Shaking things up: a new look for the Indian squash team Premium

Shaking things up: a new look for the Indian squash team

When the Indian contingent reached the venue for the 22nd Asian team squash championships in Dalian, China, their opponents looked at them with wonder and astonishment for the composition of the squad.

For this was the first time that the squad didn’t have both Saurav Ghosal (men) and Joshna Chinappa (women) in a decade or so for a prestigious tournament such as the Asians.

There were no expectations when the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) announced a young team full of debutants, excluding Velavan Senthilkumar, who played a stellar role in the previous edition in 2022 when India bagged a gold.

SRFI, in its release, clearly stated that it had selected the team with the 2026 Asian Games and the 2028 Olympics in mind. “Following India’s spectacular performance at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou – with the team securing five medals in a competitive field – the SRFI is focused on promoting younger players with an eye on the 2026 Asian Games in Japan and the sport’s much-awaited Olympic debut in Los Angeles ’28,” the National Federation explained.

While the men’s team finished sixth the women’s outfit came fifth. No doubt, it was not a performance to write home about. But there were lots of positives and lessons which the SRFI and players have learnt from the outing.

Cyrus Poncha, SRFI Secretary, who has watched the Indian team from close quarters for more than two decades, said it was a creditable performance from a young team.

“Our expectations from both men’s and women’s teams were to finish in the top six. The performance by our girls especially was quite good and heartening, with Rathika leading the team. It was unchartered territory. Our aim was to give exposure to our bench,” he said.