| Electric' Adrian has it in him | ||
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Indian Express 2-9-1988 ADR IAN, Adrian", they chanted, almost in harmony.
The glass-back court at the CCI had never seen anything like it as the
pony-tails and buck teeth chorus made their presence felt. On stage was
the boy wonder, just sweet sixteen. He had reached the finals of the
juniors and men's events at the Western India Squash championships. It was
a feat last achieved by the great Anil Nayar in 1965, some twenty-two
years ago. Nayar did the historic double and it wasn't beyond Adrian Ezra
to emulate the feat. A sixty-five minute encounter with his close rival,
Farokh Pandole, took its toll. Adrian won in five games but was a mere
shadow of himself against Meherwan Daruvala in the men's final. To talk of
him in the same breath as Anil Nayar is a mere fallacy. Adrian has had the benefit of coaching in England
under Abbas Kaoud, a former top ten world ranker, But it is in India that
he doesn't have professional advice. Nayar was under the eagle eye of
Yusuf. For someone at Adrian's age where immaturity and lack of finesse
could make the difference between becoming a champion and remaining very
promising, the requirement of a coach or professional manager is
absolutely essential. I put this question to Anil Nayar when he visited
Bombay a few days ago. "We don't
have a Yusuf in our ranks. So let's make do with the best available. I
mean someone like Fali Madon or Ananth Nayak. Both have intimate knowledge
of the game and what's more important, they know the opposition. They
should be approached to act as professional managers". words of
wisdom from India's greatest squash player. Let's take this a step further. Champions train,
analyse the competition and listen to their coaches. To beat Meherwsin
Adrian needs to do just that. He's got the talent, the physique and the
will to win. He new needs to be led to the water LAST year, Adrian showed
the progress he had made by beating Farokh Pandole in three finals. He
then caused a sensation as he upset the explosive Nirjit Singh. Further
victories over the Services' champion Ravinder Malik ensured him a place
among the probables for the Asian championships. To don India's silks at
sixteen is a tremendous achievement. Perhaps Adrian's best squash lesson came in his
encounters with Raj Manchanda, The fox, as he is known, tamed the lamb,
with a delightful display of ball control, If ever there was a video
recording of this, Adrian would learn a lot. He was made to run around
whilst the veteran waited for the loose ball. That was almost a year ago. Adrian has no business to
lose to Manchanda this year. With Meherwan, the gap appears to be closing.
The National champion is a superb athlete. He is fit fast and gusty. He knows how to return pressure with
pressure, the hallmark of a great champion. Five All-India titles speak
for themselves. Some time ago, it was Manchanda who had given Meherwan
sleepless nights. On occasions the delightful tough and power play of
Narjit have upset the applecart, Today, Meherwan's greatest rival appears
to be Adrian. I don't think he's quite caught up yet. As the curtain rises for another squash season, the
boy wonder from Electric House has begun on a winning note. His West Zone
Inter-Schools victory was a mere warm-up for him as he sliced through the
opposition. There are bigger hurdles ahead. With the boisterous support of his fan club and the backing of his spotting parents, the stage is set for an Ezra invasion. Add to this a professional manager like Ananth Nayak and you could have a winning combination. |
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