CHENNAI: Indian squash players Veer Chotrani and Ramit Tandon are plotting a good run at the JSW Indian Open in Mumbai, a PSA copper level event, which begins from Wednesday. The duo's coach, David Palmer, needs no introduction. Palmer — a former World No 1 and nine-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist from Australia — is chalking out plans for his wards ahead of big season, which includes major events like Asian Games and World Championships
"It's an exciting year for everybody. Now that the Olympic criteria is out and we know what needs to be done. With the World Championships in Egypt in May and then obviously the Asian Games in September, the next three to six months is going to be important for all the Indian players," Palmer told this daily in a virtual interview. Palmer, however, won't be part of the Indian Open. The coach, who was supposed to be in Mumbai for the Indian Open starting on Wednesday, said that he could not make it due to travel constraints.
Tandon heads into the event on the back of a forgettable year. Given what's at stake this year, he'll be eyeing a turnaround in fortunes.
Chotrani, meanwhile, is bound to be fired up after a spirited show recently. He went toe-to-toe against World No 5 Joel Makin at the New Zealand Open second before eventually going down in five games. As the Olympic qualification criteria also include rankings, it will be important for them to not slip down the ranking table.
"I look at Ramit and Veer and I try to break it down where I can help them the most. The seasons are very long these days and obviously the level of the players are very strong at the moment. I would say probably it's not as easy these days to break into the top 20 maybe as it was 10, 15 years ago. So I feel the depth at the moment is very strong. But both the guys have shown that they can beat top 20 players. They have also come close to beating some top 10 players as well. So they both have shown, on a particular day, that they have the level to play at the top 20, top 10. But the key is consistency and that's probably the biggest thing we're working on at the moment," he explained.
The forthcoming months will be key in the duo's journey to the Olympics. "We know if somebody wins the Asian Games, and if they're in the top 50, (they) will get a guaranteed spot. I think both Ramit and Veer have a very good opportunity to do well. But obviously, the next four or five months of training will be very important to maintain their fitness. The approach is going to be different. Normally, in the summer months, we have the guys here (in New York) training and doing lots of off-court training, but probably we might have to adapt it this year because to be ready in September is a quick turnaround. So there's not going to be many tournaments before because the PSA Tour only gets started again sort of early September again. So we're going to have to be smart about our approach in the summer so that the guys are getting enough off-court training, but also on-court training as well. So lots to play for," he said.
Behind Palmer the 'Marine'
It is important to know where Palmer's approach in coaching. In his eight years of coaching, his emphasis on physical fitness and conditioning is well-documented. So much that he is known as the 'Marine' in Squash circles. In various instances, he has said that is what makes players set apart from the bunch. Such ideas came from the former two-time world champion's former coaches — Joe Shaw and Sean Moxham. "Joe was my original coach back in Australia and he was old school. I think he was very ahead of his times and some of the things he was talking about back 35 years ago are things that are happening now. So, he was a big believer in making me the fittest player on the tour and the strongest mentally. And as I moved to Europe early in my career, I joined with Sean Moxham and Sean was a very good player himself. And he worked more on my technique and strategy. And combined together, it was a perfect combination," he explained.
And now, he tries to inculcate the ideas at the present, while also trying to inculcate new concepts in his coaching, with Tandon and Chotrani. "I use a lot of the old things that I learned from them. And then obviously, I try to adapt them a little bit. The game's changing like every sport. I think it's interesting at the moment working with Veer and Ramit. Veer reminds me a little bit of my younger self. And Ramit reminds me a little bit of myself on last couple of years on the tour as well. So I've got to adapt my coaching. I can't coach every player the same. And I've got to help them in all different areas to give them the best chance,” he explained.
