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Opening up new vistas for squash talent
S. R. SURYANARAYANS. R. SURYANARAYAN
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With eight state-of-the-art courts at one venue, Chennai has become the nerve-centre of squash. Brainchild of N. Ramachandran, this new facility at Egmore has enabled the city to host the world junior men's championship.
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THREE YEARS ago, if a squash enthusiast desired to have a round of his favourite sport, he would have needed the help of a friend in any of the leading city clubs; only the clubs had the courts to fulfil his desire. It was also said that squash was for the affluent children who yearned to make a mark and used that as a passport to further their studies abroad. Even that has become a misnomer now. With eight state-of-the-art courts, one of them a rare all-glass wall type — the latest in squash facility and first of its kind in this part of Asia — Chennai has certainly become the nerve-centre of the sport and opened up new vistas for talent in the lower middle class too.
Partially hidden behind a row of housing board tenements, just off a busy main round and in a corner of the vast area behind the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu's Nehru Park ground, is located this world class facility which has come up through the joint enterprise of India Cements, the Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association (TNSRA) and the SDAT. The facility is the brainchild of N. Ramachandran, an industrialist and also president, TNSRA and the Asian Squash Federation.
A squash lover and one who never misses a day at the squash court, Mr. Ramachandran, like many top executives, considered the sport ideal as part of the fitness regimen. Thus began his urge to have a complex for squash. Being a sport administrator came in handy and then the belief, what Indian sportspersons lacked is not talent or willingness to excel but best facilities, goaded him to pursue the multi-crore project. The foundation for the project, a marvel from the famous German concern, ASB, with sizeable financial help from the Union Government under existing rules for such infrastructural ventures, was thus laid with as much eye on excellence and quality as on the hope of bringing about a silent revolution in Indian squash fortunes. It all started with three courts, which form the ICL-SDAT Academy. The five additional ones have come up as an adjunct to the earlier structure and under the banner of the TNSRA. The eight courts at one venue, a rarity in the sport, have enabled Chennai to host the world junior men's championship.
Easily the most spectacular bit of technology and a sight to behold is the imported glass-walled court, which alone is worth over Rs. one crore, in the new fully-air-conditioned structure. The all-glass-wall court makes it a unique setting with spectators sitting all around the four sides. At a time, 1,000 people can sit inside and watch the action in comfort. With bright lights directed onto the court, watching a match could be a delightful experience. For the players too, it is a different experience, particularly when most of them are used to playing on courts with opaque walls on three sides. Besides, this new facility also taxes a player more as the shots executed needed more power for effect, unlike on conventional courts; the ball comes off the glass-wall slower than from a cement wall. This calls for peak fitness in a player and extra flexibility to reach for the ball. World over, the best set of players perform in such conditions because at the highest level of competition, in both men's and women's sections, glass-walled courts have replaced the conventional kind.
Squash then is all about fitness. An intense 20-minute session on a court can leave a person dripping in sweat. To that extent, it can be energy sapping from the point of view of a competitive player, but high-flying executives have a fascination for the sport as it is ideal to unwind and remain trim and healthy. That is why squash used to be a club preserve for a long time, until Mr. Ramachandran decided to pursue it as a mission. With one stroke, he proposed to achieve two things — provide a systematic training ground for budding talent and also help seniors engage in their favourite pastime. An academy first and a restricted club thereafter, that is what the squash complex is set to become, and if the enquiries from parents and the rush of school children are anything to go by, it will be no wonder if the city witnesses an over-drive in squash interest.
Already the weekends are reserved for schools; around 150 children make a beeline to the courts with a few parents, who have had experience of playing squash, taking on the role of coaches. The idea is to popularise the sport, guide the young ones in the rudiments of the game, and as Mr. Ramachandran says, "if we are able to pick around ten per cent of the numbers participating who could be moulded into good players, then that will provide the Association immense satisfaction". With an expert like Maj. (retd) S. Maniam, former coach of the highly rated Malaysian team and an Asian Squash Federation consultant, heading the training panel, which also has the national coach, Cyrus Poncha, any child showing the right inclination will be assured of a squash career. "We have also decided that children from lower middle class families and those recommended by the SDAT will not be charged for the training. Besides, there is a plan to erect cement courts in six corporation schools, which have been identified. Our coaches will provide assistance and in the process identify talent who could be brought to the academy courts for advanced training at our cost," he says.
From quantity can come quality, a much worn out cliché but nonetheless this is what the SRFI, the TNSRA and the SDAT hope would come about through this high investment that has already attracted enquiries from various parts of the country. In fact, one of the brightest prospects from the junior ranks in India, Sourav Goshal was based in Kolkata before his parents decided, looking into what was best for him in squash, to shift residence to Chennai. More such players are beginning to move over to this metropolis seeking organised training, something unheard of earlier. Besides, there are quite a few youngsters from the lower strata of society for whom squash has given a new, exciting turn. These children have already begun to cause ripples in competitions. Names such as Balamurugan and Parthiban are bound to be heard more, maybe even at the international level. It is this belief that makes Mr. Ramachandran confident that "India will win a medal in the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar and produce a junior world champion in the next 10 years". No doubt, the squash academy has set an example for other sports to follow.
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