The Asian Games, or Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year among athletes from all over Asia.
The Asian Games, or Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation until 1978. The venue for the first was India in New Delhi. Since 1982, they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation. Asian games have been recognised by the International Olympic Association as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics. The 2023 edition of the Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8.
Squash is a popular recreational sport in India, gaining popularity as a competitive sport. The Squash Rackets Federation of India governs it. The India men’s national squash team has participated in three quarter-finals of the World Team Squash Championships since 1967. Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Joshna Chinnappa and Saurav Ghosal are among the top-ranked Indian squash players. Interestingly, these three will be present in the Asian Games as well. Dipika was the first Indian woman to break into the top 10 Official Women’s Squash World Ranking in 2012.
For India, all eyes will be on India’s veteran squash player Saurav Ghosal. Saurav has already breached the top 10 in the world rankings. He won the first-ever medal in Squash for India at the Commonwealth Games. He was the national champion in 2020 by winning the 77th National Squash championship. In 2013, Saurav became the first Indian to reach the Quarterfinals of the World Squash Championship in Manchester, England. In 2004, he became the first Indian ever to win the coveted British Junior Open Under-19 Squash title by defeating Adel El Said of Egypt. Saurav has given many promising performances in the Asian Games for India starting from 2014. In Hangzhou, the coaches will hope that the 32-year-old repeats his previous performances.
The women’s team will be spearheaded by another ace squash player Dipika Pallikal Karthik. She is the first Indian to break into the top 10 in the PSA Women’s rankings. Dipika first came to prominence in 2011, when she won three WISPA tour titles. She broke into the top 10 in December 2012. She became the first Female Squash player to be conferred with the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting award in the year 2012. Dipika has notched up notable performances in the World Doubles Championships and the Commonwealth Games. She has won the coveted gold medal on both occasions. However, one medal that is missing from her trophy cabinet is gold at the Asian Games. In Hangzhou, the 31-year-old will look to add the missing piece to her golden set.
Another veteran who will be a vital cog in the contingent is Joshna Chinappa. Like Dipika, she reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. She was the first Indian to win the British Junior Squash Championship title in 2005 in the under-19 category and was also the youngest Indian women’s national champion. Joshna is the current record-holder of most national championship wins, with 18 titles. The 36-year-old has won medals in all the competitions at both the national and international levels. The only missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle is a gold medal at the Asian Games. Chinappa will look to complete the set of gold medals in Hangzhou.
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