New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) A multi-city PSA Challenger tour was on Thursday launched to give Indian players an opportunity to compete against the world's best in their home turf.
The launch of the HCL-SRFI India Tour is under the HCL Squash Podium Program.
HCL and SRFI plan to organize four PSA tournaments across four cities in India, starting with a tournament at the Jaypee Greens Stadium at Greater Noida on Friday, a statement said.
This tournament will witness participation from top Indian players and international players from seven countries.
The PSA tournament at Jaypee Greens will overlap with the HCL 11th Indian Junior Open, commencing on August 26.
This will be a 6-star tournament by SRFI and a Platinum event under the Asian Squash Federation calendar.
"Having such initiatives, helps bridge the gap between the top player and the junior player," Cyrus Poncha, Secretary General, Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) told IANS.
Upcoming squash players are doing well in the country with Indian girls upsetting USA to secure a fifth place finish in the World Junior Women's Team Championship recently and Asian junior champion Veer Chotrani also reaching the quarters of the WSF World Junior Squash Championship (individual events).
Poncha said the aim is to ensure junior players bag gold from the World Championships in the future.
"In the juniors, I am very hopeful and it's our goal to ensure next time we get medals at world championships," he said.
"Indian squash in gaining a lot of attention with players like Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghoshal securing important international wins for the country.
"However, as a nation it is imperative that we invest in nurturing the next generation stars of Squash to ensure that Indian Squash not only continues its success but emerges at the top. With HCL, we have found common synergies in terms of our goals for Indian Squash. I am confident that through our combined efforts we will enable will be help our country take its rightful place in the pantheon of great squash playing nations," Poncha said on the meet.
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