Joshna Chinappa on Her Squash Journey and Olympic Dreams

New Delhi, Aug 27: Ace Indian squash player Joshna Chinappa continues to defy age and expectations, proving that her passion for the sport burns brighter than ever. At 38, the Chennai-based stalwart remains one of India's most decorated athletes - an 18-time national champion, the first Indian to win the British Junior Open in 2005, and a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist.

Speaking exclusively to myKhel on the sidelines of a grand felicitation ceremony hosted by HCL and the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) in New Delhi, Joshna, who will turn 39 on September 15, reflected on her enduring journey, her motivation to keep competing at the highest level, and her vision for the future, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics where squash is making a debut.

Joshna Chinappa on Her Squash Journey and Olympic Dreams Exclusive

Joshna was a pivotal part of India's historic campaign at the Asian Doubles Championships in Malaysia, where the contingent swept three gold medals - men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles - along with a bronze. Partnering young sensation Anahat Singh, Joshna stunned the top-seeded Malaysians in the finals to clinch gold, underlining India's growing dominance in the doubles format.

Despite the physically and mentally demanding nature of the sport, she continues to train and compete with the hunger of a debutant, her eyes firmly set on bringing more glory to Indian squash. Here are the excerpts:

Q: Joshna what does this felicitation from HCL and SRFI mean to the athletes and how big is it a motivation for players?

Joshna: It's great. The last time we got felicitated was for the World Doubles when Saurav, Dipika and I won. That recognition was so encouraging. Now, seeing it happen again - with juniors and seniors being celebrated together - is exciting. Credit goes to the federation for recognising our efforts and motivating us.

Q: In an email interaction with myKhel, last year, you talked a lot about the performance and the fitness side of Indian squash players. How do you see the improvement in the fitness aspect and which has led to the overall improvement in the performance?

Joshna: I think all of them have their own teams, especially the seniors like Abhay, Vela, Anahat, Tanvi, Akanksha. They all work incredibly hard and their results on tour is a testament to that. Of course, in this day and age with sport being so competitive, so physical, you have to be physically incredibly strong as well. Of course, mental is also very important. But I think all of them work really, really hard and that's the only way to compete with the best players in the world because the best players in the world are skilful and physically very, very strong.

So, to be able to handle that type of pressure and you're playing with pressure to win medals as well can be challenging. But all of them, because they're so seasoned now and they're all playing at that level, I think they handle the pressure very well. We've seen the dominance of the Egyptians in this particular sport for quite a long time now.

Q: With Anahat bringing a medal in the world juniors now, a 15-year drought has ended. How do you see and what sort of changes you've witnessed in the attitude of Indian athletes which is actually helping them to break the barriers?

Joshna: For me, myself, Deepika, Saurav, a lot of us trained abroad quite a bit. Of course, we had our base in Chennai and we have a lot of good players there. We have coaches who are really good there. So, we were able to get the best of both. Even the current players now, a lot of them do train abroad because they have a lot of players to play with abroad at their level. And I think that is really the game-changer, to be in an environment where everyone is striving to become a champion. And that's the only way you're going to improve.

It does take a lot of commitment, a lot of sacrifice to be away from your home, from your family, from your home comforts. It's what I had to do and even the rest of the other players. But these guys are also doing it as well. And you can see it. You can see the results. Because when you're training with a (Mohamad) Shorbagi or an Mostafa Asal, you are going to improve that much as well. And that's all they can do really. They're playing 12-15 tournaments a year. So, the schedule is already quite busy. So, you couple that with training. So, it's a packed year.

Q: You bagged an Asian Doubles medal with Anahat - who almost half your age - how was it playing with the young prodigy?

Joshna: I think all of us get along very, very well. Of course, playing with Anahat was really special. When the national doubles were happening, I didn't know if I would be playing the women's doubles till Anahat was like, do you want to play? (I said) Yes, of course, let's play. Of course, going for the Asian doubles was even more special. Sharing a room with her was a lot of fun. She's one of the most entertaining people on the team. We just have a really good time, so it was good fun.

Q: What makes the Egyptians such a force in this sport?

Joshna: Well, I've trained in Egypt a lot. So, I have seen how the programme works there. And there are a lot of children who play. And when they start at 8-9 years of age, by 10, they're really good. So, they have almost like a head start than the rest of the other countries because you have really good coaches, you have really good fitness trainers. So, they are working with people who are so good at the time that they're 8-9. So, it is only natural that they're going to get better.

Plus, they have a lot of role models to look up to. So, when they see their heroes do well, play well, they're in their own clubs, they're watching them train every day. It's such a positive impact for all these kids to see. Like, you see a (Nour El) Sherbini training as a 10-year-old. It's exciting, it's fun. You're like, I want to do that as well. So, that's what I saw when I was there. And that's what inspired these kids and motivated them. Plus, they had a very good team around them. They had good coaches, they had good fitness trainers. So, that made them want to get better. And that's why they're so good, and they keep producing so many players.

Q: Which areas we need to improve to make up to the next level and produce a good pool of talented squash players?

Joshna: I think, obviously, being from Chennai, I know there's an academy there and it's really good. It's very professionally run. We have good coaches, we have a good school programme. So, there's a lot of kids coming through from Chennai. But we also need that in different cities. We need that in the Tier 2 cities as well. We need quality coaches throughout the country. That's the only way the kids are going to improve and they're going to be exposed. As well as having a lot of tournaments, and that's what's happening now. You have a lot of PSA events happening in the country. And you give a wild card to these kids to play. That's what you need to do.

You need to have a good system where there's coaches and a good infrastructure. As well as having a lot of tournaments. Because that's what exposes these kids to the competition. So, when you're trying to build your career and you're trying to build playing on the professional tour, if you have local tournaments, it's a huge boost for the up-and-coming players.

Q: What keeps the fire in your belly burning and do what you are doing?

Joshna: You know, honestly, I can't believe that I've had such a long career. I'm very grateful that I can still play and still have a little bit to offer playing for the country. I don't see myself doing this for too long.

Q: What about your plans for the LA Olympics?

Joshna: I don't know. We'll see about that (when time comes). That's quite further off. But for now, I just take it literally a couple of months at a time. I'm just playing the nationals now. I'm playing a few more PSAs over this year. And yeah, we'll just see. It's about being fit, being healthy and really looking after my body.

Q: What sort of changes for an athlete like you as you're already approaching the 40s. It takes a lot for an athlete post 35 to be fit in the prime. How do you keep yourself mentally fit?

Joshna: Absolutely. It is very challenging some days because I wonder why am I pushing myself so hard. But I also love it. I enjoy it still. And I think as long as I'm enjoying playing and I'm still passionate and I can still reach that target of can I still play for the country? Can I still offer something? Not just make the team. I want to be a part of a team that wins a medal. And if I still feel that then I'm good to keep training.