CHENNAI: Former World No 10 Joshna Chinappa and India's men's No 1 player Abhay Singh will be chasing glory during the 2025 SDAT-Squash World Cup in Chennai, which is scheduled to be held from December 9 to 14. This prestigious event is sponsored by the Tamil Nadu Government and fans will get to witness some of the elite squash players from around the world in action.
All five of World Squash's Continental Federations will be featuring at this year's edition. From Asia, hosts India will be joined by national federation representatives of Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Hong Kong, China. Africa will be represented by Egypt and South Africa. Europe by Poland and Switzerland. Oceania by Australia and Panamericana by Brazil.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at Express Avenue Mall on December 8 and will be graced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, along with various international dignitaries including Zena Wooldridge, OBE, president of World Squash, William Louis-Marie, CEO World Squash and Thomas Troedsson, president of European Squash. Former World Squash body chief N Ramachandran is the chairman of the Championship Committee. Ramachandran, along with the Tamil Nadu Squash Racket Association members, expressed their gratitude for the commendable efforts taken by the Tamil Nadu Government and thanked the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister Government of Tamil Nadu for their unwavering support. Ramachandran also thanked the Express Avenue Mall for their invaluable contribution as the venue partner for the sixth time.
This edition also marks a special milestone as the Indian Squash Academy will be celebrating its 25th year anniversary. The marquee event will be overseen by World Squash in which national federation squads of two men and two women play ties of four matches against each other, with each match being best-of-five games.
The previous edition saw several innovative changes brought in, including scoring games to seven and sudden-death tiebreaks when scores were at 6-6. This format will remain in place for this year's World Cup, with fans praising the fast-paced nature of the scoring and the equal balance between male and female players.
Egypt are the defending champs, having posted a come-from-behind victory against Malaysia in front of a sell-out crowd at Express Avenue Mall. India had finished third then. This year, the hosts will be aiming to higher. Abhay is happy with the build-up and is looking to take one step at a time. "Have been preparing for the event (World Cup) in earnest. Working on my fitness too. Would like to start on a winning note and then take it from there. I don't want to think far ahead and wish to take one match at a time. This reduces pressure and helps me give my best," the Chennai-born player said.
Abhay felt playing in front of the home crowd could be a big difference-maker. "I enjoy the home crowd support. It propels you to give your best. We all will give our best shot to win the title."
For Velavan Senthilkumar, who is also from Chennai, it will be his first taste of the World Cup. The 27-year-old, who has had successes while playing for the country in the past, will be looking to add another medal to his collection. Senthilkumar is entering the marquee event on the back of winning the 2025 Indian Nationals title in August, where he had beaten Abhay. Joshna, meanwhile, enters with wealth of experience. In the previous edition, the 39-year-old had played an instrumental role in helping the team secure top spot in Pool B.
Recalling the last World Cup, Joshna said: "It was just emotional winning this match. We all have to back each other up, and there will be days where I may not win and the rest of my team will, so today was one of those days when I had to do the job."
J Meghanatha Reddy, member secretary of SDAT, is thrilled to be hosting the event of this magnitude. "It is a moment of immense pride and celebration for Tamil Nadu to host the Squash World Cup 2025 right here in Chennai, a city with a deep sporting spirit. This prestigious event not only reinforces our state's position as a premier global sports destination but also comes at a historic juncture for the sport itself," he said.
Dr Atulya Misra, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary Youth Welfare and Sports Development Department said that the state will go all the way to support squash as it will make its debut at the next Olympics. "Our financial and infrastructural support is part of a larger policy to make Tamil Nadu a leading sports hub and a force in all Olympic-bound disciplines, especially as squash prepares for its debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics," he said.
The Squash World Cup will be streamed live on WORLDSQUASH.TV (worldwide) and on the Olympic Channel.