Wikipedia

Squash in India

Squash is a recreational sport in India but is slowly gaining popularity as a competitive sport.[1] It is governed by the Squash Rackets Federation of India. The India men's national squash team has participated in three quarter finals of the World Team Squash Championships since 1967.

Squash in India
Country India
Governing bodySquash Rackets Federation of India
National team(s)India men's national squash team
India women's national squash team
International competitions

Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal have been among the top ranked Indian squash players. Dipika was the first Indian woman to break into the top 10 women's world rankings in 2012.[2] Saurav achieved his career high of 10 to become the highest ranked Indian male player in 2019.[3]

History

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Dipika Pallikal in 2012

Squash was introduced to India by the British Armed Forces; the sport has been played before World War I.[4] During the period of British rule, it was largely adopted by British colonies around the world.[5][6] Most military bases had squash courts built to entertain officers.[4] They can still be found in some army facilities in India.[6] The British Raj restricted the use of the facilities to the upper class of society.[7] Therefore, only those who were from the army or members of private clubs had access to squash in India.[6][4]

The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) was formed to oversee squash in India. It conducts training camps, state and national tournaments, and the National Squash Championship. The SRFI is in charge of selecting the squad and coaches for the Indian national team. In 1990, it established the Indian Squash Academy. According to the SRFI, squash is established in only 19 states and 4 union territories.[1]

In December 2012, squash player Dipika Pallikal Karthik achieved a career-best rank of 10.[2] She became the first female squash player to be conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year 2012.[8] Later in December 2013, Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian male squash player to reach the top 20 by achieving a career-best rank of 15.[3] He was also awarded the Arjuna Award by the president of India in August 2007.

Competition history

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In December 2014, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa defeated Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro to claim India's first-ever gold medal in squash at the Commonwealth Games.[9] At the 2014 Asian Games, the Indian men's national team clinched gold; the women's earned their first silver.[10] Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal, with a silver and bronze respectively in the individual events, signed off with their best medal haul in the Asian Games. The men's team, led by Saurav Ghosal, clinched the historic gold after edging out Malaysia in the individual finals.[11] At the 2014 WSF World Junior Championship, Kush Kumar became the first male squash player from India to reach the semifinal.[12] He made history by winning the first ever bronze medal for India at a World Junior Championship.[13]

At 2015, Velavan Senthilkumar won a bronze medal in the boys singles event in squash at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games held in Samoa.[14] Velavan Senthilkumar and Harshit Jawanda won silver in the mixed doubles competition.[15]

In 2016, both the men's and women's national teams won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. In the men's individual events, Saurav Ghosal and Harinder Pal Sandhu won bronze after losing to arch-rival Pakistan; in the women's event, top seed Joshna Chinappa won gold after defeating her Pakistani rival Sadia Gul.[16]

In 2017, Indian doubles pair Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal won bronze after losing to English pair Jenny Duncalf and Alison Waters in the semifinals of the WSF World Doubles Squash Championship.[17] In May 2017, Joshna Chinappa became the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title after beating compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women's final.[18][19] This tournament was held at Express Avenue shopping mall in an all-glass court set up inside.[20]

During the 2018 Asian Games, Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal, and Joshna Chinappa won bronze in their respective singles events.[21]

As of 2018, 24 Indian players were in PSA's top 500 rankings. Nine were in top 100.[22] Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian male squash player to reach the top 20 after achieving a career best of ranking of 15 in 2013.[3] In women's discipline, Dipika Pallikal became the first Indian woman to reach the top 10 after achieving a career-best of ranking of 10.[2] Former player Bhuvneshwari Kumari held the most national championship titles (16) until 2019, when Joshna Chinappa broke her record.[23]

Hosting history

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The SRFI conducts tournaments from the National to Junior levels in India. The premier competition that takes place annually is the National Squash Championship.[24][23] Other major tournaments include Sub Junior National Championship, Junior National Championship, Mumbai Masters Open, and Indian Junior Open.[1][25]

National Squash Championship

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The National Squash Championship is a seven star ranking event conducted annually.[26] As of February 2020, it has been held 7 time, usually in February or June.[24][26] Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa, representing the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, are the current champions, after defeating Abhishek Pradhan and Urwashi Joshi in the finals of the 2020 edition.[27] The total prize money of the edition was ₹12 lakh (US$14,000).[24]

Other events

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In 2011, the SRFI conducted the WSF World Cup between March 8 and March 12.[28][29] It was initially scheduled to be held at the ICL-TNSRA Squash Academy, but moved to an all-glass court erected at the Express Avenue mall.[30] The first seed, Egypt won the event by beating the second seed, England.[31]

In 2012, inaugural edition of U-21 World Cup was held in Chennai at the Express Avenue mall. It was supported by the Sports Development of Tamil Nadu.[32] Egypt beat India in finals to win the event.[33]

Medal table

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Tournament       Total
World
Olympic Games TBA TBA TBA TBA
World Individual Championships 0 0 0 0
World Doubles Championships 4 2 3 9
World Team Championships 0 0 0 0
Commonwealth Games 1 2 2 5
Asia
Asian Games 3 4 11 18
Asian Individual Championships 3 3 0 6
Asian Doubles Championships 3 0 1 4
Asian Team Championships 2 6 20 28
South Asia
South Asian Games 5 5 2 12
Total 9 16 26 51
  • Updated till 31st July, 2024

Current rankings

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Men's

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# Player World Rank
1 Ramit Tandon 28
2 Velavan Senthilkumar 49
3 Abhay Singh 52
4 Veer Chotrani 83
5 Suraj Chand 178

Women's

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# Player World Rank
1 Akanksha Salunkhe 69
2 Anahat Singh 90
3 Urwashi Joshi 127
4 Joshna Chinappa 160
5 Pooja Arthi Raghu 194

Notable former players

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Player Category Best Ranking
Dipika Pallikal Women's singles 10
Joshna Chinappa 10
Saurav Ghosal Men's singles 10
Mahesh Mangaonkar 44
Harinder Pal Sandhu 47
Vikram Malhotra 47

National award recipients

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Year Recipient Award Gender
1961 K. S. Jain Arjuna Award Male
1969 Anil Nayar Arjuna Award Male
1979–1980 Rajkumar Manchanda Arjuna Award Male
1982 Bhuvneshwari Kumari Arjuna Award Female
1990 M. R. Dharuvala Arjuna Award Male
1997 Misha Grewal Arjuna Award Female
2006 Saurav Ghosal Arjuna Award Male
2012 Dipika Pallikal Arjuna Award Female
2013 Joshna Chinappa Arjuna Award Female
2014 Anaka Alankamony Arjuna Award Female
2004 Cyrus Poncha Dronacharya Award Male

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "A Study on Squash in India" (PDF). International Institute of Sports Management.
  2. ^ a b c "Dipika Pallikal is first Indian to break into top 10". The Indian Express. 1 January 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Saurav Ghosal becomes first Indian to reach quarters of World Squash Championships". NDTV Sports. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "History - Squash Rackets Federation of India". indiasquash.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  5. ^ "History of Squash". squashplayer.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "History of Squash in India". SportsPages. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  7. ^ jaiswaladitya (16 September 2014). "Dearth of public squash clubs in India". sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Vijay Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt conferred Khel Ratna; 25 get Arjuna awards - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  9. ^ "CWG 2014: Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa bag India's maiden squash gold". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  10. ^ IANS (27 September 2014). "Asian Games: Indian men's squash team wins gold". India Today. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  11. ^ Service, Indo-Asian News (30 September 2014). "Asian Games 2014 Squash medalists receive pompous welcome on returning to India". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Asianet-Breaking News". asianet.in. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Kush Kumar – Home of WSF World Junior Squash Championships". Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Velavan Senthilkumar Settles for Squash Bronze in Commonwealth Youth Games". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  15. ^ Press Trust of India (10 September 2015). "India wins squash silver at CYG". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Indian men squash players bite dust against Pakistan at South Asian Games". News18. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal get bronze medal at world doubles squash championships". Scroll.in. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Joshna Chinappa is Asian champion, Max Lee takes men's title". indulgexpress.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Asian title my biggest achievement: Joshna Chinappa". outlookindia.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  20. ^ Senthil, Anjana. "Asian Squash C'ship matches shifted to Indian Squash Academy after damage in court". Sportstar. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Asian Games 2018: Saurav Ghosal Brings Home Squash Bronze After Losing In Semis". NDTVSports.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  22. ^ "SQUASH SPORT INDIA". GoPlaySport India. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Senior National Squash Championship: Joshna Chinappa wins record 17th title, Mahesh Mangaoker clinches men's crown". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  24. ^ a b c "Squash Rackets Federation of India". indiasquash.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Squash Rackets Federation of India". indiasquash.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  26. ^ a b "Championship Guidelines 2018" (PDF). indiasquash.com. The Squash Rackets Federation of India. May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  27. ^ stevecubbins (15 February 2020). "Indian Nationals Finals". SquashSite - all about Squash. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  28. ^ "SDAT WSF Squash World Cup 2011, 08-12 Mar, Chennai". squashsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  29. ^ "WSF Hails World Cup Success In Chennai". World Squash. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  30. ^ "Squash world cup in Chennai from March 8". Zee News. 27 February 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  31. ^ "Egypt bangs England to gain Squash World Cup". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  32. ^ "U-21 squash World Cup in Chennai - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  33. ^ "WSF Under 21 Squash World Cup". squashsite.co.uk. World Squash Federation. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  34. ^ "Squash Info | Women's PSA World Squash Rankings (May 2020) | Squash". squashinfo.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  35. ^ "Squash Info | Men's PSA World Squash Rankings (May 2020) | Squash". squashinfo.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
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