At the felicitation function of the Junior National Squash champions (from l to r) Daksha Pathak (Girls U-13), Mahesh Mangaonkar (Boys U-19), Shri Padmakar Valvi, Minister for Sports, Government of Maharashtra, Veer Chotrani (Boys U-11), Shri Harshvardhan Patil, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Yohan Pandole (Boys U-15), Aryaman Adik (Boys U-13) and Urvashi Joshi (Girls U-17)

Photogallery

Junior squash champs honoured

A squash academy in Mumbai may soon become a reality as Shri Padmakar Valvi, Minister of Sports, Government of Maharashtra is making concerted efforts to procure land for the same at the Kalina University Campus and is hopeful of things firming up in the near future. Shri Valvi was speaking at a function hosted by the Bombay Gymkhana and organised by SRAM and ISP to felicitate the six junior winners of National titles at the recently concluded Junior National Squash Championships and the four players who finished runners-up.

Also present on the occasion was Shri Harshvardhan Patil, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, and Chief Patron of ISP, besides officials from SRAM and ISP.

Maharashtra, led by the talented Mahesh Mangaonkar and Yohan Pandole, procured a rich haul of six gold medals from the ten at stake, with four players winning silver medals in the Junior Nationals in Jodhpur.

This has been largely due to the efforts of the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM), the support from the squash NGO, Indian Squash Professionals, the selfless dedication of a bunch of committed coaches and the proliferation of squash courts in the city.

In 2011, the State Government recognized SRAM as the official body representing the sports of Squash in Maharashtra, and concerted efforts are now on to gain as much financial and infrastructural support as possible to help players who have played at an international level, besides all the National champions who are harbouring aspirations of turning professional in the near future.

The following players crowned themselves National champions:
Mahesh Mangaonkar (Boys under-19), Yohan Pandole (Boys under-15), Aryaman Adik (Boys under-13), Veer Chotrani (Boys under-11), Urvashi Joshi (Girls under-17), Daksha Pathak (Girls under-13).

The following players emerged runners-up:
Tushar Sahani (Boys under-11), Aditi Raheja (Girls under-11), Nikita Joshi (Girls under-13), Saumya Karki (Girls under-19).

Besides winning the National titles, most of the players have also made a name for themselves on the junior international stage. Mahesh Mangaonkar has been British Open Junior Champion 2009, Scottish Open Junior Champion 2007, German Open Junior Champion 2008 and the Indian Open Junior Champion 2011.

Saumya Karki has participated in the World Junior women’s team Squash Championship 2011, held in Boston, USA and was an U-19 semi-finalist. She also won an U-17 silver medal in the Asian Junior Individual Squash Championship 2011 in Amman, Jordan.

Aryaman Adik represented India in the Boys U-13 and finished in the top 8 in the Asian Juniors in Jordan, besides being the Plate Event Winner in the Milo All-Star in Malaysia.

Nikita Joshi was selected to represent India at the Asian Squash Junior Open, Girls U 13, held at Jordan in June 2011, and won 3rd place at the Scottish Junior Squash Championship, Girls U-13, at Edinburgh in Jan 2012.

At the felicitation function at Taj Presidency, Cuffe Parade from L to R :
Shri. Harshvardhan Patil (Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra) along with Noreena (V.P., ISP), Khalid A-H. Ansari
(Chairman Emeritus, SRAM), Gautam Thakkar (V.P., SRAM,) Mahendra Agarwal (Founder Director, ISP)

Minister promises more public squash courts in Maharashtra
Article in The Hindu, Mumbai : 5th August 2007

Maharashtra may soon become the first state in the country to have public squash courts in each of its 33 districts.  

Maharashtra Minister for marketing (Women and Child Development and Parliamentary affairs) Harshvardhan Patil conveyed his intention to fulfill this aim, after becoming the chief patron of the Mumbai-based NGO Indian Squash Professionals (ISP).  

"I will do everything possible to see that the game is promoted widely in the state of Maharashtra. The need of the hour is to take the game of squash to the common public and hence my priority will be the construction of more public squash courts," he said at a media conference on Friday night.  

At present there are three courts built by the state government in their district sports stadiums at Jalgaon, Nashik and Dhule.

We would strive to have at least one court for the public in every other district of Maharashtra, Patil said.  

"There are also plans to start an academy for squash with six courts, in Mumbai Unviersity's Kalina campus, which has been allotted six acres of land to build 12 tennis courts or in MMRDA complex in Bandra or the Sports Authority of India complex in Kandivali," the minister said.  

"I will try and allot land for Squash Rackets Association of Maharashtra and ISP for this purpose," Patil said.  

The minister also promised to talk to the School Games Federation of India to urge them to introduce squash in schools in a big way.

Source :Minister promises more public squash courts in Maharashtra (Article in The Hindu : 5th August 2007)

Click below for more articles in press :

• Minister promises more public squash courts in Maharashtra (Article in justsamachar.com)

• Maharashtra Minister Harshwardhan Patil joins ISP as chief patron (Article in newkerala.com)

• Maharashtra Minister Harshwardhan Patil joins ISP as chief patron (Article in onetimeindia.com)