Chennai’s Arihant targets medal in international meet

Arihant, who fell at the final hurdle in Ajmer against top-seed Ekambir Singh, was pleased with his showing in the Rajasthan territory. Commenting on it, he said, “I worked extremely hard, training almost seven hours a day. I gave my best and I am glad to have finished second. I am thankful to PSBB School, T Nagar for its incredible support during my tourneys away from home.”

Arihant took to the game at the age of eight after his uncle introduced him to the game. “I fell in love with the sport as soon as I got a glimpse of it. It loved the way the players exhibited their passion on court and the amount of sportsman spirit they displayed for their opponents. I joined an academy immediately after that,” said the Asian No 5 in Under-11.

He scored 1980 points in this calendar year at an average of 495 per tournament. He had a dream run in September-October, making it to the podium in Chennai, Mumbai and Ajmer.

Arihant, who trains at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai, is comfortably placed second in the National rankings for Under-11 boys released by the Squash Rackets Federation of India, just behind Maharashtra’s Ekambir Singh. Now that he has crossed the Under-11 category in December, he is eligible to take part in the Under-13 category and has already contested in the Bengal Junior Open in his new age group. He ended up fifth best in the tournament, climbing to the seventh spot in the standings.

Arihant has a combination of National and international tournaments lined up for him the next year, “I am planning to participate in six tournaments in India in my new age category. I am looking forward to be a part of couple of international events as well. Now that I am in the U-13 category, I would be happy if I finish in the top-5 in the Asian standings.”