CHENNAI: “I don’t even know the name of this sport,” Thang, a spectator, told Express on Wednesday. The Manipur lad had come to Express Avenue to have a good time with friends, who like the 24-yearold were also clueless about what was happening inside the new glass court at the centre of the mall. All around, people were staring curiously as the 19th Asian Individual Championship was underway. Family and friends of Indian athletes were the ones who were making all the noise, as they cheered their loved ones on a typically hot and humid summer day in Chennai.
While visitors to the mall were fascinated by the EA Bot — an 85kg R2D2-like robot installed on Tuesday to guide them through shops and various deals of the day — some of them were eager to know what was happening. “Though I have heard about it, this is the first time I’m watching squash. It seems interesting,” said Meena, a Stella Maris College student who had come with her friends. “While the whole ‘squash in the mall’ plan was to generate maximum crowd, the turnout wasn’t that great. It’s understandable as most of them present were not familiar with the sport.
“I’m sure more people will turn up in the coming days,” said Cyrus Poncha, tournament director. India team foreign coach Ashraf el Karagui agreed. “For a first, this is fantastic. Obviously, I can’t compare this with Egypt, where we’ve played in front of the Pyramids. Even then, there are lots of spectators who are wellversed and have knowledge about squash,” he said. The action for the Day 1 was split, with some matches happening at the Indian Squash Academy as well. It was a good day for the hosts, with just one major upset as ninth seed Sachika Ingale lost to Malaysia’s 15-yearold Aifa Azman. Earlier, Velavan Senthilkumar eased past Iranian Sohail Shameli. But it was Sunayna Kuruvilla who stole the show, as she beat 13th seed Choe Yura in straight sets.
And the 17-yearold felt more people needed to come and show support. “I want to surprise myself and see how far I can go. I shouldn’t be compared to Dipika (Pallikal, her cousin). She’s way too good to be compared with. Honestly, a little more crowd will be nice. It’ll motivate us more,” she said. Overall, the mood was one of familiarity. And all athletes seemed relaxed. Saurav Ghosal, the second seed, notched a routine win, and appeared calm. “The court here is a bit tricky, with some uneven bounce. But that’s something we’ve to get used to. It’s only Day 1. This mall is a busy place in general. By the weekend, I guess it’s going to be packed,” he opined.
vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com