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Pune lacks squash infrastructure, says U-17 national champion

Hindustan Times, Pune | ByJigar Hindocha, Pune
May 31, 2020 04:46 PM IST

“In Pune, there aren’t a lot of coaching facilities for squash. I train under Abhinav Sinha who is from Mumbai. I am glad that we have a squash court at Brahma Sun city, where I practice,” Singh said.

For two-time under-17 squash national champion Yoshna Singh who also scored 90 per cent in the Cambridge board examination recently, time management is the path to excellence.

According to Singh, Pune lacks quality squash infrastructure in comparison to Mumbai.

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“In Pune, there aren’t a lot of coaching facilities for squash. I train under Abhinav Sinha who is from Mumbai. I am glad that we have a squash court at Brahma Sun city, where I practice,” Singh said.

With her coach in Mumbai, Singh takes online coaching sessions and she is helped by her father and fitness trainer Sandeep Narwade to maintain her focus on the game.

“My father first learned the sport by watching videos on YouTube and now he helps me train. If the tournament is scheduled in Mumbai then I have sessions with my coach,” Singh said who is ranked fourth in the under-19 Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI).

Singh had a tough 2019 since she had to appear for Class 12 exams and also focus on her training. Singh who studies at Vibgyor high, NIBM, excelled in her IGCSE A level (12th Grade) exams with the first rank in commerce stream and third across all streams.

“I had planned my year in such a way, where I had divided months for training and studying. My school Vibgyor high, NIBM, has been very supportive always when it comes to my training. With their help, I managed everything well and secured good marks in my exam,” she said.

Singh will be now moving to an Ivy League college - the University of Pennsylvania, in the US for further studies.

Along with studying, getting trained under top-class coaches for the next four years is on her mind right now.

“It will be a completely different exposure as I will be playing with my college team and it will help me take my talent to a different level,” Singh said.

Mumbai: Squash hub

When it comes to squash, Mumbai dominates above other cities, since infrastructure is yet to get developed in smaller cities.

“Mumbai is the hub of squash, players are also coming from other districts but since good training facilities are available in Mumbai, it is producing quality players,” Singh. said

In the upcoming years, Singh will focus more on playing international tournaments.

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