Olympic inclusion of squash certain says confident WSA Prez Ramachandran

Squash is one sport, perhaps after chess, in which India’s talent has been making waves in the international arena. Like many Asian and a few world champions in chess, the junior talents in squash especially in Asian championships, have been bringing laurels to India and the Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association (TNSRA) formed in mid 90s is singularly responsible for the development of the sport, thanks to the initiative taken by the current President of the World Squash Association Mr N Ramachandran.

With another amateur squash player Srivatsan Subramaniam, Mr Ramachandran established the state association along with a state of the art national academy, which is now producing talented players with the help of a foreign coach, Malaysian (Retd) Major Manikan, a former international player. Manian is being assisted by former national player Cyrus Poncha as the national coach.

In this background, Mr Ramachandran felicitated India’s medal winners Anaka Alankamony, who won the Asian junior title for the second year in succession, Kush Kumar(gold winner) and Dev Vazirani(silver medal) in Chennai.

“Squash will definitely make it as an Olympic discipline in near future, in which case, you will be representing India in this ultimate sporting contest” , Mr Ramachandran told the players in his academy, now known as Indian Squash Academy, who turned up for the felicitation function.

Ramachandran exhorted Anaka, who he described as a future star for India, to strive for a hat trick of titles winning it next hear also and create a record.

“Nobody has done it to my knowledge except may be Nicole David (world champion from Malaysia) perhaps”, he observed.

Striking a didactic note, the Chennai based sports administrator, who has come in for much praise for putting squash within the reach of the middle class picking trainees from schools with the help of Major Manian and training them, said that in every sphere of life, dedication and hard work will enable sports persons to become world beaters.

That it how Mr Ramachandran had moved the headquarters of squash to Chennai from Mumbai when it was seen essentially as a rich man’s sport, is common knowledge.