Azam Khan

Azam Khan (Pashto: اعظم خان) is a former squash player from Nawakille Peshawar Pakistan who won the British Open four times between 1959 and 1962.

Azam was introduced to squash by his older brother, Hashim Khan, who was also one of the world's top squash players in his time. After winning the British Open in 1951, Hashim recruited Azam as his practice partner in the summer of 1952. (The British Open was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time.) Azam progressed so quickly under his older brother's tutelage that he would go on to face Hashim in the final of the 1954 British Open, which Hashim won in five sets. Azam was also runner-up to Hashim at the British Open in 1955 and 1958. Azam then went on to win four consecutive British Open titles in 1959-62. He also won the US Open in 1962. Later that year, a ruptured Achilles tendon effectively ended his career.

After his playing career, Azam settled in the United Kingdom. But he migrated to England only because; even after winning the British Open cum World Championship; he could not manage a job of more than Rs. 60/- per month in his homeland Pakistan. Today, he owns and runs the New Grampians Squash Club in London. His granddaughter Carla Khan is currently a professional squash player on the international circuit.

Jonah Barrington, the six times British Open Champion, writes in his book, "Murder in Squash court",that in 1967, a fortnight before the start of British Open, his coach Naz (Nasrullah Khan) took him to his club and requested him for a match/practice session. Wherein, he scored only one point in three games. Totally shaken he requested him for another session but the next day too he could not improve on it and once again scored only one point against Azam. Only three weeks later, he writes that he won the first of his Six British Open titles. And mind you Azam was then 48 years old and had left professional squash in 1962.

In his article for international "Squash Player Magazine" Ejaz Choudhry that "he was a great player in his own right, but for two reasons, respect for his elder brother and the loss of his on coupled with the fear of injury Azam might have been the greatest squash player of all times. Perhaps he was, In a recent book "Trading Secrets" he does admit that the first time he beat his brother was with his permission, in line with the respect of the family elders, ingrained in Pushtoon culture.}}</ref>

Azam was the second cousin of the two other leading Pakistani players of his time Roshan Khan and Nasrullah Khan, whose sons Rehmat Khan, Torsam Khan and Jahangir Khan are also squash players. He is the uncle of Sharif Khan and Aziz.