India's young squash players give a lot to remain hopeful about the future

Velavan Senthilkumar in action

The third and final leg in the NSCI Indian Squash Circuit kicks off in Chennai on Sunday. The opening two legs of the competition proved to be a fruitful one, particularly in the Men’s draw, as Saurav Ghosal finished runners-up in the Mumbai leg of the competition and went one step further in the next one at Kolkata, beating Marwan El Shorbagy in the finals to lift the title.

Indian squash has been in the news for all the right reasons in recent times and it hasn’t only been the likes of Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa etc. who have given joy at national and international events, but also the junior players who have done very well in several events.

The Commonwealth Youth Games that were held in Samoa last month saw Velavan Senthilkumar perform exceptionally well in not one but two events, winning a bronze and silver respectively in the Men’s Singles and Mixed Doubles respectively.

Giving him company in the mixed doubles event was Harshit Kaur Jawanada, another youngster who impressed one and all with her performance. Along with the aforementioned names, the likes of Akanksha Salunkhe, Navaneeth Prabhu etc have also been putting in exceptional performances on the junior circuit.

History of young talent doing well

If one has a look at the players who have done well on the global stage, almost each one of them has started young. Dipika Pallikal turned pro in 2006 when she was just 15 years old and even though she struggled to attain consistency at the start, but won her maiden Professional Squash Association(PSA) title in 2011.

Joshna Chinnappa’s career path also followed a similar trajectory as she started off at the age of 17 she became the first Indian to clinch the British Open U19 title and was also India’s youngest ever national champion.

The above two examples are proof enough one can certainly foresee a bright future in the new emerging crop of players and if they do keep performing well in whatever limited opportunities that come their way.