CHENNAI: When the COVID-19 pandemic broke in 2020, children were among the worst affected. The two years of restrictions on travel and closure of schools saw many in the country lose interest in studies and sports too. With the future uncertain and sponsorships not coming in, many children had second thoughts about pursuing sports as a profession. But not Ananya Narayanan, who won the girls Under-15 crown at the ISTA Junior Squash Open last week.
All of fourteen years, the youngster’s passion and self belief kept her going during the almost two years of forced layoff. Once the sports bodies started conducting tournaments, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands and didn’t look back. “Even during lockdown, Indian Squash Academy ensured that we followed all the regular fitness drills. I used to send daily fitness workouts videos to my coach Deepak, Cyrus Poncha and fitness trainer Dimple. I am very passionate about squash, so there was no thought of giving up the sport. I was also strongly backed by my parents and coaches,’’ recollected the youngster.
Witness to her enthusiasm and skill-sets, former national coach and secretary general of Squash Rackets Federation India, Cyrus Poncha, had no hesitation in naming the 14-year-old student of GRT Mahalakshmi Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Ashok Nagar, one of the most talented girls in her age group.
“It feels good to win the U-15 girls ISTA Junior squash open. It will motivate me to do better especially in the upcoming junior nationals tournament. The tournament was a competitive one with a lot of participants from all over India. After our return from Asian Junior Championship, my coach worked on the areas to improve in my game and that really helped during tough matches in this tournament,’’ she said.
Ananya, who showed a glimpse of her talent in 2019 when she represented Tamil Nadu and won bronze in a team event in SGFI Schools Games, has had a fruitful 2022 season so far. “This year I won the title in Century Bangalore Open and ISTA Junior Open in 2022. I also represented India in ASIAN Junior Squash Championship in Thailand. With more and more tournaments coming, I will be able to perform better and get more medals,’’ said the youngster.
Ananya’s role model is Nour El Sherbini of Egypt. She wants to win the junior national crown and then, in the future, take part in the Commonwealth Games and Olympics in case squash is included in 2028. For that, she is working hard at the ISTA Academy in Chennai.
“Deepak Mishra is my coach and he supports me and constantly guides me to handle high pressure games. He fine tunes my skills and ensures that I am prepared for any tournament that I play. I train from 6 am to 8.30 am and 4pm to 6.30 pm every day, except Sundays. My training includes three individual sessions per week, two gym sessions, daily fitness routines and solo practice sessions. ISA has a collaboration with Centre for Sports Science (CSS) and I do my fitness training there,’’ she insisted.
Ananya is good at studies and wants to have a job related to sports, in the future. “I wish to pursue a career related to sports like sports analytics. My parents have been very supportive. They back me even during tough times in tournaments and motivate me to perform well. They are very particular about my nutrition and are my first critics,’’ signed off the youngster, who will next be seen in action at the HCL-Southern Slam at ISTA, Chennai.