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Comeback man Deepak dreams of playing for India at the highest level
The audience, including sports scribes from this newspaper, at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) courts here were perplexed when India’s junior team coach Deepak Mishra battled it out in the qualifying phase of the 77th SRFI Senior National Championships.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
Tamil Nadu-based Deepak had suffered a career-threatening knee injury in 2014 and has since been moulding the Gen Next. Having stayed away from the circuit as a player for about 14 months, the comeback man took his first step towards realising his “biggest dream” of representing India at the highest level.
“I competed in the men’s singles event at consecutive Nationals (2017 and 2018) in Greater Noida and Delhi respectively. Prior to that, I took part in the Pro Coach category in 2016 and ended runner-up. Only a couple of months ago, I decided to return. I am feeling much better now,” Deepak, who unfortunately couldn’t make it to the main draw, told DT Next.
“Let us take it step by step. By the end of this year, I want to get my whole game back. Skill sets wise, I am fine. But, I am well behind others in the physicality part. Once I am able to produce my natural game, I will start featuring in tournaments (in India). I wish to play alongside our senior players. I think I can do it,” added the 25-year-old. Deepak said he is taking complete care of his knee right now as he is finding it extremely tough to maintain high standards after a long lay-off.
“Whenever I feel uncomfortable, I go for rehabilitation. Now that I have coached for quite a few years, I realise the mistakes I had made as a player (laughs). If I can get through this stage, I can be a really good player.”
According to Deepak, excessive play without much rest during his Under-19 days cost him dear. “When I knew my time as a junior was coming to an end, I was worried if I would make a good shift. In a bid to achieve success, I played a number of tournaments without putting much thought. I was working so hard to get somewhere and never cared about recovery,” revealed Deepak.
Easy outing for top seeds
Top seeds – Saurav Ghosal in men’s and Joshna Chinappa in women’s – had an easy opening outing as they sailed into the quarter-finals of the ongoing 77th Senior National Squash Championships at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) courts here. While Ghosal got the better of Sandeep Jangra in straight games (11-4, 11-4, 11-8), Joshna defeated Radhika Rathore 11-5, 11-3, 11-4.
Results: Round-of-32: Men: Saurav Ghosal (1), TN, bt Sandeep Jangra, SR, 11-4, 11-3, 11-8; Rutvik Rau, MH, bt Vikas Mehra, TN, 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8; Abhay Singh, TN, bt Suraj Chand, MH, 11-3, 11-5, 11-2; Abhishek Agarwal, MH, bt Jamal Sakib, SR, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7; Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, TN, bt Ravi Dixit, SR, 11-9, 11-1, 11-9; Yash Fadte, GA, bt Vijay Kumar, SR, 11-8, 11-2, 11-7; Gaurav Nandrajog, DL, bt Guhan Senthilkumar, TN, 11-8, 12-10, 11-6; Abhishek Pradhan, MH, bt Rahul Baitha, MH, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6.
Women: Joshana Chinappa (1), TN, bt Radhika Rathore, MP, 11-5, 11-3, 11-4; Sachika Balvani, MH, bt Sushmita Panigrahi, KA, 11-3, 11-4, 11-2; Sanya Vats, DL, bt Abhisheka Shannon, TN, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6; Urwashi Joshi, MH, bt S Akshaya Sri, TN, 11-3, 11-4, 11-6; Tanvi Khanna, DL, bt Riya Sisodia, RJ, 11-9,11-8, 11-8; Aparajitha Balamurukan, TN, bt Shameena Riaz, TN, 11-7, 11-6, 11-2; Sanika Choudhari, MH, bt R Pooja Arthi, TN, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5; Sunayna Kuruvilla, TN, bt Rathika Suthanthira Seelan, TN, 11-2, 11-9, 11-3.
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