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Tournament spanning five days will be held at Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy, Chennai
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Championships to host teams from Pakistan, Singapore, Japan, Hong-Kong, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India.
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Top ranking players including Anahat Singh and Krishna Mishra will represent Team India
Chennai, February 07, 2023: HCL, a leading global conglomerate, along with the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) is all set to kick off its 21st Asian Junior Team Championships in Chennai at the Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy from 8th February 2023. Spanning five days, the tournament will witness participation from 10 Asian countries including Chinese Taipei, Hong-Kong (China), Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and India. Including this year, Chennai has played host to the Championships five times. All matches will be streamed live on the SRFI Facebook page (www.facebook.com/indiasquash) and HCL For Sports Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/
India has been an integral part of the Asian Junior Squash Championships since 1983, its inception year, held in Singapore. In all the editions of the championships held so far, India has been a consistently strong performer, almost always being ranked among the top four teams in both the boy’s and girl’s categories. The first time that India achieved the top rank in the Boys’ Team Championships was in 2011 when the championship was held in Ratmalana, Sri Lanka and thereafter in 2017 (Hong Kong). On the other hand, the country achieved first rank in the girls’ team championship for the first time in 2013 (Seoul, Korea).
Pakistan, the top seed in the men’s category would include Noor Zaman (Asian Rank 2 (BU19), Muhammad Hamza Khan (Asian Rank 35 (BU19), Muhammad Ashab Irfan (Asian Rank 289 (BU19) and Anas Ali Shah (Asian Rank 92 (BU19). Aira Binti Azman (Asian Junior Rank 2 (GU19), Yasshmita Jadishkumar (Asian Junior Rank 36 (GU19), Whitney Isabella Anak Wilson (Asian Junior Rank 2 (GU15) and Doyce Lee Ye San (Asian Junior Rank 2 (GU17) representing team Malaysia are the top seeds in the women’s category. India is seeded 2nd and 3rd in the Boys’ and girls’ categories respectively.
Team India will be represented in the boy’s team’s category by Krishna Mishra (Asian Rank 7 (BU19), Paarth Ambani (Asian Rank 22 (BU19)), Sharan Punjabi (Asian Rank 31 (BU19) and Shaurya Bawa (Asian Rank 2 (BU19). The girl’s team’s category boasts of U-17 Champion Anahat Singh (Asian Junior Rank 3 (GU17)), Pooja Arthi R (Asian Junior Rank 7 (GU19)), Tiana Parasrampuria (Asian Junior Rank 5 (GU17)) and Yuvna Gupta (Asian Junior Rank 42 GU19).
HCL has been supporting Squash in the country for more than seven years now with initiatives like the PSA Tours, High-Performance Camps, Referee Clinics and Training Camps for coaches and other tournaments for India’s squash players as part of the HCL Squash Podium Program. This tournament will further help squash players in achieving better seedings in the Asian and World Junior Championship. Playing with top Asian juniors will help enhance Indian players international exposure and help them enhance their performance.
Notes for the Editor
About HCL
Founded in 1976 as one of India’s original IT garage start-ups, HCL is a pioneer of modern computing with many firsts to its credit, including the introduction of the 8-bit microprocessor-based computer in 1978 well before its global peers. Today, the HCL enterprise has a presence across varied sectors that include technology, healthcare and talent management solutions and comprises three companies – HCL Infosystems, HCL Technologies and HCL Healthcare. The enterprise generates annual revenues of over US$12.3 billion with more than 222,270 employees operating across 60 countries. For further information, visit www.hcl.com
About SRFI
The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) was formed to oversee the promotion and development of the sport in India. The SRFI has more than 20 state associations and affiliated units with its headquarters in Chennai. The federation is affiliated to World Squash Federation/Asian Squash Federation & recognized by Government. of India. SRFI has been forging ahead with dynamic plans ensuring promotion, development, and performance of the sport at all levels.
