Jansher would still destroy every guy on tour today with the exception of Ramy Ashour. Ramy is the only guy I've ever seen who has the speed of Jansher and both have spectacular racket skills. If Ramy stays healthy, I see him dominating the sport for years and being mentioned in the same breath as Jansher and Jahangir but that's a big if. The kid is constantly injured, his Achilles heel.
this level of squash where more docus was on ball control and fitness can never be achieved or matched in modern era squash , rodney martin was greatest stroker of his times and even the most feared opponent for jansher khan , i hope that level of squash needs to be brought back to current era
I like the old fashion rackets better. With the new rackets, hitting the ball is much easier and this allows more volley playing and less skill with the racket. I love how Rodney played for the nick.
Though I'm not certain as to the exact numbers, Jansher's record vs. Peter Nicol and Jonathan Power was absolutely dominant. In fact, until Peter finally broke through in the WO final in 1998, Jansher absolutely owned him. Jansher had the ability to adapt his game to changing times. To the higher tin, to the PAR 15 scoring system, to the more attacking game. He adapted and dominated all eras and to me, is tied with Jahangir for the greatest of all time title.
with these rackets, the sound of the ball in the wall is very different from that of today, even the tactic and the shots, look different. Very nice match
@Moneydmja Most pro players on the psa tour would probably tell you that Jansher is the best strategical player ever. On the point how good he was. His head-to-head record against JP was 9-2 and 12-3 against Nicol. JP and Nicol both had a head-to-head winning record over Shabana...
The last rally in particular was amazing. I haven't watched a lot of vids of these guys from way back, really impressive. I don't agree completely that the game today is more exciting and has more strategy, but there is a difference between these guys and the modern game that is hard to put your finger on. I wonder if the smaller racquet made a difference? Were the balls used back then the same composition as now? Maybe it's just the length of shorts and the mustache :-) Cheers for sharing.
@darknlooking baboo ji! Jahangir Khan remained unbeatable for 555 consecutive matches which is a world record among any sports of the world today besides winning British open ;the most prestigous title 10 times in a row.No wonder he was awarded "sportsman of the melinium" award for Pakistan.
@fLcGambit Do you seriously think any current player could challenge either of these players? I take you're point about different eras of any sport but this truly was the golden era of squash.
The pace is slightly slower than the top players of today because training today is much more tailored to the individual, all players these days have particular diets and recovery routines.. Nicol took endurance to new level and the evidence is that those levels have to be maintained to be in the top five on the tour today..
@widebody123 i completely agree this era of squash featured a top ten in which any one player couldve been number one and the consistent number 2 in chris ditmar who is arguably up there with jansher and jahangir talent wise. If it werent for jansher ditmar wouldve dominated, this is truly the best era of squash and this level of talent and the depth of the talent will be probably never be seen again
@Moneydmja These guys invented the modern game and especially Jansher can be taken as a prime example when he developed his style from the defensive play shown here to his more attacking style that saw him win the British Open umpteen times. He developed patterns that everyone else took up. He's the greatest ever. You can't be that dumb surely...
Which type of camerawork do people prefer? These days the TV camera is positioned further away (so you always see the entire court), and never moves. I think I prefer this old style, where you can see the players and shots more clearly. After all, how often do you really need to see the top 1/3 of the front wall.
@Moneydmja I think the way they play is not void of strategy. I think the rackets they had back then had a lot to do with what shots they felt were secure to play. Strategy was there even then
Jahangir IS the undisputed all-time best squash player just to put the record straight...no one has even got near 5 and half years totally unbeaten...love rodney's hot-pants in this vid...
@Moneydmja They are good. I think it is hard to compare squash from different era. For starters the racket is different! I think it is unfair to say that they are only just whacking the ball really hard. They do play strategically as well.
I don't think you can compare generations. As a budding player, I've realised how the NEWER elements such as taking the ball on the volley, the hold, hitting the neck etc. have changed Squash by a mile and give you a massive advantage even if you aren't physically fit. When the ball is allowed to go back to the back wall, players get in a rhythm with their movement and although it might long drawn out rallies it ins't as hard as when you movement is broken. Breaking away someone's movement patterns and making them stop and go, stop and go taxes the body more physically. (That's why people it's always said that when you are playing against someone who has excellent court coverage and fitter than you, you should HOLD you shots)That's also why hardly any top ranking squash player ( baring Darrel Selby) who incorporates long distance running in their training. I hardly seen Jansher, Jahangir or any of the old greats volley nearly as much any modern player. In the modern game, the following shots would have been jumped on and been easy straigh volley kills : 1:03 , 1:15, 1:19, 1:22(Would have been Nick Matthew's favorite shot), 1:24( Would have definitely been eaten up by someone like James or Ramy) etc In most of the rallies in the video, no one is really dominating the T and their T position is way behind as compared to some modem players ( Notice the T position especially on the serve, modern players usually stand on the opposite service box on the return)
See super series 1998 Jansher vs. Peter Nicol the greatest volley player and despite Jansher is not totally out of condition, how he gives him 15-4 and then 15-3. The old great players could kill the ball without any problem. See Jansher killing Tristen Nancaro's service when Tristen was acting up. I see no quality in so called modern squash. Like you have quoted a specific instances, I quote their entire games, Jansher and Jahangir would have killed their in accurate shorts in a second. Read James Willstrop's comment about Jahangir Khan-- he understand the game and admires him. I am watching squash since 70's. This so called modern squash existed in early 70's as well. Qamar Zaman was a much better ball killer of all time. He was a perfect drop short player and his every drop short went perfectly into nick. But this wasn't the only quality in their games. Today nicks appear to be the only quality of game. The new kids think that this is something new in the game never been player before. It was player before and player much better.
I'd have to say the players back then were better than today's simply because the top athletes from countries would play the game. Squash was a much more prestigious sport back then, there was more money in it (Jahangir became a millionaire) and top athletes from countries like the UK and Australia would play the sport. The same cannot be said of today's athletes where squash is not the first choice. Maybe Egypt is an exception but that's it. There's no money in game anymore.
@Davisfitnessblog To all my respect, Jansher is a superb squash player but I'll have to disagree with you. Given that there are many things have changed from equipment to strategies, from court improvements to scoring and reffing and much more. Every champion or legend is good at their days. It's hard to compare unless they are still playing PSA now. Thierry Lincou is a rare example. More so, if Jansher was still playing until now I'd like to see him play against Egyptians. Must be good.
Jahangir was more of hardwork and Jansher of talent though both worked hard. Jansher was the first player who beat Jahangir regularly after the latter's unbeaten run was ended. Jansher has better record in match against Jahangir despite the inclusion of some lost matches while he was teenager. Player of the millenium should have gone to Jansher....
@Moneydmja I'm sorry but you have no idea what you are talking about. The likes Jansher and Jahangir were absolutely amazing strategic players, no has ever been so dominant in the game as those two. The wooden rackets with a small head make it a lot harder to time the ball. Modern technology allows players today to play a more attacking style, squash was more about endurance during this period than the quick fire squash we have today. 'Not bad'... try absolute legends of game! Sorry for the rant
@thesquashphilosopher Everyone and anyone gets defeated one day or the other. But no one can beat jahangir's record of 555 consecutive wins. 553 3-0 1 3-1 and 1 3-2
@thesquashphilosopher Jonathan has beaten Jansher i know for sure.. Its funny how people put these guys on a pedistole. Today's best squash players are just as fit and just as skilled. People love to romanticize the past, i see it in every fucking sport people talk about. And who really cares about who would beat who in their prime? its about who has contributed to the growth of the game the most.
