Squash Rackets Federation of India, which has not been able to find a foreign coach for almost a year, has decided against a full-time appointment.
Indian players, including Saurav Ghosal (in pic), did well without a foreign coach at the CWG and Asian Games
Chennai:
On its own, even at the Asian Games (in Jakarta and Palembang) last year, the Indian contingent bagged five medals, including a women’s team silver. “Instead of hiring full-time coaches, we have decided to hire experts on short-term basis. For example, the players will get to train with Palmer for a month ahead of the men’s World Championship in Washington in December,” said national coach Cyrus Poncha.
“We believe the event-based hiring of coaches will be more beneficial for our players. We have also approached renowned coach Amir Wagih for a camp ahead of the Asian Championships next month,” added Poncha.
The appointments of both Palmer and Wagih will have to be approved by the Sports Authority of India.
It will hire names like former world number one David Palmer in a shift to ‘event-based’ coaching. The Indian players have been training without a full-time overseas chief ever since Egyptian Achraf Karargui left on a bitter note ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games (in Gold Coast). However, the squad comprising Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal returned with two silver medals.
On its own, even at the Asian Games (in Jakarta and Palembang) last year, the Indian contingent bagged five medals, including a women’s team silver. “Instead of hiring full-time coaches, we have decided to hire experts on short-term basis. For example, the players will get to train with Palmer for a month ahead of the men’s World Championship in Washington in December,” said national coach Cyrus Poncha.
“We believe the event-based hiring of coaches will be more beneficial for our players. We have also approached renowned coach Amir Wagih for a camp ahead of the Asian Championships next month,” added Poncha.
The appointments of both Palmer and Wagih will have to be approved by the Sports Authority of India.