CHENNAI: With the squash event at the upcoming Asian Games set to begin on September 26, the eight-member India team is training in earnest in the High Performance Camp at the Indian Squash Academy, Chennai. The men's team comprises Saurav Ghosal, Abhay Singh, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu. The women's team includes Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Anahat Singh and Tanvi Khanna.
The Indian squash team has a good track record at the Asian Games, having bagged a total of 13 medals, including one gold and three silvers. India are fourth on the all-time medal tally at the Asiad behind Malaysia, Hong Kong and Pakistan. Saurav, Mahesh and Harinder were part of the team that won India's first-ever gold medal in squash at the 2014 Asian Games 2014, along with Kush Kumar as the fourth member.
Saurav trained with Gregory Gaultier for more than 90 minutes on Saturday afternoon. Greg put Saurav through the paces and sparred with him. The India No 1 player and second seed in the Asian Games was made to play the backhand continuously for a while in order to polish his skills. "The team has the right mixture of experience and youth. Last year, I came to train them (team) in preparation for the lead up to the tournament (Commonwealth Games) so they asked me again to come here this year you know, I really like the group. An old friend of mine James Willstrop is also there, we are here to share our experience, hope the players get the best out of this camp," said Gregory of France and a former World Champion.
Saurav, on his part, was pleased to spar with Greg and believed that the sessions were fruitful in sharpening his skills. He also insisted that the India team was determined to go all out and try for team gold. "Greg worked on a few things to make me sharper. He went about adding a little bit of intensity and sharpness to my game and it was very good to train with him," said Saurav. "Greg has an unbelievable pedigree (records) himself and the hallmark of his game was intensity and so we are trying to incorporate that, how we can pick his brains in different situations, how to deal with different balls at the court and for me, it is how to respond to different situations in the matches," added Saurav.
The 37-year old is working on his fitness and is also keen to handle pressure and expectations. "I am trying to be physically fit and keep my body fresh for the Games. I believe there is always pressure when you play, in particular for your country. I am not going to put pressure on my mind, just want to enjoy the process. I am very grateful we had the opportunity to try to win a gold medal for India (2014). It would be a relief if we could go on and try to win the men's side team gold and individual gold," said Saurav.
The preparatory camp is being supervised by Cyrus Poncha, secretary general SRFI. Cyrus has made all the arrangements for the smooth training of the players and trainers. All the players seem to bond well at the camp. "It's a good idea to have the camp at the Indian Squash Academy. We have a team event as well at the Asian Games, so its always good to get everyone together and with a sense of togetherness we can put our best foot forward. It is good to train with everyone and keep pushing each other to give our best every day, execute and win every match, win medals for India," opined Saurav.
Dipika made history by becoming the first Indian to break into the top 10 in the PSA Women's rankings in 2012. Joshna, on the other hand, achieved a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. Anahat was the youngest player to represent India in the Commonwealth Games at the age of 14. In December 2022, she was ranked first in Asia in the U-15 category. Tanvi currently holds the fourth highest ranking among Indian players and has also won a silver medal in the Asian Games 2018.
Dipika and Harinder defeated the Malaysian pair of Rachel Arnold and Ivan Yuen in the final to win the Asian mixed doubles squash championships in June this year. The duo trained hard at the ISA here on Saturday. Dipika was confident of a good show by the women's team and in particular, the mixed doubles pair. "Asian Games is tough, but we have prepared well so I think we (as a team) have a real good chance to do well. I will be pairing with Harinder and a few months back we won the Asian mixed doubles championship. We would like to carry that form into the Asian Games. There is no pressure as such, as we have worked in earnest for the event in China. Fitness wise, I have really worked hard and we hope to do well. After becoming a mother, I really worked on my fitness to keep in tune to the demands of the game," said Dipika.
