Michael Harris has no problem laughing at himself which seems odd considering his status as a star squash athlete. There is however one unique feature to the Brighton born man as he holds another title, ‘the world’s best one eyed squash player’.
That’s right, for such an insanely fast sport that demands your eyes on the ball every millisecond, Harris only has sight in one eye. Having suffered from degenerative sight loss after a freak stroke on the squash court, Harris lost sight in his right eye. But that didn’t stop the happy go lucky ‘Mr Squash’ (another quirky self-title).
The Brighton-born player represented Team England, has coached across the UK and even crossed the ocean to mentor Finland’s top players. He is now head of squash and racketball at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, as well as lead figure in stamping Squash into the Birmingham 2022 legacy.
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He even had fun with members of the public at Birmingham New Street when a temporary squash court was installed for the Birmingham 2022 legacy.
For all his self-deprecation and cheeriness however Harris travelled a hard road to success, much like a tough squash match. The 51-year-old battled through homelessness, personal tragedy and even his wife’s heart-breaking cancer diagnosis.
He said: “I don’t class myself as disabled but I class myself as the world’s best one eyed squash player, that’s my jokey, self-deprecating side. I started playing squash at two years old in 1972 when my mum was on the squash court and I started dragging the racket around.
“I then joined the Junior Nationals under 10s and played it ever since.”
Although Harris was already a sports fanatic, something about the racket and ball drew him in and Mr Squash was set to be the next big athlete. Until his home life took a devastating turn, Harris shared: “Squash is seen as a white middle class sport played by posh business men but that’s not the reality.
(Image: Michael Harris)
“I am not posh, I was homeless from age 16-20 after we lost our family home and had no money, I slept on the floor and park benches. Sometimes I would hide and sleep in the squash court.
“I am very lucky as I was sponsored with equipment and had good friends and family to help me. You cannot wallow in it. It was distressing but I block the memories out so don’t …….
Source: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/meet-worlds-best-one-eyed-23919983