Hamza Khan, 17, this week defeated Egypt's Mohamed Zakaria in the World Junior Squash Championship in Melbourne to end a decades-long trophy drought for Pakistan.
While Pakistan's Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan once ruled the sport in the 1980s, it has been a good 27 years since the country claimed a major squash achievement and 37 years since its last junior champion.
Hamza hails from Nawan Kali in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, a village known for its quality squash players.
"My village has produced seven world champions and, God willing, I will be the eighth one," Hamza told SBS Urdu.
The 17-year-old has already won 13 medals in his young career, including the U-15 title at the British Junior Open Squash Championship in 2020.
"I won the junior championship and I am hopeful that I will also win the senior championship one day," Hamza said.
In preparation for the championship, Khan dedicated himself to rigorous training, telling of how he would wake at 3am each morning to fine-tune his performance.
While squash is not as popular as cricket in Pakistan, Hamza believes the racket sport is just as worthy of funding and support.
He said he received congratulations from Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif and other dignitaries, but expressed disappointment at the absence of any official recognition for either himself or his fellow squash players.
"While I am grateful for the well-wishes, I have yet to see concrete actions taken for the players," he shared.
Hamza also spoke of challenges he faced on and off the squash court.
"Players from other teams were accompanied by a coach and other staff. I was sent only with a manager," he shared.
Despite receiving offers to represent different countries, Hamza said he is still determined to play for his home country.
"I have received offers from the USA and Australia to represent them, but my father has advised me to play for Pakistan only," he said.
In squash, players are eligible to represent a country if they meet the nationality and residency criteria set by the World Squash Federation (WSF).
