CHENNAI: Indian Squash at its present stage may possibly be the strongest. While veteran Joshna Chinappa remains to be the face of the sport here, players like Abhay Singh, Anahat Singh & Velavan Senthilkumar are primed to be lead the next generation thanks to their continued appearances and victories in recent memory.
One man who is watching it all from his own vantage point is Ramit Tandon. The 33-year-old from Kolkata was part of the bronze medal winning men’s squash team in the 2018 Asian Games, and was India’s Number one squash player until early last year. However, on the surface, 2025 was not his best.
He began the year by reaching his career-best ranking of 28. But by November, he fell to 40, thanks to early exits across events. Ramit felt that he used the year to battle top players. “Last season, I sat down with my team and was having a conversation with them on what's the next step to take it to the next level. It's not about making these events now, because I have done that long enough for making a round of 16 at these events. It is about having tough matches with top 10 players, trying to get wins over them and taking the step ahead. One thing we thought about was to balance out my training and competition schedule in a way where I'm still taking gaps and taking time away from the competition,” he explained to this daily in a virtual interview.
Taking that path, he admits has been risky. His ranking, as aforementioned has taken a hit. “But a larger way of looking at it is the last couple of events I made consistent quarterfinals in the bronze and the silver level event, having tough matches, beating someone in the top 20, lost in a very close match to someone in the top 10 in indoor. So in terms of level, I'm feeling good. And the beautiful thing about the ranking these days is it moves on a weekly basis. You could drop 10 spots in a week. You could do well in the event. You can climb 10 spots in a week. But the key is to be in the position (top 40, top 50) which gives you the opportunity to crack that spot at the Olympics,” he said.
Now, ahead of a year where the Aichi-Nagoya Games is scheduled, Tandon has the opportunity to show the new version of himself, when he takes the court at the JSW Indian Open in Mumbai, A PSA Bronze level event beginning on March 18. “The Asian Games is the major goal for the year. As I say, we don't get the opportunity to play enough events at home. Coming back to Bombay is another opportunity for the Indian players and for me to step on home soil. We also are in like the important phase of a PSA calendar. I haven't competed much this year. I played one tournament early in the year.
"I felt sick in my previous event in Houston. So for me, it's a busy calendar ahead with Bombay. Obviously, the Indian Open being somewhere I would like to do well because it's home. And then I'm off to London (Optasia C’ships) after that. And then we have the World Champs and the British Open,” he said.
Still keep picking Saurav's brain: Ramit
Former Indian squash player Saurav Ghosal has played a big role in Tandon’s rise in the previous decade. Ghoshal and Tandon had played together, as the former was more of a mentor to the latter. “I've competed most of my career alongside Saurav. When I started playing PSA, Saurabh was already on the circuit for a good 10, 12 years before me. So obviously, I benefited a lot from his experience while we were travelling and playing the tournaments together. Every now and then, we do chat about things and I do pick his brain on, ‘this is what I'm planning and this is what I'm thinking – what do you think?’
After I have a discussion with my coaching team, if I want someone to kind of just give me a bit more of confidence, he's the person I can pick up the phone and chat with,” he said.