NE SPORTS BUREAU
CHENNAI, NOV 16
Top seeds, sans defending women’s champion Joshna Chinappa, will be in action in the 79th HCL National Squash Championship to be held from Friday to Thursday, November 17 to 23 in Chennai. The Chennai hosts the championship for the seventh time, said Cyrus Poncha, Secretary General, Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI).
• The event will be held across categories, with 174 male and 63 female competitors taking part in it
• The prize money allocated is Rs 8.8 lakh for both men’s and women’s sections
• This sport has been included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics programme
Announcing the tournament jointly, SRFI honorary lifetime president and patron N Ramachandran said that Joshna Chinappa will miss the championship as she’s nursing a knee injury.
The 79th edition of the tournament will run between November 17 and 23, with the Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association hosting it for the seventh time.
The event will be held across categories, with 174 male and 63 female competitors taking part in it.
The prize money allocated is Rs 8.8 lakh for both men’s and women’s sections.
Defending champion Abhay Singh, Ramit Tandon, Velavan Senthilkumar and Suraj Chand are the top four seeds in the men’s section.
In the women’s section, Tanvi Khanna, Anahat Singh, Urwashi Joshi and Janet Vidhi are the top four seeds.
Chinappa will miss the event as she is nursing a knee injury.
On the eve of the tournament, Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) patron N Ramachandran said, “We are dedicated to fostering the growth of squash across the country. Our commitment extends to providing continuous support to players, promoting the sport at all levels, and working towards achieving national and international milestones.”
He said younger players need to train in Europe before the Olympics.
The coming years are going to be significant for squash in India, especially after the sport has been included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics programme.
Ramachandran, however, said the sport’s roadmap is yet to be prepared for LA28.
