Indian squash has come a long way. We have to see the brighter side of things. The number of players in the junior and senior sections is much higher than it was 10-15 years ago. There are a lot of players in the professional circuit.
Of course, a lot needs to be done to make it reach the masses.
First, school kids need to be involved, and sports need to be part of the school curriculum. Squash should try to get into that space. The sport has to broaden itself. The responsibility to grow the sport rests on the players as well. We need to shine more in major international events to put squash on the global map.
Another major aspect that one needs to look into is access. In Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Jaipur, players who are not members of clubs can play squash. This should be introduced in other cities as well. Public courts should be made available, as is done in badminton and 5aside football.
Squash player Anahat Singh is one of the nine young talents featured on the cover of Sportstar’s special redesigned issue.
For women’s squash, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik have been the torch bearers. The next generation of players has these two players to look up to. We have Anahat Singh, a rising star, and a few other girls who can make Indian sports proud. I would say that things are definitely better. The blip is still the number of boys playing squash outnumbering the girls.
Apart from taking the sport to schools, we need to streamline and improve our coaching standards. At the moment, we have coaches who can produce good junior players but not world class players. For that, we need to get foreign coaches and train our coaches so that we can produce top class players. To win consistently on the world stage is not easy. We need quality coaching for that.
As told to K. Keerthivasan
Comments
SHARE