Harinder Pal Sandhu
LAST MONTH, when Mohali squash player Harinder Pal Sandhu suffered from a tooth problem, the 28-year-old had to give the World Doubles Squash Championship in Manchester a miss apart from eating only ice-cream for two consecutive weeks due to the blocked jaw. It also meant that Sandhu had to miss some of the PSA events and on Friday, he won his 10th PSA tour title and fifth title of the year when he won the Malaysian Squash Tour X event in Kuala Lumpur. The title win also extended his international wins to 21 consecutive victories this year. Top seed Sandhu scored a 3-2 (11-8, 10-12, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6) win over second seed Mohammed Syafiq Kamal of Malaysia in the final.
“For two weeks, I only had ice-cream as I could not move my jaw. I was in the Indian camp in Chennai for the World Doubles Championships when this problem happened and it was unfortunate to miss the training and playing for two weeks. I had prepared to play in Manchester but such things can happen. I wanted to win again on the PSA tour and this win on the Malaysian Squash tour event will boost my confidence once again,” said Sandhu, currently ranked 66th in PSA rankings and is expected to gain some spots after Friday’s victory.
Sandhu’s winning run this year started with the title win on the Malaysian Squash Tour IX event in May followed by his title win in the Second Nissan Open Squash Championships. Sandhu then won the South Australian Open in Adelaide in July before becoming champion in the Victorian Open the same month, Sandhu’s first M10 title win. The Victorian Open win also saw Sandhu scoring his first win over a top-60 player in world rankings. Sandhu played in the 74th National Squash Championships in Noida last month, where he lost in the semi-finals.
“Competing in the nationals gave me much needed exposure after my rest and even though I lost to Mahesh Mangaonkar in the semi-finals, it gave me some momentum for the PSA events. I will be competing in the $50,000 Macau Open later this month and Queensland Open in Australia next month and I will aim for a top-four finish in those events. It will help my rankings points for getting a direct entry in the world championships,” said Sandhu.
Sandhu, whose father Harpal Singh Sandhu is an SP with Punjab Police, will resume training with the Indian team at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai under Indian team’s Egyptian coach, Ashraf El Karagui. “Apart from PSA tour events, world championships to be played in Manchester in December is an important event for all of us. We have been training under Karagui sir and the focus has been on playing and controlling attacking shots and to adjust body positions,” he said.
