CHENNAI: In every sport, after the ‘golden generation’ reaches a certain age, the question of who next is common. As far as Indian squash is concerned, Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal belong to that period.
While Pallikal hasn’t played since late 2018, Ghosal and Joshna seem to have a few more years left in them. Irrespective of how long the duo is going to continue, concerns regarding the next generation is evident in the squash fraternity.
As far as the men are concerned, the likes of Ramit Tandon (52), Mahesh Mangaonkar (54) and Vikram Malhotra (57) are India’s next best in terms of rankings. While the trio is nowhere close to the 13th placed Ghosal, they are much better placed compared to women.
In the women’s category, after 12th placed Chinappa, Sunayna Kuruvilla is the second best at 67 while Tanvi Khanna is the only other Indian in the top-100 at 96. The standard of the bench strength is slightly better among men.
However, there are number of reasons behind this. According to Kuruvilla, the above-mentioned men have more experience in the professional circuit. Trying her best to close the gap, the 20-year-old pointed out that Chinappa and Pallikal also took many years before reaching a certain level. But the number of smaller events is less for women and that is very crucial.
“I have been on the professional tour for the last three years. But I started full-time last year. It’s been tough. But PSA tournaments held by SRFI in India is really helpful as far as ranking is concerned. Once you get to the 80s, its very hard to move forward.
To get into the top-50 is difficult because you have (to) get into elite tournaments and have to go out there and create an upset to get points.
For the guys, there are more tournaments. So there is always a chance to win more smaller events. For us its not that convenient,” Kuruvilla said on the sidelines of the senior nationals in Chennai.
With the number of smaller events less, winning is the only way to get points. The lack of balance means the progress will be slower. Her compatriot Khanna also agreed.
“In the past two years, my rankings came down to 96 from 255. I think that’s a good sign. So we are coming up,” Khanna concluded.
Select results:
Men: Saurav Ghosal (1) bt Rutvik Rau 11-3, 11-3, 11-1; Abhay Singh bt Abhishek Agarwal 11-7, 11-5, 13-11; Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu bt Yash Fadte 11-7, 11-2, 11-7; Abhishek Pradhan (2) bt Gaurav Nandrajog 11-6, 11-6, 11-6.
Women: Joshna Chinappa bt Sachika Balvani 11-4, 11-2, 11-4; Sanya Vats bt Urwashi Joshi 11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3; Tanvi Khanna bt Aparajitha Balamurukan 11-5, 11-3, 11-8; Sunayna Kuruvilla (2) bt Sanika Choudhari 11-5, 11-2, 12-10.