Competing in the relaunched Squash World Cup amid thousands of onlookers at the Express Avenue mall in her home city of Chennai, Joshna Chinappa was reminded of “what we train and live for”. In beating world No. 18 Satomi Watanabe of Japan, 12 years younger and 54 spots higher than Chinappa, after a year wrecked by health issues, the 36-year-old was also reminded of the level she was still capable of summoning.
Chinappa’s victory over the fast-rising Asia No. 1 — though in a new seven-point, five-game format —not only provided positive signs for her but also Indian squash overall in an Asian Games year despite the country’s semi-final exit at the World Cup.
“It was a huge confidence booster for me, to know that I can play at that level,” Chinappa said from Chennai. “It was nice to be able to play under pressure again and play freely. That was most important for me: that I enjoyed my game and what my body could do on court with a player like Satomi. I just felt like myself again.”
The 11-time PSA World Tour title-winner hadn’t felt like herself for a while. Chinappa began last year by re-entering the top 10 of the world rankings on the back of a strong 2021 season. In May, after winning her first two rounds at the PSA World Championships in Cairo, she was forced to pull out the night before her Round-of-16 match due to Covid-19. That second-round win turned out to be the last match for India’s top woman pro on the Tour last year.
In July, Chinappa strained the ACL in her left knee after playing the 2022 Commonwealth Games effectively on “one good leg” due to an ankle issue. The knee injury brought a halt to her squash for six months, and her rankings slid from being in the top 10 to 72 currently. Even for a seasoned campaigner like her, the season of extremes was emotionally testing.
“You never get used to it. Every time it happens, you’re like, ‘Oh my god!’. You start sulking, you are upset,” she said. “It’s a new feeling all the time, a new challenge all the time. There’s so much pressure to come back to a higher level than before.”
Even more so at 36. After winning a record 19th national title in December, Chinappa returned to the PSA Tour in January and, except for a couple of tournaments, lost in the first rounds of Cleveland Classic, British Open and the Worlds last month.
“As you get older, there’s a lot more effort that goes into keeping your body in top shape. In many ways, you are starting from scratch,” Chinappa said. “And when you come back on the Tour, you’re competing at a ridiculous pace with girls who are so much younger. It’s different when you’re in the buzz of competing, as opposed to getting off for 7-8 months and then coming back and competing at that level at my career stage and my age.
“I definitely found that challenging, especially since I have my own expectations of how I want to play. I have to be patient. It has taken some time, but at least I can say that I’m back on track.”
For a player who last fell out of the top 20 in 2015, languishing in the seventies in the ranking charts is “disappointing”.
“I’ve been so used to just getting into the big events. Now, in a weird way, it is how it was at the beginning of my career — you start with small tournaments and work your way up. I didn’t see that coming!” Chinappa chuckled.
Extracting motivation to do that more than two decades into a sport that “has been my life since I was 10” can be tough, she admitted. For Chinappa, the added push came from her team comprising her coach, sports psychologist, physio and through support from the state, national federations and SAI.
“There are certain days, of course, where I have doubts, where I question if it’s still worth doing all this. But, for example, playing in Chennai with all those people cheering, it kind of reminds me why I do what I do. And it all comes back to the goal of winning medals for India,” she said.
The Hangzhou Asian Games in September-October, therefore, remains her big goal. The 2018 Jakarta Games individual bronze medallist is looking at playing a couple of smaller events in Australia and Malaysia to get more game time leading up to the marquee event. With the team event scheduled before the individual competition in Hangzhou and Chinappa still the India No. 1, the onus will be on her to front up and deliver in the “hard matches”.
“The Asian Games has been my end goal,” she said. “We have a great chance in the team event to win a medal. In the individuals, I’m not thinking too far. Right now for me, you can’t think you’re going to win 12 matches in a row in two weeks.”
