One of the few things that can never really run out of being in vogue is the joy and excitement associated with learning and living the intricacies of a new sport. Not quite a surprise then that a sports mad person like yours truly gets to experience this high during an Olympic year! In a daily calendar that mandatorily begins and ends with checking out the latest scores of events happening across the world and dissecting the same with plenty of armchair expert comments through the day, it was inevitable that a new sport would join in the tracking list. The surprise though was the fact that a non-olympic sport actually crept up the mind share charts for me during the year and got me to experience the unparalleled thrill of learning to appreciate a sport. This is a short expression of my thoughts on the beauty of the sport of squash.
My earliest memory of squash as a sport has to do with the childhood days sitting at home alone after school and during vacations with a rubber ball in hand and the wall in front. Most simplistic way to stay occupied playing a sport with self to compete against! No racquests needed, no courts and no nets - Just a deaf ear required to ignore parent's reprimand for spoiling the wall. Obviously rules were self defined and executed, sole objective being to have fun making use of the permanent childhood companion - a ball! As years passed the wall squash ended up as a passing fad and got upstaged in my sports pecking list by table tennis, volleyball, badminton and the rest. 2016 has resulted in a fair bit of change in that though. Following the ElShorbagys, Gawad, Mathew and Gaultiers of the world on telly has brought the sport quite close to me. Ofcourse nothing beats the experience of watching a sport live right amongst connoisseurs of the game, breathing the same air as the players and feeling the pulse of the moments and this has been the real change in this year.
Indian Squash Circuit has taken off brilliantly and to have two events close to each other in Mumbai, where honestly for all that we boast of, high quality sports live action is a rarity, has been a revelation. The Otters international couple of months back in Bandra gave an opportunity to witness Joshna Chinnappa's game and the masterclass from the veteran Annie Au. The tenacity of Tesni Evans in her fight given to Joshna as well as the lazy elegance of Abdullah Al-Mezayan who delighted the small gathering with some magical wristy shots remain etched in the minds. Ofcourse Otters was a curtain raiser for the real deal in November at the CCI. A glass court put up at the club with a sizeable capacity crowd witnessing some high quality squash was just what the doctor ordered for the sport to be driven up the popularity expressway in the country.
Talented people from squash capital of the world - Egypt along with gritty challengers have resulted in some fabulous action lapped up by an excited crowd spanning across age groups 2 years to 75+. Watching the class of Mohammad Abouelghar and Fares Desouky and the never say die determination shown by the Swiss Nicolas Mueller surely ranks among the best squash action that Indian audiences have witnessed live. Personally, given that watching such top class squash action courtside was a first, the nuances and efforts put in the sport are an eye opener!
A word to appreciate the efforts of the organisers. Ritwik Bhattcharya has been brilliant, constantly on the run through the matches meeting players, officials and working with the technical guys to address issues with the streaming coverage. Despite all the running around, the minute a familiar face is met or even a stranger approaches him for a word, the man is all smiles and courteousness personified! The passion and love for the game that brought him to the top in the country is evident in his efforts to popularise the sport and take the game to the masses further. Ditto for Raj Arora as well. Infectiously passionate about the game and willing to talk about it at lengths. A particularly heartening sight through the course of the tournament at CCI has been the number of young kids present and their unbridled excitement in watching the match and rushing over to meet the players and get an autograph / selfie. The players ofcourse have been more than willing to shrug off the game fatigue and give the kids a moment to cherish.
Wishing the best to the group in the efforts to build the sport in the country and with myself getting bitten by the bug, can't wait to hit the courts to experience the thrill of this magic ball sport far more regularly.
