CHENNAI: As the Express Avenue mall gears up for the Christmas celebrations later this month, the Atrium and three makeshift galleries, will be the centre of attention for the next few days (starting December 9), as the Squash World Cup is set to begin here on Tuesday. This will also be the second consecutive edition since the re-launch of the event in 2023.
In addition to the mall, the premises of the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) will be used for practice, as well as play-off matches. The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) will be hosting the event with the help of the Tamil Nadu government and the Union ministry of Sports and Youth affairs.
Lately, in a bid that could help the sport grow, squash tournaments in India have been conducted near monuments or a place of spectacle. SRFI Secretary General Cyrus Poncha revealed that the Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram was considered as a venue but because of the weather it was put on hold. "We certainly were considering other options. But given the timing of our event which is December, we definitely did not want to take a chance and play outdoor. We saw what happened last week. If it was one week later then we would have all been very disappointed to do it," he added.
A Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour event was conducted in front of the Indo-Saracenic building of the Daly College in Indore. Outside the country, tournaments in Egypt are conducted besides the iconic Great Pyramids of Giza. Even though no rain is forecast in the city as well as Mahabalipuram, organisers did not want to take a chance.
The tournament will see 12 teams contest for the World title, an increase from the number of teams in the previous edition in 2023 (8). Four pools will have three teams each. The top-two teams in these pools will play the quarterfinals. All matches will be played to a best of 5 games, and the first team to seven points will win. At 6-6, the game will still be played to seven points and decided in a sudden death tie-break.
Poncha outlined the preparations for the marquee event. "The preparation has really started many months ago, you know working towards you know in terms of accommodation, transport for the athletes," he said.
As the country is currently witnessing its biggest meltdown of its premier airline, travel by air is adversely hit. The squash players, in a relief, are not affected by it. "Many have reached last night. A few will be coming tonight (Sunday)," he said.
Competition levels
It is to be noted that none of the players from the 2023-World Cup winning team will return in this edition. Fayrouz Aboulkheir, Kenzy Ayman were amongst the stars as they beat Malaysia in the 2023 final. "They have already submitted their names of their athletes and due to the hectic schedule some players are not participating," he said.
Otherwise, Hong Kong and Malaysia are few teams Poncha felt are strong. "Hong Kong has got their best players all ranked top 50 in the world. So they are they are strong. Then, you have got the Malaysian team, bringing top players. So, a good bunch of players are coming in for this tournament," he said.