on in every sport and I believe that the best athletes of one era can be as good as the best athletes of another. In squash there is a easy way to prove this: Jansher Khan. He played the slower game of wooden raquets and also the modern game with light racquets and the lower tin. Contemporary players that have played with him (as P.Nicol) say that he was the best of all time. I don't know who the best player of all time but J.Khan with his wooden racket gave more...
I played with a wooden racquet from the 60's the other day (220 cm^2 head size) . Thought I would be mishitting it all the time but its really not that bad. Just heavier and doesnt have quite as much power as today's racquets. Of course the 50 year old strings broke after a few games and the restringing guys said it is too small for their machine. Those PT shorts look ridiculous!
I'm with you on that. GH and JK are two of my idols. I used to play with those racquets in the 70s and 80s. Lower tin in PSA today is largely responsible for increased front court play, also the lighter racquets, which enable players to take the ball earlier. Larger heads have enabled big improvements in accuracy (and power of course).
competition than Nicol, J.Power, Lincou etc. Hisham Ashour said that Jansher Khan was the best player in history. His brother and him represent the modern attacking game of today.
Do you know how the racquets, apart from other equipments, have changed as well? It is really wrong to compare skill level of a modern player with what they did in this game.
nice to see this old video...been wanting to see this match since i was a young squash player....would you have any other old british open matches ....say hunt vs jonah barrington....would be interesting best regards and thanks again
imagine those strokes played on wooden rackets and ball control unbelievable ,those are days when squash as physical as boxing , thanks PSA for screwing up squash by changing score and bringing squash on table tennis level
JK would just out wait everyone in todays game. What he would do his just keep the rally going until he would see his opening. Todays players just shoot without a care in the wrold while jk would be happy to keep playing the long waiting game. Pall Coll has started to play like that now. He only shoots now when he has the perfect opening. JK would do just fine with todays game. With his skills it would be so easy for him to shoot with todays rackets.
Sorry but if you can watch this and then watch a clip of ramy playing gaultier and claim that either of these players could compete at today's level you must be in a dream world. The pace of this game is about on par with today's u-13 girls
You have never played with a tiny wooden racket weighing 3 x todays graphite large surface rackets, have you? See you JK played latercwith more modern technology. Nobody hit the ball harder. Perfect swing learnt from old racket.
Thanks for uploading. Fantastic to see the stars of yesteryear - especially Geoff Hunt. Very rare to see videos of him playing. There's a bit more of Jahangir's videos around, though nice to see him in his early days.
I don't actually believe he would lose to a 12 yr old girl. The point of is that the level of top level squash has increased enormously from these days. Players are faster, hit the hall harder , take it earlier and are playing much more offensively. As mighty as jahangir , his 555 matches unbeaten run although to this day the most incredible record in sports, was done with the 9 point international scoring. With today's 11 point scoring such an achievement would be highly improbable....
I played Hunt in a couple of exhibitions a few years later. I was also in a few tournaments in the early 80’s where Janhagir played. I was at the World Open at the Columbus Centre in Toronto where Jehangir beat Hunt. I just recently took up the game again after a 22 year hiatus. Mostly due to injuries and raising a family. The big takeaway is the ball. I did play with a graphite racquet but today’s racquets are more durable and better balanced. Strategically, I used to base my game on Hunt’s. Today however, it’s all about attacking. Which I love. I cannot tell you the number of times where I played today waiting for the ball off the back wall. Plus, I love going for nicks. I remember a game taking 45 minutes. Today a match probably averages 45 minutes or less. And then there’s the scoring. So many changes. It’s all good.
KEEP IN MIND THE TOOLS[RAQUET],BODILY EXTENTIONALITIES [SHOES], SLOWER[LESS ELASTIC COLLISION] BALL WILL DETERMINE BEHAVIOR. I ALSO FEEL THE ONLY SERVER SCORES POINT SYSTEM SHOULD STILL BE USED[MABY TO 5 INSTEAD 9] AS TENNIS FANS RIGHTFULLY CRITIQUE THE CURRENT SQUASH SCORING.
