Asian Games 2014: Stepping on court as Jenghis, climbing the podium as Maria

Today, the 23-year-old Maria is Pakistan’s number one squash player, ranked 64th in the world, is the recipient of Salaam Pakistan award given by the Pakistan President in 2007 alongside tennis player Aisam Qureshi and was also her country’s biggest medal prospect at the ongoing Incheon Asian Games.

One among the boys

Maria speaks about her days as a boy when she would demand her parents to dress her like her brothers. But still the trauma and hardship of her early life story comes through. South Waziristan is an ultra-conservative region on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is the home to Taliban. Female participation in sports is strongly discouraged.

“I wanted to play with the boys, because playing with them would have given me more freedom,” she says, minutes before stepping on the court for her quarterfinal match against Hong Kong’s Annie Au.

Her father agreed, he let her pursue her passion. He cut Maria’s hair short and entered her into a boys’ tournament. After winning the junior weightlifting crown, Maria decided to enter a junior squash tournament. The sport, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, had intrigued her and she learnt it at a local club. But her plans were ruined by the entry regulations. “At the registration desk, they asked for a birth certificate. That’s when I got exposed,” Maria says.

They couldn’t hide her real identity anymore. Consequently, Jenghis was buried and Maria was born. They entered her in girls’ competitions and, at the age of 15, she became the national champion. And that’s when trouble started.

Taliban found out that a young girl from their locality was playing squash and was hiding under a false identity. They threatened her, and her family, with dire consequences. “They told me that if I did not stop playing, we would suffer badly. I was terrified,” she says.

Maria decided not to play in public. She asked for a gun for her safety. She confined herself to a dinghy room, where she used to practice alone by hitting the ball against the wall. They left South Waziristan and shifted to Peshawar, some 350km away. But the Taliban continued to chase her. Eventually, Wazir decided it was in the best interest of her daughter’s professional squash career to leave Pakistan.

For three years, she wrote to several academies around the world but none got back. Until former world No. 1 Jonathon Power of Canada replied, giving his consent. Without any hesitation, the 18-year-old packed her bags, booked her one-way ticket and shifted to Toronto. Her parents continue to live in Peshawar. She talks to them every day but hasn’t seen them for a long time.

In the last three years, Maria’s rise in world squash has been rapid. She is among the only three Pakistani woman to feature in top-200. But she doesn’t want to stop here. “They (Taliban) wanted me to leave squash but I won’t budge. In fact, the entire episode has made my love for the sport stronger. I’ll continue playing till I win the world championship crown,” Maria says.