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Pune-based junior squash champion Arnaav Sareen sets his eyes on gold
While the 15-year-old has all the facilities at his disposal to succeed, he threw light on the lack of amenities available to others as to why squash isn’t among India’s elite sports. He believes that the sport should be made more accessible and he’s doing everything he can to inform others about squash and encourage them to visit the courts and have a hand at it.
While winning a silver medal at the age of 14 would be enough to satisfy any teenager, for Arnaav Sareen, India’s number one under-15 squash player, it is only a stepping stone, in what appears to be a trophy-laden road ahead.
The city boy went into the 25th Asian junior individual squash championship, at Chennai in September, expecting to come back with a gold, but unfortunately had to settle for the silver as he lost the final to Pakistan’s Mohammad Khan by a 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 scoreline. Despite not winning single game, Sareen believes that the contest was for the taking and on another day, he could have returned home with a different coloured medal.
Speaking exclusively to Hindustan Times about the finale in Chennai, Sareen explains, “I think I lost because I wasn’t as patient as I should have been. I needed to build up the rally more. He took full advantage of that and started to push the ball in the front and he started to capitalise on my mistakes.”
Sareen believes there were a number of positives he could take from his loss against Khan.
“Actually I did learn from him as he played to my weakness. He cut the ball earlier and it’s something that I need to work on. So now I’m paying attention on playing from the front in order to work on that aspect of my game. I’m putting in more sessions with my coach to rectify those errors,” the St Mary’s School student says.
In a cricket-crazy country like India and with sports like football, tennis and badminton being enjoyed thoroughly by youngsters, squash particularly does not stand out as one of the most popular games. However, according to Sareen, once an individual takes to the sport, there is no turning back as the game is extremely intriguing and challenging.
“Actually I’ve tried all sports, right from cricket, football, badminton, tennis and table-tennis. I started squash, it was because it was raining and I couldn’t play football. The moment I started playing I just loved the game, loved the way it’s played and from that moment I decided that there’s no looking back after this,” says Sareen.
Watching Sareen train at Poona Club, one can see the enthusiasm in the manner of his performance and the way he communicates with his coaches. For him, squash is something that is larger than life.
When quizzed about what made him pick squash over the other sports, he responds, “I started playing at age nine and instantly took to the sport. I decided to make it a career at 11. What I love about the game is that it’s a really fast game and you have to be extremely fit and agile to play it. I feel that it gives me the motivation to keep going and improving. Fitness and skill are two important factors and that’s what I love about the sport.”
While the 15-year-old has all the facilities at his disposal to succeed, he threw light on the lack of amenities available to others as to why squash isn’t among India’s elite sports. He believes that the sport should be made more accessible and he’s doing everything he can to inform others about squash and encourage them to visit the courts and have a hand at it.
“It’s a very hard sport and also the facilities are not available. You don’t find a court like this [Poona Club] everywhere. It’s a club sport. Whoever comes to the court, I try to play with them. In my school, if they announce it, I hope that people get inspired and start coming to the courts to play squash,” he says.
