# Sharif Khan
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{{short description|Pakistani-Canadian squash player}}
{{Infobox squash player
| name = Sharif Khan
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| full_name =
| nickname = "The Sheriff"
| country = Canada
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1945}}
| birth_place = Pakistan
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's [squash](/source/squash_(sport)) }}
{{MedalCountry | {{PAK}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [North American Open](/source/North_American_Open) }}
{{MedalSilver | 1968 Indianapolis | }}
{{MedalGold | 1969 Cincinnati | }}
{{MedalGold | 1970 Chicago | }}
{{MedalGold | 1971 Toronto | }}
{{MedalGold | 1972 Louisville | }}
{{MedalGold | 1973 Pittsburgh | }}
{{MedalGold | 1974 Toronto | }}
{{MedalSilver | 1975 Mexico City | }}
{{MedalGold | 1976 New York | }}
{{MedalGold | 1977 Philadelphia | }}
{{MedalGold | 1978 Toronto | }}
{{MedalGold | 1979 New York | }}
{{MedalGold | 1980 Salt Lake City | }}
{{MedalGold | 1981 Toronto | }}
{{MedalSilver | 1982 Cleveland | }}
}}
'''Sharif Khan''' (born 1945) is a [Pakistani-Canadian](/source/Pakistani_Canadians) retired professional [squash](/source/squash_(sport)) player. He is widely considered to be one of the all-time great players of [hardball squash](/source/hardball_squash) (a [North America](/source/North_America)n variant of squash played with a faster-moving ball and on slightly smaller courts than the international "softball" squash game). He was the dominant player on the hardball squash circuit throughout the 1970s. Sharif was born in [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan), and is the son of the legendary[{{Cite web |last=Burton |first=Amaar |date=2014-08-23 |title=Squash legend Hashim Khan: A century of excellence |url=https://ummahsport.com/2014/08/23/squash-legend-hashim-khan-a-century-of-excellence/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Ummah Sport |language=en}}][{{Cite web |date=2019-10-25 |title=Hashim Khan {{!}} US Squash |url=https://ussquash.org/2019/10/hashim-khan/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |language=en-US}}] squash player [Hashim Khan](/source/Hashim_Khan), who dominated the international squash scene in the 1950s.[{{Cite web |date=2014-08-19 |title=Hashim Khan: RIP |url=https://www.worldsquash.org/hashim-khan-rip/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=World Squash |language=en-GB}}]
== Biography ==
Sharif is the eldest of Hashim Khan's 12 children, and a member of the [Khan squash family](/source/Khan_squash_family). At the age of 11, he was awarded a squash scholarship at [Millfield School](/source/Millfield) in [Somerset](/source/Somerset), [England](/source/England). Despite having almost no knowledge of the English language when he arrived, he performed well academically and also developed into an outstanding squash player who, by 1962, had won every public school title open to him including the public schools under-15 championship (three times), the public schools under-16 championship, the Evans Cup, and the Drysdale Cup (considered at the time to be the unofficial world junior championship). At the age of 13 he also captured the Somerset County Men's A title. In the two years after he left Millfield, Sharif won the West of England title, the East of England title, the Surrey Open and the Scottish Amateur title. In 1970, he reached the semi-finals of the [British Open](/source/British_Open_Squash_Championships) (which was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time).
Khan's greatest achievements came on the North American hardball squash circuit. He settled in [Canada](/source/Canada) in 1968, and came to dominate the professional hardball squash circuit for well over a decade. He captured every major North American hardball title, and won the [North American Open](/source/United_States_Open_(squash)) (the most prestigious hardball title at the time) a record 12 times in 13 years between 1969 and 1981 (he reached the final 15 consecutive times between 1968 and 1982). He also won the [US Professional Championships](/source/Tournament_of_Champions_(squash)) nine times in ten years between 1970 and 1979.
In winning his final North American open title in 1981, Sharif beat his younger brother [Aziz Khan](/source/Aziz_Khan_(squash_player)) in the final. Three other brothers, Gulmast, Liaqat Ali ("Charlie"), and Salim ("Sam"), also competed in top-level hardball squash.
In 2004, Khan became the first non-US citizen to be inducted into the [United States Squash Racquets Association](/source/U.S._Squash) Hall of Fame.
On September 24, 2015, Khan was inducted into the [Ontario Sports Hall of Fame](/source/Ontario_Sports_Hall_of_Fame) in [Toronto](/source/Toronto).[{{Cite web |url=http://oshof.ca/index.php/component/k2/item/212-sharif-khan |title=Sharif Khan |website=oshof.ca |publisher=[Ontario Sports Hall of Fame](/source/Ontario_Sports_Hall_of_Fame) |access-date=April 7, 2016 |archive-date=April 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418171541/https://oshof.ca/index.php/component/k2/item/212-sharif-khan |url-status=dead}}]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412082448/http://www.squashtalk.com/pakistan/khanstory2.htm |title=The Incredible Khans of Squash: Part II }}
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220155422/http://squashtalk.com/pakistan/diner_khan3.htm |title=The Khan Family, A Squash Dynasty Part III }}
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509110549/http://www.squashtalk.com/html/columns/diner-2001-6a.htm |title=Great North American Squash Rivalries }}
* [http://www.pakpositive.com/2004/10/21/sharif-khan-becomes-first-non-american-to-enter-us-squash-hall-of-fame/ Article on Sharif Khan's induction into the USSRA Hall of Fame]
* {{Squash Info}}
{{World Series squash men's champions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sharif}}
Category:1945 births
Category:Living people
Category:Pakistani male squash players
Category:Pakistani emigrants to Canada
Category:Canadian sportspeople of Pakistani descent
Category:Khan family (squash)
Category:People educated at Millfield
Category:20th-century Pakistani sportsmen
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sharif Khan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharif_Khan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharif_Khan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.