CHENNAI: Veteran Squash player Joshna Chinappa remembered her first Asian Games in 2002 like it was yesterday.
“It was one of my favourite events because I was playing for India on such a big stage. All the biggest athletes at that time were there playing. I got to spend time with them, hang out with them. So it was such a wonderful memory,” she recalled her time at the quadrennial event in Busan, South Korea.
24 years on, Chinappa is on course for another Asian Games, this time for a record-seventh time. The former World Number 10, on the back of wins against young guns Rathika Seelan and Akanksha Salunkhe, rounded off her Games selection trials with a five-game win over Unnati Tripathi at the Indian Squash and Triathlon Academy here.
I feel very blessed and it's just a great opportunity for me. For me, my biggest joy and motivation is, you know, playing for India. And that's always been, from the time I was really young, and just playing at these events, still being here, still being able to play the kind of squash that I can to keep up with,” she explained.
And Chinappa has all the reasons to be happy qualifying to a high-profile event again. It also underlines her rise after a knee surgery in late 2023. Ranked beyond 400 after her return the following year, Chinappa had to enter tournaments unseeded. Which made her journey to summit clashes difficult. While she shone in the Asian Doubles that year, her search for a singles title continued until October last year, where she won the Japan Open squash meet.
Playing matches in this trial event was not the easiest too. For someone who has mostly played a game day, playing twice was something new. “It's always one match a day. And of course the trials, that was the format. And every match, I also found my draw pretty tough.
Everybody I played with was very good. So I knew, coming in, either I play my best squash or I'm not going to make this team. And I think that's what really happened. You know, I became pretty focused. I've been preparing for this for almost a couple of years now. And that's what's been able to produce the game that I do today. It's the focus of all the preparation I've done.” she explained.
With her spot more or less confirmed, Chinappa hopes to take part in the mixed and team event. “I would probably go for the doubles right now. Team and doubles? Yeah, team and doubles.
I probably would like to do that. I think it's up to the girls now to take it forward,” she explained.
Anahat Singh, Veer Chotrani and Abhay Singh have earned their spot in the team by virtue of superior PSA rankings. A few more are expected to qualify on the final day of the trials on Monday.
