Squash World Cup To Be Held In Chennai; Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa To Lead Indian Challenge

The Squash World Cup will be held here from June 13 to 17 with Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa spearheading the Indian challenge, the sport's governing body in the country said on Monday. (More Sports News)

The tournament will be held at the Express Avenue Mall and the Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy (ISTA), which was announced in Chennai on Monday.

Nine countries will participate in the tournament. Besides hosts India, the other countries taking part are Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Egypt, South Africa, Australia, and Colombia.

The last edition of the World Cup was also held in Chennai, in 2011.

"I'm delighted to announce that Chennai will once again host the prestigious SDAT-WSF Squash World Cup from June 13 to 17. This tournament marks a new chapter in the history of our event as we revive and revamp it to enhance its significance further," N Ramachandran, Honorary life president of Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI), said at a press meet.

This will be the fourth edition and it is notable for the gender parity and the points system. There will be two men and two women per team as opposed to two men and one woman in the previous editions. 

Each match will be played in the best-of-five games format. There will be a round-robin pool stage followed by the knockout stage.

Ghosal, Abhay Singh, Joshna and Tanvi Khanna will represent India.

"The Express Avenue Mall's central atrium will be transformed into a state-of-the-art all-glass court providing a captivating setting to witness the exhilarating action and the athleticism of the sportspersons," said Tamil Nadu minister for youth welfare and sports development Udhayanidhi Stalin.

The minister also presented a cheque for Rs 1.5 crore to Ramachandran for the conduct of the event.

Cyrus Poncha, vice-president of Asian Squash Federation (ASF) and secretary general, SRFI, was among those present.