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Maharashtra-born Suraj Chand’s endearment for squash happened in 2011 during a summer camp held in Mumbai. He was starstruck by watching veterans Saurav Ghosal and Harinder Pal Sandhu at the age of 10.
India’s 2014 Asian Games gold in the men’s team event propelled Suraj to take the sport as a professional path and the sole desire to represent his country at a multi-sporting event. Suraj started at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, which has a dedicated squash facility for players.
He won many titles during his college days, including a silver medal in the men’s team event at National Games 2022. He won the National Level Squash Championship 2023 at IIT Gandhinagar and the National Level Squash Tournament 2023 in Guwahati.
Suraj was also part of Somaiya’s triumphant team along with Rahul Baitha and Avinash Sahani, defeating Mumbai University 3-0 in the final of the All-India University Squash Championship.
He soon entered the professional circuit with fresh set of challenges awaiting for him. The 22-year-old played his first PSA World Tour event - the Eastside Open - in Australia where he could only make it to the second round. He played four more tournaments Down Under until September, making back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in the Canberra Open and the Bega Open.
Suraj Chand understands where he stands with his current game
He entered the 79th Squash National Championship as the fourth-seeded in the men’s event and lived up to its billing, rallying past Prithvi Singh (pre-quarters - 16-14, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3) and Vaibhav Chauhan (quarterfinals - -3, 11-8, 11-7) to make it through the semis. However, Suraj couldn’t crack the code against double Asian Games medallist Abhay Singh in the last four, going down in three straight games 11-6, 11-2, 11-3.
What was the difference here? The limited international exposure and lack of competition in the build up at the Jindal Squash Academy in Vashind, Maharashtra.
“This tournament is a prestigious event in India. I think I need to work harder to get these players. I need to train with these top players. Right now I don't have that good players to train with me back at my academy,” Suraj Chand told Sportskeeda on the sidelines of the squash nationals.
“Abhay is a really good player in India's top 2 or 3 years. He has been a gold medalist. So as expected, I thought I will give my best. For me, the plan was to make it as long as possible to play bigger rallies which didn't go my way. He was quick on the court and dominated the T and the whole court. It didn't go as I planned,” he added.
Suraj still believes there is a huge gap between international players and Indian players, dissecting from the handful of games he played in Australia.
"There is a big international difference between the international and current India level," Suraj continued. "As you can see a lot of European and American players are there in the top 100. There are very few Indian players in that list. So there is a big competition in Europe as compared to India."
Suraj Chand's testing moment
Suraj Chand has made his way to the national circuit and slowly will take baby steps to vie for a place on the international stage, having the backing of JSW Sports. However, one particular loss in the junior nationals almost inclined him to quit the sport.
“In 2019 when I was playing my last junior nationals. I reached the semifinal and lost to a good player in five games. Then I thought I can do better and do really well in the men's category and represent India. I lost to a good player and I started thinking that I should stop playing squash and don't have a future here.”
That idea didn’t find any progression only because coach Laxman Joshi stepped up to boost his morale and also narrated his own experience.
“He (Laxman Joshi) told me a few incidents where he got in the same position. He told me how to come back and face the situation. So that's why I came back," he added.
Suraj is still training under Laxman and Javed Mohammad at the Jindal Squash Academy and frequently visits the Bombay Gymkhana in Mumbai. He finished the year with another semi-final appearance at Sunil Verma Memorial Open.
According to his own admission, he still needs to put in the hard yards to make it to the tournament finals. A timeframe of 12 months from now should be enough to determine his progress.
