FIRST PUBLISHED IN SQUASHPLAYER MAGAZINE
Thanks to my French contacts in Cairo, I had managed to get an appointment with His Excellency Éric Chevallier, France’s Ambassador to Egypt.
Indeed, I had learned that His Excellency was a fervent supporter of our sport and had decided to learn more about his relationship with Squash.
I did not expect the beginning of his squash journey to mirror mine to that extent…
The French Embassy in Cairo
Cairo, Giza, on the banks of the Nile, a stone’s throw from Zamalek.
A taxi, a little confused, ends up finding the small door of the French Embassy for me. A discreet door, leading to a small park. A little path, and after the security formalities, I step into the wonderful Embassy building.
The scent of precious wood adorning the walls and ceilings, the calm, the tradition, the respect. An incredible feeling. Those moments when you tell yourself you really do a job like no other…
“O time, suspend thy flight!”
I am received by one, then two, then three of the Ambassador’s staff, all more charming than the others. “The Ambassador is going to be a little late, he apologises.”
Honestly, I’m not really surprised… Already, the fact that His Excellency is taking the time to see me is magical.
A few minutes later, he receives me in his office, a sublime room with a high, warm ceiling that makes me think of the homes of Old Cairo.
Designed at a time when there was no air conditioning, allowing air to circulate and thus keeping the rooms cool.
Siham, his collaborator, sits not far from me, and she too records the conversation. That reassures me. If I mess up the recording, I have a backup…
Once upon a time, an Ambassador loved Squash…
His Excellency is 65 years old — as young as I — and speaks about squash with intact emotion.
“So, my love of squash goes back about 45 years, when I was a student in Paris and I was looking for a sport. I’ve always been sporty, I played a lot of football in particular, but I was looking for an urban sport.”
“Squash arrived in my life at the time, carried in fact by someone I have kept a very emotional memory of, Shahjahan Khan.”
FRENCH SPORTS ARCHIVES – SHAH FROM 1′
Rewind – Fram in Montparnasse Club – ‘80s
Boing, Boing, Squash, Squash, Baoum, Baoum… I can still hear the sound of the balls on the underground walls of the Montparnasse Club. A club that could have been so depressing or oppressive for claustrophobics like me. We are in the early 80s.
Located under the Montparnasse Tower — which at the time was the tallest building in Paris after the Eiffel Tower, 210m high against 330m for Eiffel — with no exterior windows, the Club was the Heart of Squash in France, with the Squash des Carnaux, near Tours.
I had just “moved up to Paris” as they said in the provinces, to start my acting career. How I ended up at Montparnasse Club, who recommended it to me, I no longer know. The only thing I remember is Shah’s smile, his little forty-something little belly, not much hair on top anymore, long on the sides.
Round tables, comfortable seats, all in the 60s/70s style, kind of psychedelic. Orange? Green? Anyway, not your English clubs, with their muted and distinguished velvet. But you could sit down, watch the others playing below, thanks to the windows looking onto the courts. And we talked. And we laughed. And we complained when we lost. And we sweated a lot…
Shah was the soul of the club. Full name, ShahJahan Khan, brother of Hiddy and Zarak, uncle of Shahjahan Khan, current PSA player under the US banner.
Back to the Present — The Ambassador’s office
“Shah Khan, set up under the Montparnasse forecourt, embodied a philosophy of the game in its own right”, recalls his Excellency.
A member of the great Khan family, he impressed less by speed than by the intelligence of his play.
“It was really funny to see him on court, and facing him, in particular young people in great shape, very, very sharp, who would come out absolutely exhausted, sweating, begging for mercy” he smiles.
While the young ones collapsed, Shah remained unruffled, in the centre of the court, barely moving.
“Shah played in his tracksuit; at the time he didn’t even wear shorts, he had distributed the ball, he had never left the T.”
And above all, he kept hammering into us a founding phrase:
“In squash, you mustn’t run; you must hold the T.
I remember his sentences about the importance of control, positioning, the mental aspect, the intelligence of positioning and situation.”
The passion takes hold. Mr Chevallier continues to play, improves, does tournaments — an assumed pride.
“I even ranked second series… I was very proud of it.”
He then plays at the Rennes-Raspail club, rue de Rennes, takes part in regional competitions and strings tournaments together.
“I took part in the famous competitions… the regional leagues… and then I did quite a lot of tournaments here and there.”
Originally from Fontainebleau, he keeps ties with Avon Squash Club, one of our most famous club, held by Rose and Len Mor, where squash also becomes a way to finance his studies.
“To pay for part of my studies… I would come at weekends to give a few lessons and play a bit in Fontainebleau, in Avon more precisely.”
Cut to Fram:
I was therefore playing in the same club, I was doing tournaments all around France, I would finish in the quarters, which paid my travel expenses, and to make a living, I worked for the Paris Office of the French Federation as a part-time secretary, and I spent time in Avon… Once again, a mirror…
For our Ambassador, between 20 and 30, squash is essential. A balance. Fram, ditto…
“For me it was an activity… really something important, and that gave me a little safety valve” recalls his Excellency.
Because the years are heavy.
“I studied medicine, I am a medical doctor, and then I did Sciences Po… combining the two required quite strong commitments. Playing squash was a way to release a lot of energy.”
Then, brutally, a break of several decades.
“It’s been 35 years since I last touched a squash racket.”
Egypt, the Masters of Squash
Arriving in Egypt, the question naturally comes back.
“When I arrived here in Egypt, I asked myself the question a lot because we know very well today the considerable place of Egypt in squash, it’s just incredible… female and male.”
“Me, in my time… there was Pakistan, the Khans period, and the Egyptians… today, we can clearly see the dominant place of the Egyptians.”
The Junior Worlds in Cairo 2025
“I went to see the junior world championships. The popular fervour… the integration of this sport in Egypt.”
“I am happy to see that squash is taking this place and that Egypt has taken this place in world squash.”
Despite several proposals — including playing with great Egyptian and French champions, men and women — he has not yet started again.
“I haven’t done it yet… but I think I’m going to do it at some point or another. I’m going to pick up a racket again before I leave this country…”
Last Words
Here we are—time to wrap up this little tale about Éric Chevallier’s utterly atypical journey: from squash coach to France’s Ambassador, with a medical degree along the way!
That said, I do have to point out that while our paths look remarkably similar in the 1980s, they then diverge in a truly stratospheric way.
Those who have met me—or read me regularly—will have been able to appreciate my innate talent for diplomacy…
