CHENNAI: After more than seven months, India’s leading squash players Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal will be in action at the CIB Egyptian Open which will commence on October 10 in Cairo. Following that, Ghosal is likely to take part in Qatar Classic next month with the entries yet to be announced.
While Ghosal reached Dubai on September 30, the women’s World No 10 reached on Friday. Both will leave for Cairo on October 7. Though the Professional Squash Association (PSA) resumed the season with the Manchester Open last month, the Indian duo decided to give it a miss. As far as protocols are concerned, players won’t have to undergo any quarantine period in Cairo, Egypt.
They will have to take four Covid-19 tests overall — one while leaving India, one after landing in Dubai, the third on October 7 and the fourth will be taken in Cairo on Oct 8. After clearing all the tests, they will be eligible to play. Once event begins, they will be tested every two days.
“It’s the first tournament in a long time for us. It’s good to get back to squash. At the end of the day, that’s what we train for,” Ghosal told this daily from Dubai. “Things are a bit tedious. This is our new normal and we have to get used to it.” Under normal circumstances, players aim to win or reach a certain stage of a meet. However, the pandemic has posed different challenges and has altered targets as the sporting world is limping back to normalcy.
For the World No 13, it is about adapting to the new normal. “Our target is always to do well and win matches. But it’s different at the moment. More than winning, it’s about how quickly we can adapt to the conditions. We are treading in unknown territory,” added Ghosal. The Egyptian Open will conclude on October 17 with the next PSA meet on the calendar being Qatar Classic (for men). It’s scheduled for November 1 to 7 in Doha.
Ghosal will fly directly to Doha from Cairo once his participation is confirmed. “I’m waiting for the entries to be out for Qatar but I will surely play. Coming back to India after the Egyptian Open is ruled out since I need to serve 14-day quarantine at home,” he said. Ghosal will meet Tom Richards of UK or Auguste Dussourd of France in the second round of Egyptian Open on October 11 after receiving a bye. Joshna will face either Scotland’s Lisa Aitken or Nada Abbas of Egypt on the same day.