CHENNAI: There is no SI unit yet for measuring history. It can mean different things for different people. But for those gathered to celebrate the beginning of the 16th year of the Indian Squash Academy (ISA), it meant only one thing: to look at its colourful past and use it to build a roadmap for a better future.
Debendranath Sarangi, president of the Squash Rackets Federation of India, used the occasion to speak about the academy’s feats. “Fifteen years is just a speck in any existence,” he said. “But look at the achievements.”
Indeed. It tells a lot. It has produced 62 national champions across various age groups, while also holding world championships and Asian championships. A fact N Ramachandran, the mastermind behind creating such an academy, focussed on.
It’s not an exaggeration to say ISA, a two-storied building located in one of the city’s big, commercial gateways, is the sport’s holy grail in the country.
Why? Injeti Srinivas, director-general of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), explained it in fine fashion. “An academy is known by what it produces, not by its architecture,” he said. “By that yardstick, ISA is huge.”
He was just getting started. “This academy has produced some of the best squash players to come out of India. From one institution. Just think about what we can achieve if there is a sports ecosystem in the country. We are kind of nowhere in sports at the moment. And that needs to change,” Srinivas had a few suggestions.
It’s no secret that the Indian education system doesn’t have a high regard for sport. “We (as a sporting nation) have miles to go. We’re an emerging superpower. A super economy but we’re still not emerging in this (sport) very important sector. Sport should be a way of life.”
He, however, did concede that the machinations were changing. “Take the example of a Prakash (Padukone) or a (Pullela) Gopichand. Thanks to the vision of those two, we’re an emerging nation in badminton.
“But we need other things as well. Philosophy and scientific support. Today, there is belief that you can manufacture a medallist. For that to happen, we need the support of sports science. That will be the difference between winning and losing.”
It is fair to say the nation has come a long way from averaging one medal per Olympics. And Srinivas accepts that. He is confident of India getting into double figures in Rio. He would have been laughed out of the hall if he had said that a decade ago.
Here, he exited the stage to applause and approval.