CWG 2022: Can India break squash singles jinx in Birmingham?
India will participate in squash events during the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Meanwhile, India will look to break its singles jinx at the competition.
FollowAiming for that elusive singles Commonwealth Games (CWG) medal, Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa will make one last-ditch effort to break the jinx at the event. The Indian squash contingent, packed with the nation's best performers, has landed in Birmingham as it eyes the podium across categories. The trio of Dipika Pallikal, Joshna and Saurav have been carrying the Indian team on their shoulders for nearly 15 years now. At they head towards the glorious end of their careers, all three have been working overtime to give their all in what would be their fourth and assumably the last CWG edition.
The Indians have managed to win only three medals since the sport was introduced to the CWG in 1998. One was the path-breaking gold won by the famed duo of Joshna and Dipika Pallikal during the Glasgow edition about eight years back. They have returned to the United Kingdom (UK) as the favourites to win the women's doubles crown, winning the world championships earlier this year.
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Dipika, a month of twins currently, also won the mixed doubles championship alongside Ghosal during the World Doubles Championship in April, as she completed her sensational comeback. Barring Egypt, all top squash-playing countries, including England, are part of the CWG. India is blank in singles, but Joshna and Ghosal will attempt to create the last push to change it. Interestingly, Dipika has yet to resume playing singles following her return from motherhood.
"We have come leaps and bounds since we started playing 20 years black. We all have progressed as players. Everyone is in with a shot in all the categories. The execution will happen over the next two weeks. The CWG has always had a strong field. Winning a medal is a big deal here," said Ghoshal on India's chances at the 2022 CWG.
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Ghosal was the third seed in the last edition, as he made an early exit. He is not overthinking about his opponents since it would put additional pressure. "I am not looking at the draw. That is where I got it wrong last time. Just trying to take it one day at a time and get me through to the medal round," he affirmed.
The Indians trained with former world number one Gregory Gaultier in Chennai for around a week before embarking on their Birmingham journey. The 14-year-old Anahat Singh has received quite some attention following her selection into the women's team. Her performance, too, is likely to be followed keenly. Last month, she emerged as the girls' Under-15 category champion at the 2022 Asian Juniors Squash Championship.
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Now, Anahat has won 46 national circuit crowns, a couple of national circuit championships, two national titles and eight international crowns. She is the only Indian girl to have won the US Junior Open across categories and the British Junior Open. The other CWG debutants are Sunyana Kuruvilla, Abhay Singh and V Senthilkumar.
Squad
Men Singles: Saurav Ghosal, Ramit Tandon, Abhay Singh
Women Singles: Joshana Chinappa, Sunyana Kuruvilla, Anahat Singh
Women's Doubles: Dipika Pallikal/Joshna Chinappa
Mixed Doubles: Saurav Ghosal/Dipika Pallikal, Ramit Tandon/Joshana Chinappa
Men's Doubles: Ramit Tandon/Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, Velavan Senthilkumar / Abhay Singh
(With inputs from PTI)
