Joshana Chinappa to open JSW Squash Circuit In Mumbai

Joshna Chinappa

1 September 2015, Mumbai: IVY Sports in association with JSW Steel today announced the second season of the JSW India Squash circuit to be held between the 3rd of September and October 22nd across Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. With a total prize money of US$ 1,20,000 for the circuit this year, a 100% increase from last year, this years circuit holds the definite promise of being bigger and better than the inaugural year in 2014.

The JSW Indian Squash Circuit will begin in Mumbai on Thursday September 3 with the NSCI Open, before two PSA Men’s International $35,000 events, the CCI International at the Cricket Club of India and Kolkata International at the Calcutta Racquet Club, respectively, on September 10-13 and September 24-27. The circuit ends at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai between October 19 through 22.

A host of big names are set to play in the JSW Indian Squash Circuit 2015 with Spanish No.1 Borja Golan scheduled to play in the second tournament of the circuit at the CCI International PSA Event, joined by 8 time Indian National Champion Saurav Ghosal (top 20 in the World). With the JSW Indian Squash Circuit NSCI Open 2015 kicking off the proceedings, the male & female main draws promises to be exciting, with Britisher Adrian Waller seeded on the top of the male draw, followed by German Raphael Kandra and India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar, seeded third. In the women’s main draw, Indian favorite Joshana Chinappa will have a tough road ahead to the trophy. Seeded fourth, Joshana would have to face-off against a strong contender list that includes World Junior Champion Habiba Mohamed of Egypt, currently No.18 in the world, and Joey Chan of Hong Kong who is also in the top 25 women in the world.

With a number of local players taking part in the circuit, the JSW Indian Squash Circuit will once again give young and talented Indian players a chance to gain vital experience at major events on the PSA World Tour while attracting new potential young stars to the sport. The tournament is supported by the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFi) and the World Squash Federation (WSF) for the second year.

“With the addition of two $35000 Tournaments, (CCI & Kolkata) we welcome Saurav and Joshana to the JSW Indian Squash Circuit 2015. With over $120,000 to be won across the Circuit this year around it will raise the stakes considerably and today a top Indian Pro Squash Player could potentially maximise on World Ranking Points as well as earn better Prize Money than ever before playing right here in India on their home courts. We are pleased with the way squash is growing in India, exposing top-level squash to budding youngsters from all across the country.” shared Ritwik Bhattacharya, PSA Representative in India.

“We are excited that the Indian Circuit will continue for a second successive year and are thrilled to have some of the world's leading players on show and can't wait for what looks set to be a superb set of events. The circuit has a strong line-up containing some of the most recognisable names in the sport. It is hoped that seeing such luminaries of the sport in action will help to inspire a new generation of Indian players. We would like to thank our sponsor JSW Sports for their continued support and we’re delighted to have Reliance Industry support the circuit,” said Raj Arora, of Ivy Sports, Tournament Promoters