He did very creditably to make the main draw of the 1995 Mahindra Challenge, event from the qualifying round and was a wind a wild card entryforthe1996 championship, going out in the first round, but in a $10,000 tournament in Florida last November, he got $300.

It was only in 1994 that Behl took the game seriously. He started playing four years earlier only to give his brother Nikhil, a game and was a member of the Bombay Scottish Team in the Inter-Schools Competition because a fourth player was required. However he participated in the Junior Nationals without making much of an impact until he won the title in 1995.

Chandrakant Pawar, the coach at Otters, put Behl through the basics and in 1994 under the charge of Major Maniam. The Malaysian coach for six weeks in Kuala Lumpur with six other Indian boys. There in 1995 he received training from Satinder Bajwa for two months. Maniam’s fee was $400 and Bajwa’s $100 for a week. Behl was with Bajwa again in November 96. After his exams in March, Behl will join the John Milton Academy just outside London for two months. On its rolls Milton has 20 from the top 100 in the game Behl later plans to play in PSA events in Europe and the U.S. Behl’s first experience of competition of abroad was in the Milo Juniors in August1994. Circuit on which Arif Paul won at Singapore and Behl lost to Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur. In 1996 Behl and Arif Paul made the last 32 of World Juniors.

Behl’s plans do not exclude academics. He hopes to secure a scholarship at American University, with his sights set on securing a Masters in Business Management and assist his father who deals with conventions, fairs and exhibitions. Squash, however, will continue to be his priority which he feels could only be sustained if sponsors were to come around to help him achieve his ambitions.

He is 61 and built like a Sumo wrestler but wonder of wonders, he plays squash. He is S. S. Suri, who can be seen working out at the Navi Mumbai Sport Club, Vashi.Suri played with the likes of Abdul Bari, Jamal Din and Yusuf Khan professionals from Pakistan who served att Mumbai’s clubs in the fifties. Dinshaw Pandole, who represented India at the World championships in New Zealand, was a contemporary. Suri remembers playing an exhibition game with the legendary Hashim Khan in1958. When he took a game off the squash wizard, a newspaper headline proudly proclaimed the feat! In1959, Suri joined the Navy and became its squash champion. Because of pressing duties he gave up the game in1961. He picked it up once again only 32 years later in 1993 at the Vashi club. But fate seemed to be testing his love for the sport. In January this year, he was hit on the eye by a ball. The next month again he suffered an eye injury. This time he needed surgery at Hinduja hospital. But squash fanatic that Suri is, the injury and operation won’t daunt his spirit. He plans to play at the first opportunity That’s the spirit of squash Cheers, Mr. Suri.

S. S. SURI SQUASH FANATIC

Page [ 1 | 2 | 3 ]