Egyptian physical trainer Ahmed Yousuf and coach Vaman Apte were close on hand on Day Three of the 34th Bombay Gymkhana-HSBC Maharashtra State Open squash championship here on Tuesday.
Egyptian physical trainer Ahmed Yousuf and coach Vaman Apte were close on hand on Day Three of the 34th Bombay Gymkhana-HSBC Maharashtra State Open squash championship here on Tuesday.
Yousuf, who formerly trained world No.1 Karim Darwish, world No. 3 Amr Shabana and world No.4 Ramy Ashour, has been hired by the Indian Squash Professionals (ISP) to groom young talent in the country. When asked why he chose to come to India after coaching top players in the sport, Yousuf was to the point.
“Coaching big players is a good experience but bringing up a lower ranked player gives more satisfaction. My goal is to help players build their stamina, improve their footwork and movement, fitness and food,” Yousuf told DNA on Tuesday.
“Players in India are very good and all they need is to get proper training. I am working with Ritwik Bhattacharya, Shidharth Suchde and Mahesh Mangaonkar,” Yousuf said. Ritwik and Mahesh are part of the ongoing tournament.
While Apte, who coaches the players over the weekend, was of high opinion about his wards. “A few like Saumya Karki, Shreya Katri and Mahesh Mangaonkar are doing consistently well and right now getting ready for the nationals. I help them out with strategy and game plan,” Apte said.
Ahmed observed that the lack of tournaments in the domestic circuit is actually hurting the promising ones here. “The top players play for four months abroad and when they come back here they miss out on playing quality opponents. In England and Egypt there are a lot of players who match their standards.”
Yousuf has prescribed a rigorous training schedule- two hours in morning and two hours in the evening — for his wards. Ahmed is hoping to conduct camps outside the country to help them gather more experience. “I will handpick a few good players and see that they all get individual attentions,” he said.
The Egyptian was very impressed with 13-year-old Raghav Mehrotra who is playing in the U-15 event. According to the trainer, he is one for the future if nurtured well.
Meanwhile, Raghav too was all praise for his coaches, “My game has improved because of them only. Ahmed has brought professionalism while Vaman guides me whenever I’m not on track,” he said. The two, who have been coaching at the NSCI courts in Worli for close to a year now, had come to cheer and motivate their young wards.
Results: Boys U-19: Pranay Merchant beat Utkarsh Kumar 11-8 12-14 5-11 12-10 11-4; Rohan Vora beat Tushar Kothari 14-12 9-11 10-12 11-7 11-3; Shashi Pandey beat Cyrus Sidhwa 11-7 13-11 6-11 11-5; Akash Borwankar beat Ness Billimoria 11-4 11-5 10-11 10-12 11-4; Boys U-17: Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Ajan Jayant 11-2 11-1 11- 0; Boys U-15 Pre-Quarters: Ishan Advani bt Aditya Kathri 11-6 11-k 11-6.
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