Abhay ready to ‘lose’ to find a place in top 10, 2028 Olympics

bombay: For this hebdomad forward of the squelch domain Cup in Chennai, Abhay Singh had a choice – play the $15K Challenger in the same city, where he’d be the top seed and billed to go all the way, or the Platinum event in Hong Kong, where he’d run into world No.1 Mostafa Asal in Round 1.

Abhay opted for the latter.

“I think my $15K title chasing days are almost done,” said Abhay. “I don’t see the point anymore, especially where I am at right now.”

He’s at world No.28, as the top-ranked Indian pro who started the year outside the top 50. The India No.1 tag came after he beat world No.5 Karim Gawad for a significant win that also propelled him above Ramit Tandon in the PSA charts.

Now in the top 30 with opportunities to enter the battleground with squash’s cream, the 27-year-old is eager to do that more than turn up for lower-tier tournaments seeking titles. Even if, at the moment, it comes at the cost of losing more than winning.

“Now it’s about putting myself in the deep end with the big boys and losing my way through, until I start winning a lot,” said the 2023 Asian Games gold medallist. “It’s going to be harder in the Platinum events, but my goal is to get on that level with these guys. And for that I need to spend time on court with them.”

In the past six weeks, Abhay has played three top-20 opponents, including Asal and world No.4 Joel Makin. The Indian lost all three.

For a player with 11 PSA titles – the most recent being the Hyder Trophy, a PSA Challenger, in New York in May – dealing with frequent defeats can’t be easy. However, rather than drowning in a sea of thoughts, Abhay knows he has bigger fish to fry than simply being India No.1. That includes the top 10, and the 2028 LA Olympics.

“I mean, losing sucks, obviously. But I know that it’s part of the bigger plan,” Abhay said. “I’m not looking at one season. I’m looking at… we’re getting close to the (2026) Asian Games, then there’s the (2028) Olympics, and then the Commonwealth Games in 2030. There are a lot of big things that are a while away, and the work towards that starts now.

“And it all compounds. A few years ago, I wasn’t even in the top 100. So, if I keep my head down and stay strong through the losing phase, I’m optimistic. Probably I look at it differently to maybe some others in India. But that’s just my mentality.”

Helping him keep his head down in this process is James Willstrop, Abhay’s coach since January last year. The Indian credits the former world No.1 as being the key force behind his big push this year.

“I know that James is someone who’s going to help take me to the top,” said Abhay. “He emphasises that even if I lose 3-0 to these top guys, it has to help me improve.”

A sign of that improvement came when Abhay went down to world No.6 Youssef Ibrahim in a tight 3-1 contest at the Egyptian Open. Four months before that, he was blanked by Ibrahim 3-0 in half-an-hour at the World Championships.

Taking down former world No.1 Gawad to enter the Qatar Classic Round of 16 in September “was a huge deal”. The same month, Abhay also beat world No.20 Gregoire Marche.

“Now it’s about making sure it’s a consistent pattern and not a one-off,” he said.

Until that happens, and until he consistently finds himself in deeper stages of Platinum events, Abhay said it won’t feel like he belongs to that top level. Yet he is quick to add: “Do I belong there eventually? Of course I do. Am I going to get there eventually? Of course I will.”

The India No.1 is willing to stay patient in that journey. The Asian Games next year, and “winning two gold medals” in it, will be an important pitstop for the Arjuna awardee who starred in the men’s team gold in Hangzhou.

Abhay had told his team that he will not think about the Olympics and its qualification roadmap until the Asian Games. But, given his rankings charge this year, that has now changed.

“If I can make a bigger push in the next six months, and widen the gap between me and the other Indians, then I’m frontrunning for a while (in the qualification race),” he said.

“Obviously, I’m proud to be where I am. Being India No.1 is not easy with the quality of players we have. But there’s not a lot of joy being a top 30 player. Top 10 is the goal.”

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