Living rooms, terraces turn into squash courts during lockdown

Chennai

Indian Squash Academy (Chennai) coach Deepak Mishra is no different. During the COVID-19-enforced lockdowns, his wards have had to make do with a change in the playing surface. The teenagers, who usually sweat it out inside four glass walls, have been instructed to turn their living room or terrace into a temporary court.

“To be honest, this is a depressing period for all of us. I have asked my players to regularly hit balls on the wall. By doing that, they will at least get a feel of the racket. When they come back (to the academy), I don’t want the sport to be something new to them (laughs),” said Deepak, who is also the Indian junior national team coach.

“This shouldn’t be a phase where they completely rest themselves. Repetition is pretty important for racket sports; the players should have the rhythm. It has been missing for the last few months (because of the pandemic). At present, it is impossible to execute on-court drills. All they can do is hit the ball against the wall,” he stated.

In a bid to keep the budding players occupied, Deepak and his team have devised a programme involving physical activities. “Our trainers and physiotherapists are giving fitness exercises to our juniors. We are also having nutrition classes. We don’t want the youngsters to concentrate on squash alone all the time. So, they are doing the activities once every two days.”

Professional squash has been suspended since midMarch and is unlikely to resume in India in the immediate future. Even if the government gives the green signal for the resumption of competitions in a couple of months, players will return to form only by the end of the year, according to Deepak.

“Two months back, we never thought the spread of the virus would be severe in our country. Professional players’ technical skills would have definitely got affected as they have been out of action. It will take at least three to four months to get them back on track. Beginners will have to start from scratch once again,” said 25-year-old Deepak.