Chennai to host HCL squash and Southern Slam tournament

CHENNAI: HCL and Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI), is set to launch the second leg of the HCL Squash Tour and Southern Slam in Chennai. The city will host both tournaments at the Indian Squash Academy from June 4 to June 8, 2024.

The HCL Squash Tour is a multi-city PSA Challenger Tour, certified by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), which helps improve the world rankings of the players. Alongside the PSA tour, the Southern Slam is being organised. This event is a 5-star certified tournament by the SRFI and will help enhance the junior rankings of Asian players.

Cyrus Poncha, Secretary General, the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) said, “The Southern Slam PSA Tournament in Chennai is a fantastic opportunity for our young players to showcase their skills and compete against top international talent. This event is a crucial step in our mission to

elevate Indian squash to new heights and foster a culture of excellence.”

The PSA tournament will feature over 47 players from five countries, including Sri Lanka, Malaysia,Kuwait, Qatar, and India, competing for a $3,000 prize in both the men’s and women’s categories. These tournaments are being organised as part of the HCL Squash Podium Program, which provides Indian players the opportunity to compete with some of the best squash talent on home turf.

In the Southern Slam, more than 250 junior players will compete in the U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17, and U-19 categories.

This is the first of four zonal tournaments to be held alongside PSA tournaments in the coming year.

In Chennai, the top-seeded squash talents will participate, including Anahat Singh (U19 & World Rank 114), Ravindu Laksiri (142 Rank), Rathika Suthanthira (170), Rahul Baitha (206 Rank), Vedant Patel (316), and Om Semwal (279 Rank), in the two tournaments.

Also, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu is participating in this PSA and Anahat Singh will take part in both PSA and Southern Slam.