The Samoan experience: Amid unique setting, Indian squash delivers yet again with 2 medals

Velavan Senthilkumar with Harshit Jawanda on the podium after their mixed doubles silver win

The idyllic setting of Samoa, the Oceanian Island country in the South Pacific, can be captivating. Waves of the Ocean lashing on to the island shore from all sides and swaying coconut trees backed by the strong breeze make this country a top tourist destination. And it was in this picturesque surrounding that the Commonwealth Youth Games was held.

It did not matter then that for an Indian participant a good 30 to 32 hours were needed, much of them in flight, to reach the country’s capital Apia which was the venue for the Games.

The journey was to a unique spot, more a dot in the ocean, and that experience instantly washes away all the tiredness, physically and mentally. Maj S. Maniam from Malaysia, Technical consultant of SRFI, who went with the Indian squash duo of Velavan Senthilkumar and Harshit Jawanda, could not resist from sharing the experience of his first impressions of the country, before going to business.

The uniqueness extended even to the way the Games were organized. The stay was away from hotels, but in college dormitory-like rooms, officials on one wing and the players on the other. Everything else, from comfort rooms to the dining hall, were just either a walk away or at a bus-ride distance.

The theme was ‘togetherness’ and the motto was ‘friendship’, and if at the end of Games Harshit was one among those with the most number of friends, then that that was one plus point that India had in Samoa. The main gain of course was winning two medals, a bronze that Velavan brought from singles competition and a silver from the mixed doubles the two combined to win.

In the background of picking the disciplines where India would participate with the accent on chances of winning medals, squash was considered on the conviction that Velavan and Harshit, easily two of the best youth players in the country now, would not return empty handed. As Maj Maniam put it, “There was a feeling even before we set out for the Games that squash would bring in medals for India, considering the talent we have and the overall competition that was to unfold in Samoa.”

The India coach also felt that “maybe we missed Harshit’s medal in the singles. That would have made it three overall.”

According to him, this Indian junior champion had a bad start. First, on landing in Samoa she found to her dismay her bag had not come in. That started a period of moaning for this inexperienced girl already overawed by the magnitude of a multi-discipline Games. Fortunately for her the baggage turned in the night before the competition got underway, but then she had virtually no time for practice sessions at the newly laid squash complex which had three singles and two doubles courts.

Then again she was unlucky to have confronted the unseeded Pakistani girl Sadia Gul in the second round after an easy first round. The seeded Indian was virtually blown away by the aggressive Sadia, who was a touch physical too, once sending Harshit sprawling on the court.

The Indian girl was good at countering the power-packed returns of her rival but such skills alone were not enough, the match proved! Indeed, if Harshit had won that match, going by how things turned out thereafter in the draw, the Indian could have grabbed a bronze in the least. But then sport is all about pluck and luck too.

Talking of pluck and luck, Velavan enjoyed a good slice of them. Known for his steady play, this southpaw had the advantage of sparring with the seeded Luke Jones before the competitions. Nobody guessed then that this New Zealander would be the Indian’s rival in the quarterfinal.

The prior meeting meant Velavan could gauge his rival’s strengths and weaknesses, an advantage Luke too had. As it turned out, the Indian did his homework better and found the winning way. Velavan however could do little against the top seeded Malaysian Eain Yow NgIt next and succumbed in the semi-final.

The Indian still needed to beat Pakistan’s Israr Ahamed to make sure of the bronze. It is a different matter though that the bronze came to him on a platter because Israr reported sick, but a medal was won all the same, for the country!

In every sense it was an excellent experience for Velavan and Harshit. The two had played together in doubles for the first time and straight away courted some success. This should encourage the coaches as they plan for the future.

More importantly, however, squash delivered yet again for India in an international meet.

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Edited by Staff Editor