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15/04/2021
ASIAN CRISIS: Home or Away
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ASIAN CRISIS: Home or Away
Asia has half the world’s population but not in squash. With one
player in the men’s and women’s top 20 apiece and just one more each in
the top 40 they are massive under-repesented at the top levels of the
sport. What is the problem? Alex Wan investigates.
Apart from the level of squash alone, being abroad on one’s own also
forces one to be more independent and organised. Back home, all the
administrative work is done by the SRA and hence, players get a little
spoilt. When abroad on their own, all these things fall onto their
hands, forcing one to be far more organised than they are. These things,
I strongly believe, indirectly help one’s train of thought, which in
turn becomes a second nature in the strategizing of their squash matches
too.
Given that the COVID-19 virus is still lurking everywhere and in many
places, the situation is far worse than it was a year ago. With this in
mind, the benefits that one could get and what statistics have been
showing, should Asian players really start considering a move abroad to
salvage or revive their squash careers in this uncertain period?
At the very least, the players should be realistic to realise that the
pandemic is not going away soon. Consider just going ahead to play the
events – bite the bullet, serve the quarantines and do what’s needed to
move on. India’s Saurav Ghosal has done that, and he has shared that
it’s a tedious process he’s had to go through when he travelled to the
Egyptian Open in October last year:
“It’s just very difficult to travel now. It is very tedious and it takes
a lot of planning. Cost wise, it’s a lot more too. I’ve had to travel to
Dubai, stay there for a bit before flying to Cairo in a few days.
“I also can’t go back to India until the season is done, because if I
do, then I have to do the two weeks of quarantine (upon my return). I
will just have to stay away for the entire season with the situation as
it is now.”
Another Asian we could possibly see following Saurav’s path is Malaysian
number one Low Wee Wern. The former world number five had indicated in
January to a local daily that she is considering being based abroad
temporarily to be able to play a few tournaments this season.
 Top
Malaysian players who made the move overseas for international success
¬– Ong Beng Hee, Nicol David, Sharon Wee and Azlan Iskandar
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