KARACHI, 18 April 2008 — Former Pakistan champion Carla Khan has decided to retire from international squash just four years after reaching a career-high No. 21 apparently because of lack of support from the country of her ancestors. Carla, 26, switched her allegiance to Pakistan after representing England at the world junior level amidst a lot of hype in 2002 but was left out in the cold by the national squash authorities even as the granddaughter of former Pakistani squash legend Azam Khan was down with a career-threatening back injury she sustained during the South Asian Games in Colombo in 2006 while representing Pakistan in the biennial spectacle. “I have made a decision to retire from the professional squash world even though I could continue my career but I have decided to bow out now. You are the first person in Pakistan to know,” Carla wrote to this correspondent in an email message.
Carla, who showed a lot of promise as a youngster and reached No. 21 in the world rankings in the spring of 2004, made a brave effort last winter after recovering from her back injury to resume her international career in spite of a negative advice from her doctor.
She leapfrogged in the international rankings after winning the Iran Open crown in Tehran last November and later claiming the Austrian Open title this January. Carla also reached the final of the Swedish Open in February and it seemed that she was destined to climb back in the top-25 world rankings.
Carla regained her place in the top-50 after doing well in Austria and Sweden and was placed at No. 49 when she decided to quit the sport.
“I’ve informed WISPA about my decision,” she wrote referring to the Women’s Squash Players Association.
Carla refrained from giving any specific reason for her decision to quit, but it seems that she was forced to give up after failing to receive any support from Pakistan’s sports authorities.
The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) and other sports bodies of the country showed no interest in helping Carla, who had a potential of becoming a top class player.
Carla’s was quite a different story a few years back.
The London-born girl became a role model for sportswomen in Pakistan when she took the fast track to squash glory by winning Pakistan’s first ever international squash tournament in the fall of 2005.
By the end of the Wispa POF Wah Open in Wah Cantt, squash fans had a snapshot of Carla’s potential. She got her game together at the Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in Wah, slashing through the draw quite comfortably to bag the crown.
Her performance was enough to force Pakistan Sports Board officials to take notice and Carla was soon commissioned to represent Pakistan in the national squash team for the 4th Women’s Islamic Games held in Tehran late September. Carla was the favourite to win the gold there but was surprisingly beaten in the final by Malaysia’s Tricia Chuah.
The high point of her Pakistan career was winning the POF Wah title while the lowest point came in the summer of 2002 when she was stopped from representing her new country in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
