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Latasha Khan wins Pan Am Gold
First-Round Matches, Quarters and Semis
By Rob Dinerman © 2003; all rights of reproduction reserved.
August 13, 2003 

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Top-seeded but matched against an opponent to whom she has lost
their last 10 meetings over the past several years, American national champion
Latasha Khan, the No. 22 ranked player on the WISPA women's world professional
circuit, defeated Canadian star Melanie Jans 9-2 9-5 3-9 9-6in the final round
of the individual portion of the 2003 Pan American Games.

In so doing, the 30-year-old Khan broke the gold-medal stranglehold the Canadians have held in both the team and individual events, defeated the defending champion, gave the United States its first-ever gold medal in Pan American Games squash competition and sent a forceful message to the defending champion Canadian women's squad of how tough the Americans will be to beat should these two teams, as expected, meet in a few days for the team gold medal.

Frustrated in the semi-final round four years ago at the last Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, Khan took command right from the start, displaying not only her well-known offensive arsenal but also a level of consistency that a beleaguered Jans was unable to match. Any psychological hangover from the 10 consecutive defeats, one of which occurred in the gold-medal team match in the Federation Cup in Ecuador last summer, was decisively banished as Khan maintained a confident and aggressive demeanor throughout while Jans, whose usual energy level may have been somewhat sapped by the five-game semi-final marathon she had endured one day earlier against second seed Samantha Teran, was mostly on the defensive.

She did take advantage of a rare Khan lapse to take the third game, sparking some hopes in the Canadian camp of a comeback victory, but Khan regained the initiative early in the fourth and closed it out with a flourish.

This same theme of redemption and revenge also characterized the men's gold-medal match, an all-Toronto affair in which another Canadian defending champion, in this case Graham Ryding, was dethroned by a rival whom he has dominated in recent years. Ryding had defeated his compatriot Shahier Razik in the semi-final round of the last three Canadian National championships and, at No. 19, currently holds an 11-spot advantage in the world rankings. But Razik, whose delicate touch and wonderfully graceful court movement were on full display in his recent Hyder Cup victory in New York, is playing some of the best squash of his career and after a shaky start he out-played Ryding for most of the remainder of their 2-9 9-0 10-9 1-9 9-6 battle. The tiebreaker third game was obviously key, and it landed in Razik's column (as did the all-or-nothing fifth) mostly due to some costly errors off Ryding's normally sharp racquet.

Afterwards the latter lamented both the "way too many mistakes" he had made and the failure of the referee to give him enough of the close calls that cropped up at crucial moments. The truth is, however, that Razik's subtle but substantial pressure had more to do with Ryding's uncharacteristically high tin count than any stroking imperfections or technical lapses, and that it was Razik's superior play rather than any judgment calls that determined this match's outcome.

The team competition began yesterday as well, with the American women sweeping Colombia 3-0 in the first round of their three-team pool, which also includes Brazil. Khan, Louisa Hall and Meredeth Quick are expected to win their bracket, as is a powerful Canadian squad that is slotted with Mexico and Jamaica.

America and Canada are both in Group A of the 10-team men's event, as are
Brazil, El Salvador and Paraguay. Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and
Dominicana comprise Group B in this round-robin portion of the team competition.

SINGLES FINAL-ROUND RECAP
Men: Shahier Razik (Can) d Graham Ryding (Can) 2-9 9-0 10-9 1-9 9-6
Women: Latasha Khan (USA) d Melanie Jans (Can) 9-2 9-5 3-9 9-6

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