JODHPUR: HCL and the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) Thursday announced the second leg of the HCL-SRFI India Tour in Jodhpur from 17th to 21st November.
This tournament is part of the ongoing multi-city circuit PSA Challenger Tour of the HCL Squash Podium Program, which aims to enhance the Indian squash ecosystem. The tour will give Indian players an opportunity to compete with some of the best squash talent on home turf. The championship will witness over 48 players from 9 countries. The tournament will take place at Umaid Bhawan Palace and Bodhi International School. Alongside the main PSA tournament, the Junior Tournament will also take place from November 20th to 24th.
The HCL-SRFI Indian Tour for 2022 commenced in Chennai, where the first leg was held successfully with Abhay Singh from India as winner in men’s category and Kenzy Aymann from Egypt as winner in women’s category.
Jodhpur has a long-standing connection with squash which dates back to 1931. It has been a hub for the sport and has produced outstanding players such as Rajkumar Narpat Singh, who won the National Title ten consecutive times starting in 1946. His record was broken by Sourav Ghosal, who also emerged as a winner at the 74th HCL National Squash Championship in 2020. By choosing this city as the venue for the next leg of the PSA Tour, HCL aims to contribute to and promote its squash legacy.
Announcing the HCL Squash Podium Program, Rajat Chandolia, associate vice-president and head, HCL Brand said, “Sports is an important part of life and at HCL we choose to support competitive sports that are not at the forefront of popularity. We believe that squash in India has immense potential. We have collaborated with SRFI to establish the HCL Squash Podium Program and pave the way for India to become a serious competitor on the global squash stage. The HCL-SRFI India Tour has been an important part of this initiative and we are happy to announce the second leg of this year’s PSA Challenger Tour that will be held in the beautiful city of Jodhpur. We look forward to another exciting tournament and wish all the players the very best.”
Cyrus Poncha, secretary-general, SRFI, said, “Squash is one of the most exciting, challenging sports that requires an exceptional level of agility, quick strategic mindset and physical strength. The HCL SRFI India Tour was introduced with the aim of helping our players enhance their game and encourage global-level competition, in order to make India a force to be reckoned with on the worldwide stage. During the Jodhpur leg, I look forward to watching some exciting matches over the next five days and I wish all the players the very best of luck”.
The tournament will witness participation from players including Zahed Salem (Egypt, Rank 71) who will be the top seed for the men’s draw and Aira Azman (Malaysia, Rank 79) heading up the women’s draw. From India, Abhay Singh is the top-seeded men’s player and Akanksha Salunkhe is the top-seeded women’s player.
The Jodhpur PSA Challenger Tour also has four wildcard entries which include Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, Krishna Mishra, Lakshya Gwala from India in the men’s category and Yashi Jain from India in the women’s category.
To ensure that squash enthusiasts do not miss out on the opportunity to see their favourite players in action, all matches will be streamed live on the SRFI Facebook page (www.facebook.com/indiasquash) and HCL For Sports Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HCLForSports/). Matches will also be streaming on the HCL Enterprise & India Squash YouTube channels (youtube.com/user/HCLEnterprise and youtube.com/c/IndiaSquash) respectively.
