Mumbai: A scramble, quite unlike what squash has faced before, has seized the sport. This stems from squash’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympic roster. The criteria have been set, and players have started preparing for the qualification process.
A higher rank is rewarding, but come this September, the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, will offer the gold medallists in squash the first guaranteed spot at the Los Angeles Olympics.
“This year, the Asian Games is the obvious priority,” said Ramit Tandon, India No.2 in men’s singles and world No.37 who will be competing at the JSW Indian Open in Mumbai starting on Wednesday.
“Everything that I’m doing now, or most of the Asian players are doing now, revolves around trying to peak at the Asian Games. Whatever tournaments we choose, the end goal would be to perform well and capture the spot for the Olympics.”
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) copper event in Mumbai will be his third tournament in 2026.
“There are certain changes we have made in terms of the number of tournaments I’m playing,” he said. “I’m trying to reduce it a little bit and play better in each event and try to go through the ranking race. Also, if you can get it right at the Asian Games, then the ranking race is not going to matter and then you’ll have a big chunk of time to prepare for the Olympics.”
Like Tandon, India No.1 women’s singles player Anahat Singh, the world No.20, has also briefly taken a step back from the professional circuit. Singh won the Squash on Fire Open last month in the United States, which saw her break into the top 20 for the first time. The 18-year-old then spent a month training in New Delhi while also sitting for her pre-board examinations.
“It was important for me because I had quite a long run in the US, I was out for a month. I wanted to be home for a while, take a break from it,” said Anahat, who will be defending her title in Mumbai this week.
“I’ve been mainly focusing on my fitness and consistency. I’d seen that if I had one really long match I wouldn’t be able to back it up. But I’ve been focusing on getting my stamina up as high as possible and getting stronger.”
No Indian has won the singles gold in squash at the Asian Games. But sights are firmly set on the quadrennial event where, with an Olympic quota in the offing, a gold medal will glow brighter than before.
Concerns over Worlds
Ahead of the Asian Games, the prestigious PSA World Championships are scheduled to take place in Cairo in May.
The ongoing war in West Asia however has caused concern.
“The World Championships is in an affected area,” Tandon said. “Our tournament schedules, we’ve been getting e-mails from the PSA saying that they’re keeping a close watch. Or, they’re going to be looking at shuffling around the dates a bit as well. There’s a bit of uncertainty when it comes to our planning.”
