India win squash World Cup team title

bombay: Joshna Chinappa has been a pro crush participant for o'er two decades. Rarely did she experience the kind of buzz she felt playing a match on Sunday in a commercial mall in Chennai.

“It was the most crowd I’ve ever played in front of, honestly,” she said.

In front of that large home crowd, the Indian team captured the Squash World Cup gold for the first time, defeating top seeds Hong Kong 3-0 in the final held at the Express Avenue Mall.

The four-member team of former women’s top 10 Joshna, current world No.28 Anahat Singh, men’s No.29 Abhay Singh and No.45 Velavan Senthilkumar went where no Indian unit had gone in the mixed team tournament’s previous four editions. India went better than their bronze in 2023 and are the first Asian team to win the title previously held by Egypt (twice), England and Australia.

“It (winning the gold) was something the four of us prior to the tournament really believed that we could do,” Joshna said over phone from Chennai. “All of us were coming in with good form in our recent tournaments. So, there was this belief that we could pull it off.”

The 39-year-old Joshna, now ranked 79th, led the way in the final, beating world No.37 Ka Yi Lee 3-1 (7-3, 2-7 ,7-5, 7-1). Abhay, who’s had a good season on the PSA tour, brushed aside Alex Lau 3-0 (7-1, 7-4, 7-4) before teenager Anahat signed off with a 3-0 (7-2, 7-2, 7-5) win over Tomato Ho.

India were clinical throughout the event featuring 12 teams with a shorter, faster format. They beat squash powerhouse Egypt, albeit without their top players, in the semi-final. Although in a different format, winning a major title in a sport that will debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics could be a shot in the arm for these players – especially the likes of Anahat, 17, and Abhay, 27 – and Indian squash overall.

“It just shows how far we’ve come,” said Joshna, a multiple-time World Championships, Asian and Commonwealth Games medallist.

“Individually, they’ve had some good wins against some of the world’s top players. I’m not surprised that they won all their matches here. It’s good for them to have these milestones earlier on in their career. For me, it’s come a little later,” Joshna said with a laugh. “But nonetheless, a gold is a gold!”

“I think this will pump up a lot of kids watching from the India squash academy (in Chennai) and those watching at home,” Abhay was quoted as saying by World Squash.

For Joshna, one of the flagbearers of Indian squash who has been through several injuries over the last few years, this week acts as a “big boost” even if it came at the cost of sacrificing chocolates for two months. For her, turning up to play for India in tournaments like these remains the biggest driving force.

“And the fact that I can still do that at the later stages of my career feels really special. I’m glad I could contribute to this team. I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to play this event two months back. And now, being part of a gold-winning team is pretty special,” Joshna said. “I’m glad I can go back to my chocolates now, for a while.”

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