Struggling for importance

Bengaluru: If someone happens to watch a game of squash for the first time, the one aspect that is sure to garner both displeasure and empathy almost simultaneously is the rule of ‘let’. 

Meaning of let: if your swing is impeded (unintentionally) by your opponent, a let is called and neither player wins a point.  

It gets especially frustrating when the players are involved in a never-ending cat and mouse duel, a single rally lasting minutes even, without an end result. All that work for nothing. The most brutal part of the game for the ones fighting it out inside the glass cage and ridiculously agonising to watch for the rest outside.

This very nature of the sport that demands resilience and relentlessness while showcasing patience and confidence was perhaps the reason why squash ‘let’ go, each time, of multiple Olympic snubs after tussling for a spot for years.

But now, hope has sprouted once again for the sport’s community. And this time it looks more realisable than ever before. A long-awaited news of squash’s proposal, among four other sports, being accepted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics broke out this week. 

Closer home, the timing of what could possibly turn out to be the biggest watershed moment for Indian squash couldn’t have come at a better juncture as the sport is riding on the success it tasted at the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou. 

While Saurav Ghosal led the men’s team to gold before capturing a silver in the men’s singles individual category, seasoned pros Dipika Pallikal and partner Harinder Pal Sandhu topped the podium in the mixed doubles while youngsters Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh picked up a bronze in the same event. The women’s team also came back home with a bronze making it a total of five medals - the best result at the continental bash thus far. 

With many firsts and feats, Ghosal, Dipika and Joshna Chinappa have long been the ambassador’s of a sport in India that still remains elite and left far behind other racquet disciplines such as badminton, tennis and table tennis in terms of popularity and the sheer number of people playing it.

From Ghosal becoming the first Indian to win an individual Commonwealth Games medal (a bronze at Birmingham last year) to Dipika becoming the first Indian to break into the top-10 of the world rankings (which was later achieved also by Joshna) made heads turn and take notice of squash that was introduced in the country more than a century ago by the British Armed Forces. 

“It (squash) has come leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. The scenario is a lot better than what it was when we first started,” said Ghosal, the current world No. 19. 

“It isn’t yet a mainstream sport. I think we're very close to getting into the Olympics. That'll be a big boost to the game. It broadens the base a lot and more avenues will open up. Hopefully, this should help us get into the grassroots with focus on schools a little bit more. That's the key. Getting into schools is important. Getting to watch live matches on television is the next step and something that's huge for us players,” added the 37-year-old Arjuna Awardee.  

The factors hampering the growth of squash - that has largely remained unknown and out of bounds for the masses - are not any different from sports considered ‘niche for the urban elite’. 

Lack of infrastructure, expensive, non-existent except in the few big cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Kolkata, exclusive only for members of a club.

With a view to break out from its own shackles of limitations and to tap into the actual potential, some individuals, private entities and enthusiasts are contributing to the development of the sport. 

Take for example, a squash academy set-up by chemical engineer Vijay Kumar Goel within the boundaries of his sugar mills factory in Dhampur, Uttar Pradesh. The facility is known for producing several quality players over the last few decades. Providing free coaching for underprivileged children in the region and beyond to nurture success stories. 

In Bengaluru, the four courts at the Lakshyan Academy of Sports in Sarjapur, is one of the new facilities in the city attracting more takers. 

“We began in September 2022 with three kids. Now we've more than 30 with some of them ranked top-5 in various junior categories in the country,” says head coach Siddharth Phutela. 

“Compared to a few years ago, courts in apartment complexes and private sporting arenas such as ours have increased visibility. But what we lack is the availability of quality coaches. There aren't many coaches even in a city like Bengaluru. It has just started to pick up here. Other than that, a little bit of tournament structure at the local level needs to be brought in,” opined the 30-year-old player-turned-coach from Chandigarh. 

Observing the dearth of competition propelled Vinay Chandrashekar, a cricketer-turned-squash player, to place his bet on the sports' promising future by owning a team in the Bangalore Squash League - a franchise-based event that started in 2008 with players ranging from club level to the national circuit participating. 

“Of course, squash remains mostly underrated. A lot of development is happening but at a slow pace. That’s why the collective involvement and tiny contributions from individuals become important even as the cream at the top do what they do to inspire generations,” felt the 34-year-old, founder of a well-known microbrewery in the city.

However, the question of whether the sport can shed its urban tag and spread in length and breath has a simple answer to it according to Ghosal. 

“There's a myth that it's an expensive sport to play but in terms of infrastructure it isn't that expensive at all. It might be as expensive as a badminton court and cheaper than a tennis court. And these two aren’t just urban sports in the country, right? It can be done. The sports ministry, national and state associations have to use the success that we have had over the last decade and build on the fact that we hopefully will be in the Olympics soon.”

The community’s last few hours of a nervy wait of breaking away from Olympic exile nears an end come Monday after the proposal will be put to vote during the IOC session which begins in Mumbai on Sunday.   

It might seem insignificant to many but for those within the squash ecosystem, especially in a country like ours, the final push for inclusion is regarded as a rebirth. 

And as everyone from Ghosal to Phutela, Chandrashekar and the rest, who are collectively working towards promoting and growing the sport at different levels, wait with bated breath, their hopes hinge on this long rally ending with a preferable result in favour of the sport.