International squash tournament at the 225 year old Calcutta Racket Club adds sparkle to the city's Diwali celebrations
Kolkata, Nov 6 (IBNS): The Calcutta Racket Club, one of the oldest in the world being founded in 1793, is planning to host international events on a regular basis, said the club's vice president, Hrishikesh Shroff, recently, while talking about the squash tournament scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
The International PSA Tournament will be held at the club premises between November 7 and 11 and will see participation from key players across the globe.
The five-day international squash tournament is a part of the 225th anniversary celebration of the club and will feature some of the top players of the world such as Zahed Salem and Youssef Soliman from Egypt, Todd Harrity from USA and India's national champions, Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Sandhu and Ramit Tandon.
"Due to financial constraints, international events are not a regular feature of the club now, said vice president Shroff. "The last PSA event in Kolkata took place in 2015 . We are planning to make this an annual feature in the near future."
Ramit Tandon said that he will participating in the tournament after staying off the game for some time as he finishing studies.
Saurav Ghosal, who will not be participating in the upcoming national tournament but will play in this tournament, said, ‘I’m 32 now, so I am not as young as I would want myself to be. I have a long schedule ahead with other quash tournaments lined up in Egypt and Mumbai."
"It is a very difficult decision [not playing in the nationals] for me," said Ghosal, "because I am playing since 16 years of age and now I am looking at the bigger picture and to give myself the best possible chance, I have taken this objective decision."
US squash player, Christopher Gordon exclaimed, "It’s very special that Calcutta Racket Club has a history of squash for a few generations. It is quite impressive."
Todd Harrity said, ‘It is my first time in Calcutta and it’s amazing that through Squash I can travel to places where I would never get a chance to go otherwise."
Vice president Shroff hopes that the increasing popularity of squash will give Calcutta Racket Club a boost and more young participants will be interested in joining the game.
(Reporting by Meghna Dunbar)
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