Mumbai:
Joshna Chinappa will be part of the Indian contingent heading to the World Squash Team Championships in Hong Kong. Nothing unusual that for a multiple-time World and Asian Championships medallist playing professional squash for over two decades. Except next week, instead of sporting the player’s jersey, she will don the coach’s hat.
Joshna, among India’s most decorated squash pros, will coach the Indian women’s team at the prestigious global team event starting Monday in what will be her first coaching gig. “It will be fun to see what it’s like to be on the other side,” she said.
Not that the 38-year-old has fully switched over. Only last month, the former top 10 pro currently ranked world No.162 with injuries pegging her back made the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Classic. That was just her second tournament returning to the PSA tour and playing singles after undergoing knee surgery in January. The knee not yet ready to take the singles load, the record 19-time national champion sat out of the nationals held a few months ago that doubled up as selection trials for the World Team event.
The federation, Joshna said, then reached out to her on whether she’d be interested in being the coach of the women’s team for the event (Harinder Pal Sandhu, 35, is the men’s coach). With no tournaments lined up in her calendar this month, she signed up for the new role. “I’m happy to help the team out… just in being able to share my knowledge of playing big tournaments and against some of the world’s best players. It will be a fun experience. Here I’ll have to be responsible for the kids, before it was just about myself and playing good squash,” last year’s Asian Games bronze medallist chuckled.
The team comprises current India No.1 Akanksha Salunkhe, reigning national champion Anahat Singh, Nirupama Dubey and Urwashi Joshi. Two of them are teens — Anahat, 16, and Nirupama, 19 — and Joshna knows a fair bit about tasting early success. Although Joshna hopes to play on for a “couple more years at least” on the PSA tour, this gig with a young team will help test the waters on whether coaching can be a long-term option in her post-squash days.
“The last 25 years I’ve been only been focussed on my playing and training. So, this is an opportunity for me to see if I can enjoy working with kids on the outside, enjoy being a coach generally and if I can do it on a more consistent basis later. I don’t see myself committing to coaching at least for the next two years, but it will be good to see what it is like and to be able to support the team,” she said.
In July, Joshna won the mixed doubles title at the Asian Doubles Championships and after returning in the singles mix for two PSA tournaments this year, she hopes to play a lot more in 2025. Her partner at the Asian Doubles was Abhay Singh, who will compete in the men’s event next week. That’s how different ‘coach Joshna’ sounds. Although she’d like to keep it simple donning this different hat.
“I want to get on court with them, practice with them, help them between games and point out those little things from the outside. I want them to be able to talk to someone who has been in the mix for a long time and understands the pressure of playing for India in such major events. I want to keep them in the zone. And I want us to have fun.”
