The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)-World Squash Federation (WSF) Squash World Cup will be held from June 13 to 17 here at the Express Avenue mall and the Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy (ISTA), it was officially announced here on Monday.
Eight countries including India will participate in the tournament - Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Egypt, South Africa, Australia, and Colombia.
The last edition of the World Cup was also held in Chennai in 2011.
“I’m delighted to announce that Chennai will once again host the prestigious SDAT-WSF Squash World Cup from June 13 to 17. This tournament marks a new chapter in the history of our event as we revive and revamp it to enhance its significance further,” said N. Ramachandran, Honorary life president - Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) and Vice Chairman - SDAT.
This will be the fourth edition and it is notable for the gender parity and the points system. There will be two men and two women per team as opposed to two men and one woman in the previous editions. Each match will be played to the best-of-five games, each game to seven points even if tied at 6-6. Four matches to a tie. There will be a round robin pool stage followed by the knockout stage.
Playing order will either be woman-2, man-1, woman-1, man-2, or man-2, woman-1, man-1, woman-2, and it will be determined by coin toss.
Man-1 and woman-1 will be awarded two points per win, while man-2 and woman-2 one point. In the knockout stage, in case of a draw the winning team will be decided by the greater positive difference between games won and lost in a tie.
Saurav Ghosal, Abhay Singh, Joshna Chinappa, and Tanvi Khanna will represent India.
“The Express Avenue mall’s central atrium will be transferred into a state-of-the-art all-glass court providing a captivating setting to witness the exhilarating action and the athleticism of the sportspersons,” said Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu (TN) minister for youth welfare and sports development.
The minister also presented a cheque for ₹1.5 crore to Ramachandran for the conduct of the event.
Cyrus Poncha, Vice President - Asian Squash Federation (ASF) and Secretary General - SRFI, proposed the vote of thanks.
Atulya Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary to TN govt - Youth Welfare and Sports Development, J. Meghanatha Reddy, Member Secretary - SDAT, Dr. Ishari K. Ganesh, President - Tamil Nadu Olympic Association (TNOA), and Kavita Singhania, Managing Director - Express Avenue were also present.
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