First Pro Squash Circuit Launched In India by Howard Harding 10 September 2014
- India will stage its first professional squash circuit next month,
including four Women's Squash Association World Tour events, according
to an announcement made today in Mumbai.
The JSW Indian Squash
Challenger Circuit, sanctioned by the PSA (Professional Squash
Association) and WSA and scheduled for October 2014 across Jaipur,
Mumbai and Chennai, marks a significant milestone for the sport in Asia.
"We at JSW have always
believed that there is a huge talent pool for the sport in the country
and have, through the last many years, made a strong commitment to the
sport, having nurtured talent at the Jindal Squash Academy - which now
has, to its credit, seven international players, 22 national players
and 46 state level players," said Mustafa Ghouse, CEO of JSW Sport, the
tournament's primary sponsor.
"A challenger series
such as this will provide young talent in the sport the appropriate
boost and instil in them the confidence needed to perform on an
international stage," he continued.
Tommy Berden, Acting
CEO of the WSA, added: "We are delighted to welcome the JSW Indian
Squash Circuit to our Women's World Tour calendar. With the recent
success of Indians Joshana Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal, two of the top
players on the Women's Tour, this initiative will go a long way in
developing our sport in India and Asia."
Current Indian squash
players are excited by this newest competitive opportunity in their
country. Dipika Pallikal, India's No1 women's squash player and winner
of the country's first squash gold medal in the Commonwealth Games
Women's Doubles last month, with Joshana Chinappa, said: "The
Challenger Series is a great platform for youngsters to hone their game
by playing with some of the top players from across the world, and I
strongly believe that that the sport will benefit from it.
"I also hope that we
are provided with more such opportunities to host international events
of such calibre which can only benefit the popularity and exposure
required for the growth of the sport."
Five-time national
champion Ritwik Bhattacharya (pictured at the press conference, second
left, with Pallikal and India's top-ranked man Saurav Ghosal, centre)
is also keen to see the growth of squash in India. "This is a fantastic
opportunity for the youngsters in the game to gain some experience and
exposure," said the PSA/WSA Representative for Asia. "It is also is a
great exhibition for the promotion of Squash for enthusiasts, fans, as
well as India Inc, who can have a visual image of the top athletes from
the Professional World Tour in the healthiest sport in the world as
voted by the Forbes Magazine.
"Everyone connected
with the game of squash in the country is very excited by the arrival
of the Indian Challenger Circuit. JSW's support of Squash is the
beginning of huge wave of development of the game and certainly paves
the way for future champions who will not need to go abroad to gain
valuable ranking points and improve their global rankings."
