Making A Quiet Buzz

There can be little doubt that in the last quarter of a century Indian sport has made a mark on the international stage. In various disciplines Indian sportsmen and women have won medals at World and Olympic meets and particularly in disciplines like weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, shooting, athletics and badminton Indians have earned a lot of respect worldwide.

But if there is one sport in which Indians have been making a comparatively quiet buzz it is squash. Not only have they performed creditably in international events but the country has also staged several international meets.

The most recent one was the just concluded Squash World Cup in Chennai, where eight countries participated. It was for the second time the city was hosting the event, the previous one being in 2011. Favourites Egypt won the event defeating Malaysia in the final. India made it to the semifinals before going down to Malaysia.

Zena Wooldridge, the president of the World Squash Federation (WSF) spoke highly of both the excellent infrastructure in the country and the potential of Indian squash to rise even higher. “India is such a massive attraction to any country and as such the Indian market is something that is irresistible in more ways than one’’ said Wooldridge who was in Chennai for the mega event.

Squash has come close to being an Olympic sport more than once before narrowly missing out to other disciplines but Wooldridge has not lost hope. She is confident of it being included in the 2028 Olympics, “Squash has not done anything wrong to not get the go ahead. I think we had some of the best bids and presentations.’’

In fact in keeping with the times the sport has made an important change in the points system and this was seen for the first time during the Chennai event. It featured a novel seven point best of five games format instead of the traditional eleven points posing a unique challenge for the players. In other words this abbreviated version was termed as the sport’s T-20 format but the players had no problem in adapting to it.

Think of Indian squash and the names that spring to mind immediately are Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal. The two young women along with the leading men’s player Saurav Goshal have done the most to put Indian squash on the international map. All of them have been ranked at various times in the top ten in the WSF rankings on the way, notching up victories over the leading players in the game.

All three, as well as several upcoming players, readily acknowledge that their game improved by leaps and bounds because of the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) a world class facility in Chennai that is the brainchild of N. Ramachandran former president of the Indian Olympic Association and former president of the WSF. There was a time when Mumbai was the hub of Indian squash but things changed when the ISA was set up at the turn of the new millennium.

The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) secretary-general Cyrus Poncha is firmly of the view that Chennai is now the place for squash players, “It goes without saying that Chennai is the squash hub in India and the reason for that is the presence of the ISA in the city. The training and the tournaments we conduct and the coaches we have at the ISA ensures high standard performances by our players.’’

Ghoshal for one has trained both in England and India. “When I am in India it is in Chennai that I undergo training. The facilities at the ISA are on par with any other academy abroad,’’ he says.

A factor in the growing popularity of squash according to Poncha is that it is an indoor and all weather sport. “We have been seeing a steady growth in the number of players taking to the sport. We have a programme wherein we go to schools and bring interested students to the squash academy. We take in kids as young as ten years and train them,’’ he says.

A far-sighted approach in making the sport popular has also helped. Initially matches in the Asian and World championships were held at the ISA. But the authorities realised that for squash to become popular it had to be taken to the masses.

In keeping with this for the last few years national and international events have been held at the Express Avenue Mall in the heart of the city. The huge crowd present during the recent Squash World Cup was testimony to the sport’s growing popularity.

Even those who had come in for shopping or window-shopping had a glance at what was going on at the court in the main foyer. But there were hundreds who had come specifically to watch the proceedings. From the various floors the spectators enjoyed the fare even as they clapped and cheered for the Indian players while holding aloft the national flag.

There is little doubt that Joshna and Dipika by their exploits on the squash court have inspired a younger generation to take to the sport. Joshna was part of the Indian team that took part in the world meet while Dipika who is married to Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has twins to care off and plays the game only sporadically. Incidentally Goshal is Dipika’s brother-in-law having married her sister.

Considering squash's status at one stage, it has been a great journey for both Joshna, now 36 and Dipika, five years younger. The ISA took stock of their talent and moulded them. They were school children when squash crept into their activity zone.

The visionary zeal of N. Ramachandran, an industrialist and an ardent squash lover ensured the establishment of the ISA that virtually shaped the careers of several young talents. It was during his tenure as the Secretary General of the SRFI that the ISA became a reality. Today it is an institution that has helped script several wonderful moments for Indian squash.