"India will produce champions in squash soon," is the prediction coming from the most authentic source -- Pakistan squash legend Jahangir Khan.
I have been watching Indian players at the circuit and they are progressing by leaps and bounds. I have recently seen their players performing in the World Team Championship and they are good enough to progress and win titles at the international level.
These comments mean a lot for Indian squash. They are coming from a man who ruled the squash world in the last century. Jahangir is a ten-times British Open Champion ranging from 1982-1991 -- an unmatched feat in the world squash stage -- and six world open titles in a glorious career. That earned Jahangir Khan a legendary status in the game. He also won the World Open from 1981-1985 and 1988 to earn a sobriquet of 'conqueror of the game' - a la Mughal Emperor Jahangir.
But even after hanging his shoes Jahangir's love for the game remained unwavered. He has been at the forefront in the campaign to get squash included in the Olympics for the last several years. Those efforts bore fruits when the sport he loves was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
As the President of World Squash Federation (WSF) (2002-2008) Jahangir also travelled to India and was amazed with the facilities.
I visited India before the Covid and found the Chennai academy a wonderful facility. The coaching players received there is very good and these academies are the pathway for upcoming players.
The period when Narayana Ramachandran was WSF President (2008-2016) squash prospered in India. Saurav Ghosal won 10 PSA (Players Squash Association) titles in 21 years on the Tour. He last appeared at the 2024 Windy City Open. The 37-year-old Ghosal, who also won multiple Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medals, retired in April this year.
Ghosal was a good player and won quite a few titles. You need role models in sport and once you have those role models they become inspiration for youngsters. India now has a role model on Ghosal and the infrastructure is good so that will help them grow in the game.
Mahesh Mangaonkar, Joshna Chinappa, Harshit Kaur Jawanda have also made rapid strides on the squash circuit. Youngster Harshit Kaur Jawanda is also the player for future.Jahangir believes squash will get a huge boost with the inclusion in Olympics. "We have been striving hard to get squash included in the Olympics," said Jahangir, who is now the Emeritus President of the WSF, a special status created for the legend.
Jahangir said India was better than Pakistan in the 2024 2024 Men's World Team Squash Championships, held in Hong Kong earlier this month. Abhay Singh, Velavan Senthilkumar, Veer Chotrani and Suraj Chand represented India in the 28th edition of world men's team championship. While India finished 5th, Pakistan were at their worst with a 13th position. India beat Malaysia in the second round but lost to France in quarters.
India was clearly better than Pakistan. We have our own problems of lack of intent in players and the bad habit of fudging age in domestic competitions. While India has gained ground in squash, we have surrendered a lot.
