21 SQUASHING YEARS

Brick by brick, the Mumbai palace of squash has come up in the last tow decades. There is no other city in India where the competition, level of interest and most importantly, the results stand out by a mile.  As a famous jockey suggested after he had won a major race, “Daylight was second.”

Looking back, the Mumbai charge began with Anil Nayar, the only Indian to have won the Drysdale Cup in 1965. This was regarded as the unofficial world junior Under-19 title. Nayar’s exploits have been written about  many a time. He had good company in his heydays with Dinshaw Pandole, Fali Madon and the evergreen Deepika Chandratreya who is still going strong. 

Taking up the baton from this select company were the likes of Ananth Nayak, Nikhil Daruvala, Adrian Ezra, Paul Fererria, Rishad Billimoria, Shondip Ghosh, Rohan Bhappu, Akhil Behl and Manish Chotrani. The flow of National champions continues, at sub-junior, junior and senior levels.

The number of tournaments has increased substantially. The Cricket Club of India and the Bombay Gymkhana still host major events, but they have been joined by Otters, Willingdon, Khar Gymkhana, Navi Mumbai and others. The formation of Indian Squash Professionals has seen 35 new events in the last few years. 

Undoubtedly, the most satisfying achievement is the increase in the number of players and the introduction of several age groups for the juniors.  The coaching aspect has been addressed. Satinder Bajwa and Abdul Shaikh have played a key roles and their input has shown good results.

The Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM) look after the affairs of the game in the state. They have seen good times, bad times, and changing times. Today squash has been recognized by the state government. Plans are at a very advanced stage for the first public courts. New sponsors like Air-India and WMI Cranes have entered and helped push the game forward.

On the international front, the Indian Junior boy’s team, comprising all four boys from Mumbai, defeated Pakistan in the 1993 Asian Championships. Adrian Ezra reached the semifinals of the Asian Juniors at Bahrain in 1987 and later went to Harvard’s “Hall of Fame”. Akhil Behl, Arif Paul, Parth Doshi and Alisha Mashruwalla tasted success internationally. 

The metropolis has staged international events and may have another major one this year. It started with Jahangir and Chris Dittmar playing exhibition matches at the CCI in 1990, went a stage further with the 1992 Asian Ladies Championships and for the next four years the Mahindra International held the spotlight.

That in a nutshell, is what has happened in Mumbai squash during the last two decades and a bit. It’s been an era where champion players have at times had to deal with champion officials. But that is part of the game. At times there has to be let, at times there has to be a no-let, and at times there is need for a stroke.  As we look ahead , there is a clear message from the state’s ruling body. “People who play in glass courts should not throw rackets”.

SRAM  peeved with National Body

FREE PRESS JOURNAL                                                                      23/06/2000

MUMBAI : The Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM) on Thursday charged its parent body of putting a spoke in the wheel of its endeavor to promote squash in a big way in the state and of being inconsiderable, reports PTI.

“The SRAM finds itself  in a predicament. While it has set out to promote squash in a big way, it finds the ruling body of the sport in the country, the Squash Racquets Federation of India (SRFI) putting a spoke in the wheel of its progress,” SRAM secretary Mahendra Agarwal stated in the release here.

“The SRAM, which functions transparently and has initiated various schemes to boost the sport, feels it is being stopped in its tracks by an inconsiderable parent body headed by N. Ramchandran, secretary general, SRFI,”  he said.

SRAM  president Khalid Ansari said that  as a result of this needless imbroglio top junior players, especially in Maharashtra, are forced to pay a heavy price.

Ansari alleged that the SRAM’s voting rights were cancelled simply because the state body were late in paying the annual fees of Rs. 2,500.

“As such this only was an excuse to deprive the SRAM of their right and a chance for Ramchandran to be elected unopposed in the forthcoming elections of the SRFI. The Squash Racquets  Association of Delhi (SRAD) had suffered a similar fate,” charged Ansari.

“Moreover, many of our players are studying in America. They had informed the SRFI of their availability for the national junior and senior teams. But none of them were given a chance to play the selections,” Agarwal alleged.

Agarwal said that the SRFI doled out excuses ranging from ‘they did not participate in the National’s to ‘if Cyrus Poncha (Mumbai-based, SRFI-appointed coach) agrees, their case would be considered’, for not selecting players based outside India.

“In the process relatively weak teams are going to the Asian Senior Championship scheduled to be held  in Hong Kong from July 5-12 and the World Junior Boys Championship in Milan from July 15-29,” Agarwal claimed.

He also said that its problems with SRFI existed not only with team selections but also in making draws of tournaments, seedings and changing the year’s calendar.

Agarwal also charged the parent body of ignoring its own notification that all entries outside the state be routed  through the state association. “Players began contacting SRFI directly and when this was brought to SRFI’s notice there was no response from them,” he added.

Agarwal also alleged that the SRAM’s attempt to host the Indian Squash Open in January this year was scuttled by the SRFI and another bid to host the 2000 World Women’s Championship in Mumbai has been kept in cold storage.

Pointing out that as per the rules of the world body the bid has to be made through the national body, Agarwal said that the SRFI had asked for guarantees and one of these was for a royalty to be paid to the SRFI prior to the event when the amount would be determined by it

"This is not infighting. Tt's simply fighting. It's simply fighting for out rights," Ansari explained.

PLAYER STRIPPED OF HIS POSITION

MUMBAI: The Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra has stripped Sarvesh Chauhan of Jindal Recreation Club of the runners-up position in the under-13 age group of the Air-India Satellite Squash tournament held between September, 1999 and February 2000. The decision was taken by SRAM’s executive committee after careful consideration of all relevant facts and to serve as an example to other junior players who might consider misrepresenting their age when participating in tournaments conducted under its aegis, according to a SRAM’s  press release on Wednesday.

CHAUHAN STRIPPED OF TITLE

Sarvesh  Chauhan of Jindal Recreation Club was stripped of his runner-up position in the under 13 section of the Air-India Satellite squash tournament held between September 1999 and February 2000, according to a release from the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra. However, the executive committee has refrained from a complete ban on Sarvesh.

LEFT OUT IN THE COLD

Akhil Behl, Parth Doshi, Gaurav Juneja, Rohan Bhappu, Abhijit Kukreja, Sohini Kumari and Joshna Chinappa have a common grouse.  Their track record at home and abroad has been ignored by the national body, the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI).  None of them find a place in the squads bound for the Asian Seniors Championships at Hong Kong ( July 5-12) or the World Senior Boys Championships at Milan (July 15-29)

The SRFI’s excuse about them not playing the nationals is an eyewash.  Surely the nationals should be to send the best team and to take into account the whole year’s performance rather than that in one event. Sohini Kumari had a broken ankle and was forced to miss the nationals. She would have walked into the team, probably at number two but the powers-that-be have other thoughts. 

Joshna Chinappa has been a victim of the power politics that has ruined Indian squash . She was not allowed to play the Asian Squash Federation Invitation Grand Finals in Chennai because of some flimsy excuse pf the parent body deciding on those who would be eligible. Results don’t seem to count. Instead, the SRFI seem to have found a shoulder to fire a bullet from. “If coach Cyrus Poncha agrees, we shall go by his recommendation”. So if a player happens to be out of favour with Poncha, it is left to one’s imagination of whether he or she would be in the lost of probables.

It was interesting to read that Poncha was close to tears in Kuala Lumpur when his ward Vaidehi Reddy lost to Joshna Chinappa in the under 15 final of the Malaysian Junior Open. Even at this stage, the SRFI had a chance to redeem the situation and include the 14 year-old champion but that was not to be.

To make things worse, she has been told to attend  another conditioning camp in Chennai before she leaves for the Australian Junior Open Imagine having to come back from Singapore for four days to be at a camp when the need of the house would be to fly direct to Australia and get used to the conditions. Hang your head in shame, SRFI.

Another classic case in that of Abhijit Kukreja who was left out of Abhijit Kukreja who was left out of the junior selections because Poncha apparently did not want him in. Kukreja along with Behl, Bhappu, Doshi and the Junejas are studying in America and had told the SRFI they were available to play for India. There is a pride in donning the country’s colours and all the above mentioned have done by the political maze that exists back home.

In this ridiculous state of affairs at the national squash level ever going to change? How about SRFI chief honcho Randhawa? Surely he cannot be a mere rubber stamp!

UNJUST SRFI!

Several Maharashtra players have reason to feel aggrieved at the manner in which they have been treated by the Squash Racquets Federation of India (SRFI). National champion Adrian Ezra, Manish Chotrani, Akhil Bhel , Arif Paul and Parth Doshi head the list of sufferers, Gaurav and Roshan  Juneja, Abhijit Kukreja and Rohan Bhappu have similar experiences.

The problems exist with team selections, making draws at events, seedings and changing the year’s calendar as and when the SRFI have wished.

In May this year. Otters Club were granted permission to hold an event.  They had bypassed the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM) and were given the status of “a separate entity”. This was in total variance to what had happened  in earlier years where the state association