Squash in India

Dipika Pallikal in 2012

Squash was introduced to India by the British Armed Forces; the sport has been played before World War I.[5] During the period of the British rule, it was largely adopted by British colonies around the world.[6][7] Most military bases had squash courts built to entertainment officers.[5] They can still be found in some army facilities in India.[7] The British Raj restricted the use of the facilities to the upper class of society.[8] Therefore, only few had access to squash in India who were from the army or members of private clubs.[7][5]

The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) was formed in to oversee squash in India. It conducts training camps, state and national tournaments, and the National Squash Championship. The SRFI is in charge of selecting the squad and coaches for the Indian national team. In 1990, it established the Indian Squash Academy. According to the SFRI, squash is established in only 19 states and 4 union territories.[1]

In December 2012, Dipika Karthik achieved a career best rank of 10.[2] She became the first female squash player to be conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award in the year 2012.[9] Later in December 2013, Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian male squash player to reach top 20 by achieving a career best rank of 15.[3] He was also awarded the Arjuna Award by the president of India in August 2007.

In December 2014, Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa beat Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro to claim India's first ever gold medal in squash at the Commonwealth Games.[10] At the 2014 Asian Games, the Indian men's national team clinched gold; the women's got their first silver.[11] Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal, with a silver and bronze respectively in the individual events, signed off with their best medal haul in the Asian Games. The men's team, led by Ghosal, clinched the historic gold after edging out Malaysia in the individual finals.[12] At 2014 WSF World Junior Championship, Kush Kumar became the first male squash player from India to reach the semifinal.[13] He made history by winning the first ever bronze medal for India at a World Junior Championship.[14]

At 2015, Velavan Senthilkumar won a bronze medal in the boys singles event in the squash event at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games held in Samoa.[15] Velavan Senthilkumar and Harshit Jawanda won silver in the mixed doubles competition.[16]

In 2016, India both the men’s and women’s national team won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. In the men's individual events, Saurav Ghosal and Harinder Pal Sandhu won bronze after losing to arch-rival Pakistan; in the women's event, top seed Joshna Chinappa won gold after defeating her Pakistani rival Sadia Gul.[17]

In 2017, Indian doubles pair Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik won bronze after losing to English pair Jenny Duncalf and Alison Waters in the semifinals of the WSF World Doubles Squash Championship.[18] In May 2017, Joshna Chinappa became the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title after beating compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women’s final.[19][20] This tournament was held at Express Avenue shopping mall in an all-glass court set up inside.[21]

During the 2018 Asian Games, Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal, and Joshna Chinappa won bronze in their respective singles events.[22]

The SRFI conducts tournaments from the National to Junior levels in India. The premier competition that takes place annually is the National Squash Championship.[23][24] Other major tournaments include Sub Junior National Championship, Junior National Championship, Mumbai Masters Open, and Indian Junior Open.[1][25]

Some Indian players have found success in the international competitions. As of 2018, 24 Indian players were in PSA's top 500 rankings. Nine were in top 100.[33] Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian male squash player to reach the top 20 after achieving a career best of ranking of 15 in 2013.[3] In women's discipline, Dipika Karthik became the first Indian woman to reach the top 10 after achieving a career best of ranking of 10.[2] Former player, Bhuvneshwari Kumari held the most national championship titles (16) until 2019, when Joshna Chinappa broke her record.[24]

• Squash Rackets Federation of India
• Indian Squash Professionals