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."