Squash struggles for share of spotlight

In recent times squash has become a medal winning sport for India. The latest was Joshana Chinappa (World No. 17), Dipika Pallikal (World No.19) and men’s team winning bronze at the Jakarta Asian Games. 

However, despite Indian players doing well in international tournaments, squash lags behind other racquet sports such as badminton and tennis when it comes to exposure and corporate sponsorship in the country. 

Although squash is getting popular by the day, it is far from becoming a mainstream sport. During the ongoing sub-junior/junior national squash championships here, DNA spoke Indian squash stars, who attributed the decline of sport to “talent drain”. 

Much like other Indian talents and skilled people, squash players too are heading westwards as they believe there is lack of opportunities in India.

Former India captain and the winner of nine PSA titles, Ritwik Bhattacharya says:  “We have so much of talent at the junior level but we are unable to make them stay in India. The  American universities are offering them lucrative scholarships.”

Bhuvneshwari Kumari, the winner of 16 consecutive national titles between 1977 and 1992, says she feels squash has made rapid strides both competition-wise and monetarily but it is still not an Olympic sport and that somewhere works as a disadvantage. 

Kumari says: “India can learn from Egypt. They have made it  national sport and today the world squash is dominated by the Egyptians.” Of course, corporate sponsorship and the government support is essential, she adds.

Kumari also agrees with Ritwik that we need to devise schemes to keep our young girls and boys in India.

Rajasthan Shows Way

Former Indian squash star Surbhi Misra has a different view. She feels that recent central government schemes has given a boost to sports, including squash. 

Recently, Surbhi, who runs Surbhi Misra Sports Foundation in Jaipur, has been given the state-of-the-art Rajasthan Squash Academy on public-private partnership. 

She says Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Sports and Youth Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar, who himself is a former squash player, have taken numerous steps to promote squash in Rajasthan. 

In 2013 budget, Raje had announced setting up a public squash Academy. The state government has spent more than Rs 5 crore on the Rajasthan Squash Academy, which has five glass back wall courts, one all-glass court is under-construction and it’s equipped with all modern facilities. 

Surbhi says such public academies will go a long way in popularising squash. “It is open to general public. Now, you don’t have to go to any elite clubs, which were out of reach of common man.”

Surbhi is of the view that if such academies are opened in all states it will help squash to come on centre stage.

Cyrus Poncha, coach of the Indian squash team, feels that squash needs an icon like Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal or PV Sindhu.

So in squash, India needs someone like Nicol David of Malaysia? Cyrus replies in affirmative but adds it needs lot of hard work and dedication besides the corporates have to play a major role.

Coach at JSW Squash Academy, Laxman Joshi, who trains about 120 kids at the academy in Vasind, a city 80 kms away from Mumbai, says, “In Maharashtra there are only a few corporates investing in squash, but there are various private clubs who are grooming players. Given the robust infrastructure back there, it is easier to produce good players. 

“But if we talk about Rajasthan, it is still growing like any other two tier state and Jaipur Squash Academy, which is the first government supported squash academy in the country, is a sign of good things coming squash’s way.

Rajasthan has now actually started working upon squash and given that the state government is supporting them, in coming times they can rise to a bigger level.”

(With inputs from Mandakini Shalya)