“It was special.”
Joshna Chinappa is on a high. Last month, she beat her compatriot and doubles partner Dipika Pallikal 13-15, 12-10, 11-13, 11-4, 11-4 in Chennai to achieve a significant milestone: the first Indian to win the Asian Squash Championship.
It’s an achievement she has eyed for a long time. “It was something I have wanted to win in my career,” Chinappa told Scroll.in. “There is always added pressure playing at home.”
Taking the squash world by storm
It has been an enthralling past 12 months for the 30-year-old. Chinappa broke into the top-10 in July last year and reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship, becoming the second Indian to do so after Pallikal. She lost 6-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 3-11 to world No 3 Camille Serme of France in the quarter-final. “My run in the World Championship was fairly good and each match was harder than the first,” said Chinappa. “However, I am really grateful to be doing what I do.”
In November 2015, Chinappa beat the world No 2 Raneem el Welily. Currently ranked 14th in the world, her recent win has given her the desire to get better. However, she feels that to beat the top players in the world, a lot of work has to be done. “It is not easy just breaking into the top-five,” she said. “We [Indians] can definitely do it. But for that we need more support from the time we start our careers and continued support till we our done playing. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been that way, though it has improved over the past few months.”
A coach does help
For a major part of her career, Chinappa travelled to tournaments without a coach. However, with Achraf El Karagui now in her corner, Chinappa seems to have taken her a game a notch higher. “I have worked with some of the best coaches at different stages in my career who have all contributed to my game,” she said. “My dad [Anjan Chinappa] and Ritwik Bhattacharya have been the biggest influences. It’s great to have Achraf as part of our team. He is very committed towards helping us and he understands the game really well. He has been able to add more to my game in the past six months.”
But has the move come a little too late? “It has been tough to play without a coach in my corner for the most part of my squash career,” she added. “Though, if my teammates are around we help each other. But it is something I got use too. However, it is always nice to have your team be there for your matches.”
Beating and also playing with Pallikal
Coming into the Asian Championship, Pallikal had a 3-0 win record against Chinappa. So, for Chinappa to beat Pallikal was an extraordinary feat. “Dipika and I are the only ones on tour from India in the women’s circuit, so it is natural to know each other well,” Chinappa said. “We know each other’s game inside out. We also train together most of the time. I enjoy playing doubles with her and we both love playing for India as a team. It works both ways.”
However, the duo will team up once again to defend their doubles gold at the Commonwealth Games next year and are also playing together for the Asian Games. “I look forward to playing with Dipika at the CWG and defending our gold medals,” said Chinappa.
The road ahead
Following her Asian Championship win, Chinappa is back to the grind and slogging it out as she prepares for the World Doubles Championship in Manchester in August. She is back to training and hopes to stay injury-free for the next two years at least. “I train six days a week, twice a day,” she said. “It is usually a combination of squash, weights and on-court fitness. I have an early start and my day usually ends around 7.30 pm after all the training. I have the world doubles in Manchester in the first week of August. I hope to be injury-free and healthy during the next season.” However, she did not reveal her ultimate goal in the sport. “There are certain things I would like to achieve in my career, but for now it is still a secret,” she said.
Growth of squash
Talking about the growth of squash in India, Chinappa, who idolises former athlete PT Usha, said that things are slowly but steadily changing for the better. “Squash has definitely grown a lot more in the past few years,” she said. “The Sports Authority of India, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, and the Squash Rackets Federation of India have been a lot more supportive in the past two years. There are so many juniors coming up. Of course we can improve the game further, so we can really reach the grassroot level and kids from smaller towns. We need to give them facilities and support their career financially if we want to see more results.”
