India and Chennai may lose Asian junior champion Velavan to US scholarship

Squash is an elitist sport alright, but the professionals don’t earn so much here to make a career out of it alone. That is where the US window opens up new avenues for the players. “I can’t say it is good or bad,” says Poncha. “From the individual’s point of view, it is a good break, but from my point of view, I may lose a talented player, which is not good for the system.”

Velavan,18, who won the Asian junior championship title last week in Kuala Lumpur, is touted as the next big thing for Indian squash and as such not many Indians have won the Asian junior, the only boy before him being Ravi Dixit in 2010. Of course, in the girls’ category, Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikkal and Anaka Alankamony have won this title. 

Velavan, currently playing in the PSA tournament in Mumbai, said he has taken a break after his 12th standard and would continue next year. “I am looking at an undergraduate programme where I can combine squash and studies, probably in the US,” said Velavan.

There are schools in the US which fall under the umbrella of strong squash programmes. Some schools such as Trinity and Princeton may field teams of 20 players or more. Then there are Harward and Yale, with incredibly strong academics and squash programs and the recruiting process there is considered the most difficult. Recruits must have both the academic profile and squash skills to be admitted to the school—not always the easiest balance between school work and squash lessons. The scholarship, which is generally in the region of Rs 50 lakh for the four-year programme for the normal applicants, comes at a discounted fee of Rs five lakh (10 percent) if you are in the squash bracket and that is such a big incentive for the squash players whose prize money is not anywhere near the tennis and badminton players here.  “After the under-graduate programme, I would like to continue as a professional,” said Velavan. Anaka Alankamony and Kush Kumar, two strong players, had moved to the US for squash programmes in the last couple of years. 

Anaka Alankamony was a student of Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering and a former student of Sacred Heart Matriculation school. At the age of 15 she set the world record as the youngest person in the world to earn the WISPA title. Anaka enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in the fall of 2013. At Penn, she plays on the women’s squash team and studies Computer Science and Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Cyrus Poncha admits the situation will change only if squash is included in the Olympics.

Dipika, Joshna the exceptions 

Though Indian squash lost many talents to education in the United States, there are two superstars who were not moved by the temptations. 

By far the best players to come out of ISL, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa are the only Indians to figure in the top 10 in world rankings. Dipika was the first to break into the top 10 in 2013 and Joshna achieved the same mark this year. “The Asian junior is a strong event in a players career in this part of the globe,” says Dipika. “I was not inclined to go for a scholarship because I wanted to be a professional in the sport. It was not about the money but the love of the nation,” adds Dipika. The Indian professional says the situation has improved for the sport over the years as more and more talents have sprouted.