Squash at Commonwealth Games 2018: Can the Indians impress?

2014 was the year that Indian squash will never forget. Star players Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa had teamed up to deliver the unimaginable; a historic gold medal in the women's doubles event of the Commonwealth Games, held at Glasgow 2014.

Had it not been for bad luck, Sourav Ghosal would've clinched the first individual medal ever for India here, though he compensated for the loss with a gold [in Men's Team] and a silver medal [Men's Singles] from the Incheon Asiad 2014.

4 years later, a rejuvenated Indian contingent is all up in arms, eager to make a mark in the squash event at the Gold Coast CWG 2018, which will commence from April 5th at the makeshift venue of Oxenford Village Roadshow Studios, also the venue for the boxing event.

Oxenford Village Roadshow Studios: Venue for Squash at CWG 2018

Tournament Format

According to the format, as laid out and prescribed by the Gold Coast CWG organising committee, there are 54 players in both the groups who are further classified for the Round of 64 and Round of 32. They shall play each other as per the format until they make the cut for the respective medal playoffs.

Later on, some of them may or may not team up for the doubles events, which will begin soon after the respective singles' events get over.

Based on the rankings, the ones with a rank of at least 10 have been given a bye in the Round of 64, which includes star players Sourav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa, who shall be starting their campaign directly from the Round of 32.

Following is the schedule for the squash events, to be held at Gold Coast CWG 2018:-

5th - 7th April - Preliminaries [Men's Singles & Women's Singles]

8th April - Semifinals [Men's Singles & Women's Singles]

9th April - Medal Playoffs [Men's Singles & Women's Singles]

10th - 12th April - Preliminaries [Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles & Mixed Doubles]

13th April - Semifinals [Mixed Doubles]

14th April - Semifinals [Men's Doubles & Women's Doubles] & Medal Playoffs [Mixed Doubles]

15th April - Medal Playoffs [Men's Doubles & Women's Doubles]

The male contingent: Can Saurav Ghosal make it this time?

Squash at CWG 2018: Time for Saurav to pull up his socks

The male team for the squash event has the potential and will want to make it big this time. This holds true especially for Saurav Ghosal, who missed the podium in the previous edition by a whisker, losing to Peter Barker of England.

As compared to his compatriots Harinder Pal Sindhu and Vikram Malhotra, the 3rd seeded Ghosal has an easier outing, as he begins his campaign against the winner of the match between Christopher Vinnie of Jamaica and Jason Doyle of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Going by the roster laid out, Saurav has a relatively easier outing, and can surely make it to the semifinals, and it is only at this juncture, where Saurav has to give it his all to make sure that he doesn't return without a historic medal, whatever colour it may be.

It won't be that easy, however, for his partner Harinder Pal Sandhu, who will open his account against Cameron Stafford of the Cayman Islands in his Round of 64 event. If he makes it to the pre-quarterfinals, Sandhu, who is ranked No. 77 as of now in the world, will have to play the match of his life against World No. 8 Paul Coll, seeded No. 2 as of now, in order to stake his claim for the podium.

Vikram Malhotra, who is making his debut in this CWG edition, will be up against Manda Chilambwe of Zambia in the Round of 64. Like Sandhu, Vikram will also have to play the match of his life in the pre-quarterfinals, since, in all probability, he may face the World No. 4 and the defending champion, Nick Matthew of England.

Vikram Malhotra, currently ranked World No. 68, will also team up with Ramit Tandon for the men's doubles event.

The female contingent: Time for Dipika to make it count individually

Squash at CWG 2018: Can Dipika and Joshna maintain their golden run?

The centre of attraction for the Indian squash contingent will be once again the female contingent, comprising of Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa. The duo had won a historic gold medal in the women's doubles event of the previous edition and will be looking forward to repeating the same feat.

Individually, however, the two have a lot to do, if they wish to see themselves on the podium. Chinappa, who will begin her campaign against Lynette Vai of Papua New Guinea, has an easy outing, and can surely make it to the quarterfinals.

However, in the quarterfinals, she may have to face Joelle King of New Zealand, ranked no. 9 in the world. Since Joelle was also a bronze medalist from the previous edition, it won't be easy for Joshna in the road to the podium. However, the giant killer that she is, we can very well expect an upset or two.

Dipika, on the other hand, has a tougher road to the podium this time. Though she will start her campaign against Charlotte Knaggs of Trinidad and Tobago, she is going in for some real trouble if she makes it to the Round of 16. Here, Dipika could face, in all probability, the very Alison Waters of England, who had defeated her in the quarterfinals at Glasgow CWG 2014.

Even if Dipika makes the cut, she will have to play out of her skin as she could face Asian champion and World No. 6, Nicol David of Malaysia in the quarterfinals. Dipika will have to make it count if she wants to continue her dream run up to the upcoming Asian Games at Jakarta.

Following is the Indian squash team for the upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018:-

Indian men's squash team

Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Sandhu & Vikram Malhotra [Men's Singles], Vikram Malhotra and Ramit Tandon [Men's Doubles]

Indian women's squash team

Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa [Women's Singles and Women's Doubles]

Indian mixed doubles team

Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Joshna Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu [Mixed Doubles]