The sport has no Hqrs. or squash courts.:

Squash should be better marketed for outstandng players to emerge

Ranjan ANANDAPPA

SQUASH:Squash should be better marketed if Sri Lanka is to produce outstanding players in the future. The administrators of the game here should take serious note of this aspect because no sport could prosper without the help of sponsors.

These were the sentiments aired by the reigning national squash champion Navin Samarasinghe interviewed by the Sunday Observer.

The 26-year-old Samarasinghe, an old Thomian and a former student of Stafford International College, was in Australia to complete his Computer Science Degree from 2003 to 2007 and played squash during the vacation.

He is also a level 2 coach who obtained his certificate in Malaysia.

He said that Sri Lanka has players with good potential, but the uncertainty of the future for squash has seen players dropping off on the wayside after promising starts.

Excerpts of the Interview

Q.Why did you select squash instead of a glamour sport like cricket, rugger or tennis?

A.Initially, I started off with cricket, tennis, squash mainly. When I was 14 or 15, I really took up to squash because I went to India with the Junior team , and after the exposure there, I thought I will do only one sport, that’s squash, because it takes less time,even training could be done on your own. Even a sport like tennis, although it is an individual sport you need someone on the other side to play, but squash you can play alone. Cricket you need more time and more players.

That was one of the reasons I chose squash.I have represented S.Thomas’ in the junior cricket teams.

Q What should be done to improve the overall standard of squash?

AThere are lots of things to be done. Start by building our own courts. It is sad to say the Squash Federation neither has its headquarters nor the courts to run their tournaments although we have been playing the game for the last 25 years or so.

For a start squash courts should be constructed to modern standards, that should be the start.

We should be able to stage international tournaments here so that our players could get the exposure against top overseas players without going abroad and without spending too much money. To do that we need three to four courts. If we get these, and the coaching aspect sorted out it is good for a start, even to coach you need courts.

Q.What are the other aspects of improvement?

A. Organising of tournaments is very mediocre it is not professional.

The draws,updating of the result sheets , providing newspapers with the results and etc. We see only first names of the players, and the names are very often misspelt. During almost every tournament there is an issue over the player categories and refereeing. Despite having qualified referees they have not being called. The coaches are also not united. What they all want to say is this player is mine. They do not want to get together and develop one or few players. It’s never mind as to how many coaches you have trained under as long as the players improve.

The Federation should have the mental attitude to do something for the players.

Most of the officials have just been around for the last so many years while very few people have done something for the improvement of the game. So you’ll have to get a committee where everybody will individually contribute something .

Q.How many qualified squash coaches have we got, and how many are competent?

A.Asian standard wise we have level 1,2,3, coaches. Level 1 is the introductory level and we have 15 to 20 of them. To pass the level one you have to have a basic knowledge of the game and if you are a player it is much easier.

Just because you pass the level 1 there is no guarantee that you could become a good coach.

You will have to judge a players capabilities fast and identify the players technical defects.I have not seen that quality in many of our coaches. There are few who could spot the defects.

If you do not have that quality you will have to go back to the basics and come back. Level 2 there are about 5 including my parents and myself.

My father and mother with Major S. Maniam, the Indian coach, and the Director of Coaching Asian Squash Federation conducted the level 2 here. Because it was conducted here two or three were pushed through.

Q. What is the real criteria to become a competent coach?.

A.Our coaches, they do the level 2, but to obtain the ASF (Asian Squash Federation) certificate they should submit an assignment after the practical and theory with an annual periodisation plan for a squad of eight players in preparation for a World Championship.

Our coaches have got the local level 2 certificate, but to obtain the ASF certificate, they should submit a periodisation plan. That is assuming that you are the national coach of a country and you have been given eight players men or women , to prepare them for may be, for the Asian Junior Championship or a tournament of similar status in one year’s time and submit a report as to how are you going to do it.

If you can do that it means that you have an understanding how to apply, what you learnt into reality. Except for me most of them have not done it. I submitted my report within a month and received a response.

That is why the standard of players and the progress is very slow.

Because they do not understand how to apply the principal to each player who is different from the other.

Q.About how many squash courts do we have.?

A.All the clubs in Colombo and around have about two courts maximum.

You just can’t conduct a full training session for about 16 players in those conditions.

We need a place similar to a headquarters so that the coaching and the tournaments can be organised.

This should be the start. But I do not know how long will it take for this to be a reality. So, the sooner it is done, the progress will be faster.

Q. Do you think, like in any other sport catching them young at school level or grass root level should be the motive.

A. Most of the Colombo schools have squash, but the problem is once they reach the ages of 15 or 16 they start to realise whether it’s going to be a worthwhile exercise. Or can I play it professionally ?.

That’s the question any sportsman who is serious about the sport will think because of the limited resources.

Players who participate in some tournaments abroad have to spend their own money which cannot be done all the time. This is where the question of sponsorship and help from the ministry comes into play.

Q. Do you think that it is easy to find sponsors for a sport like squash.?

A The officials in the Federation should somehow keep trying to find sponsors and persuade the ministry officials to support the sport. The other sports like rugger, cricket, football they have done it on their own.

It cannot happen overnight. It has been a gradual process.

When the results come you get more sponsors.

That should be the approach instead of short cuts. Although football being a world sport, the standard is not that high in our country , but somehow Manilal Fernando, the President of the FFSL could find sponsors with or without the standard. So why cannot we find sponsors for squash?.