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Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, who is also known as Harry in the squash fraternity, was one of the 26 recipients of the Arjuna Award, as revealed by the Sports Ministry of India on Wednesday, December 20. The journey has seen many roadblocks and setbacks, as Harry likes to call there were ‘more downs than ups’ in his prolonged career.
Despite playing sports such as cricket, football, and hockey, Harinder was enamored of a racket sport not very popular in the country. Here's what he told Sportskeeda just after receiving the news:
“I feel surreal like I am feeling very happy. When you get such a prestigious award…. in a sportsman’s life, all the sacrifices made for more than 20 years. All the setbacks… all the injuries and all the doubts. Not just me, all the sacrifices the family has made. There are a lot of sacrifices made behind the scenes which gets unnoticed.
“Even my Indian squash academy family that backed me ever since I moved there. Would not have been possible without the structure of the Indian squash academy. Mr Ramachandran, Major Maniam, Cyrus Poncha and all the other coaches that have been part of the Indian squash academy."
Harinder Pal Sandhu's early challenges
In 2003, a 13-year-old boy from Mohali moved to Chennai in pursuit of nurturing a prosperous career in squash at the best facility in the country - the Indian Squash Academy.
Keeping aside the cultural and language differences that slowly started getting adjusted, Harry started practicing on cementing floors, unlike the up-and-coming generation starting on a glass court. Playing on cemented courts always meant that players were prone to getting bruised; the shoes getting ripped weren’t exceptional though. Gradually, there were wooden courts facilitated but that wasn’t the end of the struggles.
Maintaining a high ranking in the nationals (minimum in top 4) for more than a decade was no mean feat. The year 2014 brought glad tidings to Indian squash, and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu played an important role in scripting the history.
He joined forces with India’s poster boy of Squash, Saurav Ghosal, as India defeated Malaysia 2-0 in the final to bag the unprecedented gold medal in the men’s team event at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. Just two months later, Harry defeated Saurav (an already 13-time national winner) in the final to win his maiden national squash championship title.
Harinder won the Player of the Year’ award in 2014 for his phenomenal run on the court. However, he was dejected in 2017 for not being considered for the Arjuna Award despite pushing his name for the prestigious honour for three consecutive years.
Six years down the line, here is a chuffed Harry becoming the sixth Indian squash player to receive the Arjuna award after Bhuvneshwari Kumari, Saurav Ghosal, Dipika, Joshna Chinappa and Anaka Alankamony.
“This award would obviously not have been possible without my teammates with whom I have played over the years," Harry said. "And all the senior players from whom I have learned on the tour.”
Biggest battle of career for Harinder Pal Sandhu
In 2018, a lower back injury almost threatened to put curtains on the Indian squash player’s career. The Medical personnel who treated him didn’t gave any hope of return, yielding a thought of a possible retirement at the age of 29 only.
“Very serious injuries that I had coming for the last 3-4 years. There was a point of time I thought I would not be able to play the game. Then I had to do strength and rehab for one year before I could touch my racket,” he narrated his tough phase.
What ensued was a hectic rehab process under his trainer Siddharth Sunil. Though he was drained mentally as well as physically, the only option was to hustle and compete with younger players and win selection trials and participate in quadrennial events such as Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
The icing on the cake
In October this year, Harry returned with two gold medals from the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. He was part of the Indian men’s team that won its second gold in the continental showpiece and later paired with Dipika Pallikal, another veteran of the game, to grab the gold in a mixed doubles event.
“My mixed doubles was extra special. Like playing with Dipika, we both had a quite tough time coming to the Asian Games," Harry said. "Both of us had to overcome a lot of obstacles and difficulties. Both of us were really glad that we could win for our country."
Even though Harry received enough support from the Indian Squash Academy during his rehabilitation process, some suggested, derisively, to call it time on his international career.
“There have been a lot of people who told me behind the scenes that you should retire now," he revealed. "From where I come from, we are a warrior race and since I started my only goal was to win medal for the country. That doesn’t come easy as there were a lot of roadblocks and setbacks in the way."
Speaking on the achievement of Harinder getting the honour of Arjuna award, Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) secretary general Cyrus Poncha commented:
“He is absolutely very deserving. He’s been at it (squash) for over 20 years, playing from the junior levels, representing the country both at the Asian and World Championship. After this year’s national championship, he was in top 4 of the men’s nationals for a 15th consecutive year. The icing of his consistency was winning the two gold medals at the Asian Games.”
Harinder Pal Sandhu's Olympics goal: Where does it stand?
On October 16 this year, the International Olympic Committee confirmed squash among the five new additional sports at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Just at 34, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu believes that it is a long road for not just him but for all his contemporaries as well.
"That's another very long road for all the squash player and honestly it is positive news for our sport in the country," Harinder said. "This is the only major game which was lacking to be in the Olympics."
"And honestly when any game is in the Olympics, a lot of sponsors, a lot of financial backing, more support from the governments as well," he added. "The state government supports Olympic sports athletes. There was a long time coming. Obviously you will see a lot of players coming and a lot of tracking of the sport in the country. Lot more coverage and lot more players in the future."
Harry also heaped praise on the flamboyant Indian badminton men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty after they were honoured with the Khel Ratna (the highest sporting honour for an Indian player). He said:
“I think that’s inspirational. Badminton is such a tough sport and there are lot of countries that dominate that sport. I’ve been following their journey since they both started playing together. We know the hardwork and sacrifices that racket sports individual players need. I congratulate them and it’s not just the badminton players even the squash players are motivated and inspired by their achievement of reaching world No. 1."
