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Other Activities of ISP |
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Squash Boaster Machine |
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NEED FOR SPEED : The slowest speed at about 13 m/sec can be comparable to a 11-year-old's strokes while the fastest (31 m/sec) can be likened to that of a Men's National champion. The shooting frequency can be regulated from intervals of one second to eight seconds. Weighs about 26 kgs is portable and can be easily dismantled. Click here to see article in mid-day : http://web.mid-day.com/sports/local/2003/october/65739.htm |
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SQUASH
RACKETS FEDERATION |
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Mahendra Agarwal congratulated Mr. Narendra Gour for taking an effort to form a Association and also organising the first ever Gujrat Open, which will go down in the history of Squash in Gujrat in times to come. Mr. Narendra Gour said he was very happy to see 40 squash players participating in it. But he wants younger generation to take over this game for which he will invite coaches from Mumbai to train them all over the year. The final results :
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Lifetime
Achievement Award to Shyamlal Verma |
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Mekhala Subedar, the two time national champion, was also presented by a special appreciation award by MID-DAY The victorious Maharashtra team, consisting of Niraj Shirgaokar, Parth Doshi, Saket Wali, Awisch Jayaswal, Akhil Behl, Manish Choitrani & their coach Anant Nayak were given a cheque of Rs 50000/= by Tariq Ansari, MID-DAY's Managing Director. The party was hosted by Mr. Khalid Ansari (President, SRAM) at the lawn of his residence & was attended by past, present and future of Mumbai's squash fraternity and prominent businessmen, industrialists, professionals, media persons. |
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A STAR – STUDDED EVENING (MID-DAY)THE galaxy of squash stars at the reception hosted by MID-DAY chairman and Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM) president Khalid A-H Ansari and Rukya Ansari on a balmy evening last week on the resplendent lawns of their residence almost outshone those in the firmament. The chief guest was His Royal Highness Tunku Imran, Prince of Malaysia, who was accompanied by Datuk Vinod Shekhar of Kuala Lumpur. Present on the occasion were luminaries past, present and future – from the close-knit Mumbai squash fraternity and prominent industrialists, businessmen, professionals and media persons. Wishing the SRAM success in its various new projects and congratulating the award winners. Tunku Imran revealed plans of a joint undertaking with the MID-DAY group under which squash and cricket juniors from Malaysia and Mumbai will exchange visits for experience, exposure and, more importantly, cultural interaction. Khalid A-H Ansari introduced members of the new SRAM executive committee and spoke of its plans to broad base the game of squash, now an elitist sport restricted to clubs, by making existing facilities available to school and college students initially and, in the second phase, build public pay-and-play squash courts in the city. He stated that three clubs have already offered use of their courts for coaching and tournaments. Appealing to the corporate sector for help, Ansari stated that the Mumbai police had shown interest in introducing the sport to its cadres. He also said that the Indian Squash Professionals (ISP) had become a affiliate of SRAM. He requested all concerned to sink their differences and join hands in promoting the sport. Indian squash greats Anil Nayar, Adrian Ezra and Meherwan Daruwala were honoured with MID-DAY lifetime achievement awards. Anil Nayar, who resides in New York, could not be present but London-based Ezra and Daruwala, who was in Baroda, reached the function in the nick of time. Indian Squash Professionals presented lifetime achievement awards to outstanding veterans. Shivamlal Verma and Chandrakant Pawar. Simply Squash, the international magazine published by Raju Chainani presented the Tunku Imran Award to world junior champion Ong Beng Hee who was celebrating his 19th birthday. MID-DAY managing director Tariq Ansari handed over a
cheque of Rs 50,000 which it had offered as incentive of the inter-state
championship winning Maharashtra squad consisting of Niraj
Shirgaokar
(captian), Manish Chotrani, Parth Doshi, Avisch Jaiswal, Saket Wali,
coach-cum-manager Ananth Nayak and Akhil Bhel. |
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Squash
Recognised by Govt of Maharashtra |
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| SQUASH has finally found its
place on the sporting map. The government of Maharashtra has at last
recognized the sport following the joint efforts of the Squash Racquets
Association of Maharashtra (SRAM) and the Indian Squash Professional
(ISP). With the recognition of squash in the state, players and coaches in Maharashtra will now be eligible for the prestigious Shiv Chhatrapati Award and Dadojee Konddeo Award respectively. SRAM will also receive a grant from the state government. Squash’s red letter day came about
following the efforts of SRAM President, Mr. Khalid A.H. Ansari
and Hon
Secretary Mr. Mahendra Agarwal,
who also is the director of ISP. The SRAM and ISP had been approaching the authorities
for the past three years and succeeded after meeting with various
ministers and IAS officers. Apart from coaching camps, clinics and adoption of
players under the auspices of the SRAM, ISP has conducted 34 squash
tournaments in the city and other parts of
the state so far, which has given the sport a major shot in the
arm. Tournaments and coaching programmes are being conducted not only in
Mumbai but also in rural areas like Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur and
Satara. SRAM has already conducted a 10-day coaching programme
in Sangli, while a week-long coaching clinic is scheduled to be held at
Solapur in July. Satara too will soon have its own squash court, which has
been sanctioned by the Collector. In its quest to encourage squash at the
grass root level, the SRAM held a host of tournaments for juniors
significant among them being the successful Air India tourney.
Besides, the SRAM recently organized a fortnight-long tour to Malaysia
as part of an exchange programme, where some of Maharashtra’s top
juniors honed their skills in Kuala Lumpur under Malaysian coach K.H.ONG,
father of World Junior No 1, Ong Beng Hee. The recognition of squash in Maharashtra
has also coincided with the state’s rich haul of honours at the National
Championships recently. It was a significant year for the state and the
SRAM where Manish Chotrani won the men’s crown after dethroning Ritwik
Bhattacharya of West Bengal, Mekhla Subedar bagged the women’s title,
Deepali Anwekar the girls’ under-19 title and Bikram Uberoi the boys’
under-19 crown. “It’s been a long wait for us, but it
has been worth it,” said a delighted Mr. Khalid Ansari, president, SRAM.
“It is a small step towards bigger goals, I’m sure. With this new
found status, we at the SRAM can only hope to grow. As always, we will
strive harder to work for the sport and the players especially the young
ones.” Mr. Ansari added: “Now that the
(financial) grant will come from the government we at the SRAM can realize
most of
our goals which include constructing as many squash courts as
possible and organizing coaching schemes. We are very keen to construct
public courts so that squash can be played at the grass root level. We do
not wish it to be an elitist sport. Besides, we have many sponsors and
supporters like Mr. Ranjan Sanghi,
Mr. Mahendra Sanghi, Mr. Gautam Thakkar, Mr. Srikant Ruparel and Mr.
Mahendra Agarwal of ISP.” Said Mr. Narendra Gour, director, ISP: “The recognition of squash in Maharashtra has been a fitting reward for our labour of love. It was only with the support of so many well wishers of the sport that we have reached this far. Frankly, ISP will not stand to benefit. Rather, we only did our bit for the love of squash. Yes, during our long journey started in December 1996, when the Governement was not even aware regarding the game of squash. In the first correspondence they had replied to ISP, asking what is squash? Do we have any committee in Maharashtra for Squash? Who is the President?" Said Mr. Mahendra Agarwal "We were aided by so many people including former director of sports, Mr. Ashwini Kumar, former sports secretary, Mr. Suresh Salvi, minister of state for youth affairs and sport, Mr. Anil Deshmukh, Mr. Ramkrishna More (minister, youth affairs and sport) and Mr. Bhushan Gagrani, who is the secretary to the chief minister.” |
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 Harry Singh(Presient SRAM), Salma Agha (Hindi Film Actress & Rahmat's Wife), Rahmat Khan, Mahendra Agarwal & Ajoy Bhandare(Vice President, SRAM) at the Press Conference to introduce Rahmat in India. |
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| Rahmat Khan comes from a family
that has dominated the squash world for almost fifty years. In a
fiercely competitive era it is hard to believe that the men from the North
West Frontier have kept up a dynasty of champions. Rahmat Khan, son
of the late Nasrullah, belongs to this tribe and in days gone by, he
played a major role in the success story of Jahangir. The
credentials are there and anybody who knows squash will never doubt
them. Rahmat is soon to embark on a new venture. He wants to
help the Indian players. The endeavours of Mahendra Agarwal, the brain behind the Indian Squash Professional may well bear fruit. Talent and hunger have often been cited as the main ingredients for a champion. But, Rahmat has seen that there is much more needed. There has to be the infrastructure and there always are some officials who are still learning how to spell "squash". Rehmat's coaching video is a classic. It was made with Jahangir when the great man was at his prime. A certain official saw it for the first time and was so dumbfounded that one almost thought he had seen the Locchness Monster. What made Jahangir special? He lived and trained like a monk. The blood and the will, the talent and the training, the strokes and the stamina came in time. It was a single-minded goal: to be the best. It's been the same with almost all the Khans. They went out on court to win. When the door closed, the match was on. If you had a toe-ache and pulled shoestring, they always told you, "Don't come on court and make excuses". Winning became a way of life. Speaking Her Majesty's language came to poor second. There's classic tale of Azam Khan, winner of the British Open three times, beamingly using his stock of fractured English to produce the immortal line after his second triumph, "Mr. Body, Mrs. Body, Every Body, thank you very much!!". Rahmat Khan has seen talent in the metropolis. He's seen life at the top, having coached Jahangir and been ranked at twelve in the world. For Indian squash, his presence here is a welcome boon. A humble beginning is being made this week. But, as Rahmat knows well, there are miles to go before he can sleep. |
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