Interview with Harinder Pal Sandhu: "People's interest in squash is increasing day by day"

Harinder Pal Sandhu feels India’s squash future is in good hands

Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu made quite the splash last year in the world of squash. But, he wasn’t alone. The Indian squash fraternity had a breakthrough year in 2014 with success in the Asian and Commonwealth Games as well as other regional squash championships. Harinder is part of a large contingent of Indian players who have made steady progress over the years.

A product of the Indian Squash Academy, the man from Chandigarh, but for whom Chennai is home, Harinder reached a career high ranking of 59 earlier this year. He managed to win his first senior national title too last year beating 8-time champion Saurav Ghosal in the final.

Sportskeeda caught up with Harinder on the sidelines of the ISA Junior Open 2015 at the Indian Squash Academy for a brief chat.

Q: At the beginning of this tournament, we had Ryan Fernando of Qua Nutrition coming in and having a session on the importance of the right diet for an athlete. He also mentioned he worked with you about 10 years ago. How has that helped you in your career?

It’s actually been very good and helped me a lot in my career. It has helped us to take care of our body better, we know what to eat and it helps us follow the right diet so that we can get maximum performance out on the court.

Q: 2014 was a watershed year for Indian squash with players doing extremely well in international tournaments. What brought about the turnaround?

I believe it was the result of the players’ hard work. There were a lot of tournaments where we were very close. Like at Guangzhou and at Malaysia. We would reach the semis and then not kick on from there. I think we did that last year.

The Asian Senior Championships were a very memorable one for all of us because we finally achieved that breakthrough as we kept believing in ourselves.

Q: You played the first match in the men's team event final at the Asian Games. What was going through your mind before taking on Mohammed Azlan?

I was actually confident because I had done well in some of the tournaments leading up to the event. About 1 or 2 weeks before, I had played and done well in Malaysia at a PSA event.

I was down 1-8 down in the first game, but I managed to fight back and take it 11-8.

I was very up for it. At the back of my mind, I just felt that there was no way we were going to lose because we had come so far and I had a good feeling about it. Hence I was able to stay focused through the match.

Q: Before a match, how do you like to prepare? Different players have different routines right, so what’s yours?

Usually, I like to zone out. I generally sit by myself, don’t talk much to the coaches, just try to gather my focus and relax.

Q: The Indian Squash Academy has shaped the careers of many players over the years. Can you tell us about your experience of learning in the ISA?

It’s been very good for all of us as it is the only academy in India with such facilities. The Centre Court here which is an all-glass court is the only one of its kind in the country. They’ve been backing me since I was 14 and that sort of support is very important for young players to come up.

Q: You beat Saurav Ghosal last year to win the National title. How did that feel?

Coming back from the Asian Games and the other PSA events that followed it, I had some good energy and momentum. As I mentioned, the whole of last year I just felt very good about myself. So I was feeling confident.

At the same time, it was tough as I had been playing a very hectic schedule and coming to the National championships whereas for Saurav, he’s used to playing in these top events regularly. So I was definitely a bit anxious to see how it would go, but I was confident in my game and I managed to pull it off.

Q: Tell us a bit about the experience of working with Major S. Maniam, the Foreign Consultant.

Maniam sir is very well-known throughout the world and is well connected to a lot of players from other countries and is knowledgeable about best practices followed elsewhere. So, he has been imparting a lot of that to us. He has helped organize a lot of training camps that have helped prepare our players better.

Q: With more people interested in squash now more than ever, do you think India will be able to host any major PSA / WSA event in the near future?

Definitely it’s possible. We are anyway hosting a lot of events here and players from other parts are also getting very familiar with the surroundings, so I definitely think we can do so.

Q: Squash has not made it to the Olympics yet. Top players and athletes from other sports have backed the bid. Why do you think Squash is missing out?

The reach of the sport is still not as much as maybe some other sports. But, once people have started watching the game, they like it and they start following it.

Ten Sports is showing PSA/WSA events on TV, but it is not Live and they show it maybe once or twice a week. But other sports, like cricket, football they show the same matches so many times in a week, so definitely it is a little bit of a disadvantage.

But, it is picking up, more people are following now, so it’s a good sign.

Q: And finally, a word on the ongoing ISA Junior Open 2015. What’s your take seeing these kids take part as you came through the same path and now you’re a veteran with the Indian senior team?

It’s actually amazing as I think they are better equipped. They have better facilities than what we had and they will not face some of the early problems that we had when we were their age. The sport is also becoming more popular, so that is helpful for them.

I met this one kid, he was from Hyderabad. I was talking to him and he knew the Top 10 players by heart and he knew each and every detail about them. I was very impressed. So the youngsters these days have access to a lot of things, information, coaching, they can learn shots by watching YouTube, some things that came much later for us.

So definitely, they have the potential, and they have the tools as well to make it big.

(Harinder left to Hong Kong to play at the HKFC International. He is following that up with tournaments in New Zealand before returning)