13-Year-Old Mahnoor Ali Becomes Pakistan’s Youngest International Squash Qualifier

At just 13, Mahnoor Ali walks into a squash court with the eyes of a storm. On Saturday in Karachi, she did what no Pakistani that young had ever done. Mahnoor qualified for an international squash event. Her name now sits in the record books beside the legends she once watched on TV.

She earned her spot in the 3rd Chief of Naval Staff International PSA Satellite Championship ($3000), a tournament that brings together top local and international players at the RK JK Squash Complex. But while the event drew familiar names, the buzz wasn’t about rankings or titles. It was about a teenager with a quiet backhand, a fierce gaze, and a story that already sounds bigger than her age.

Mahnoor didn’t just qualify. She owned her moment. Every rally, every return showed composure rare in players twice her age. She played with a blend of patience and power that made even senior coaches stop and take notice. Her timing is clean. Her movement, unhurried. It’s control, the kind that hints at something special.

Earlier this year, she announced her arrival at the 32nd Asian Junior Squash Championships in Gimcheon, South Korea, bagging silver in the Girls’ U-13 category. Seeded 3/4, she cut through the draw with ruthless precision, demolishing India’s Anika Kalanki 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 in the quarters and reaching the final without dropping her rhythm.

Mahnoor played like she belonged there. She didn’t shrink under pressure; she sharpened under it. Her shot selection is fearless. For a 13-year-old, that’s not just talent. It’s temperament.

And that temperament is what Pakistan squash has been craving. The country that once ruled the game through Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan has spent decades searching for its next spark. Every so often, a young player appears, promising to revive the old magic. 

She trains like someone chasing history, not attention. Her sessions are long, her focus surgical. Coaches at the Karachi circuit talk about her discipline as much as her technique. She listens more than she speaks. She learns fast. She adapts faster.

In a sport where endurance meets artistry, Mahnoor is already sketching her own style. Her footwork carries the rhythm of experience. Her drops have purpose, not panic. The crowd in Karachi has started to sense it too.

This qualification is more than a personal milestone. It’s a message: Pakistan’s pipeline of squash talent still runs deep. And in Mahnoor, it has found a face for its next chapter.

As Mahnoor Ali left the glass box after her qualifying win, she didn’t celebrate wildly. She smiled, shook hands, and walked off like she’d been there before. That’s the part that stood out most. She looked like she planned to be there for a long time.