- Mohibullah "Mo" Khan
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- For information on the other Pakistani squash player also named Mohibullah Khan, click on the following link: Mohibullah Khan
Mohibullah Khan, often referred to by the nickname "Mo Khan", was a squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the 1960s. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open in 1963.
Mo was the nephew of the two most dominant Pakistani squash players of the 1950s – the brothers Hashim Khan and Azam Khan.
Mo finished runner-up at the British Open to his uncle Azam in 1959, 1961 and 1962. (The British Open was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time.) He then won the British Open in 1963 in dramatic fashion. In the final against A.A. AbouTaleb of Egypt, he saved multiple match-points from 8-1 down in the fourth game as he came back to win in five games 9-4, 5-9, 3-9, 10-8, 9-6.
Mo also won the North American Open four times (in 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1968), and the US Professional Championships five consecutive times (from 1965-1969).
In the mid-1960s, Mo secured the backing of United States President John F. Kennedy to move to the US and take up a position as a squash professional at the Harvard Club in Boston. He held this role for the rest of his life.
Another Pakistani squash player who was also named Mohibullah Khan emerged as one of the leading players in the game in the 1970s (see: Mohibullah Khan). To distinguish the pair, Mo is somethimes referred to as Mohibullah Khan "the elder" or Mohibullah Khan "senior". (The pair are not known to be directly related, but their families originate from the same village in the Peshawar region of northern Pakistan, so it is possible that they are distantly related.)
Mo died in 1995 when he suddenly collapsed after giving a squash lesson at the Harvard Club.
British Open final appearances
Wins (1) Year Opponent in final Score in final 1963 A.A. AbouTaleb 9-4, 5-9, 3-9, 10-8, 9-6 Runner-ups (3) Year Opponent in final Score in final 1959 Azam Khan 9-5, 9-0, 9-1 1961 Azam Khan 6-9, 9-1, 9-4, 0-9, 9-2 1962 Azam Khan 9-6, 7-9, 10-8, 2-9, 9-4 External links
List of British Open Men's Singles Champions (1930) Charles Read · (1931–1932) Don Butcher · (1933–1938) F. D. Amr Bey · (1939) Jim Dear · (1947–1950) Mahmoud Karim · (1951–1956) Hashim Khan · (1957) Roshan Khan · (1958) Hashim Khan · (1959–1962) Azam Khan · (1963) Mo Khan · (1964–1966) A.A. AbouTaleb · (1967–1968) Jonah Barrington · (1969) Geoff Hunt · (1970–1973) Jonah Barrington · (1974) Geoff Hunt · (1975) Qamar Zaman · (1976–1981) Geoff Hunt · (1982–1991) Jahangir Khan · (1992–1997) Jansher Khan · (1998) Peter Nicol · (1999) Jonathan Power · (2000) David Evans · (2001) David Palmer · (2002) Peter Nicol · (2003–2004) David Palmer · (2005) Anthony Ricketts · (2006) Nick Matthew · (2007) Grégory Gaultier · (2008) David Palmer · (2009) Nick MatthewCategories:- Pashtun people
- Pakistani squash players
- Pakistani emigrants to the United States
- 1995 deaths
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