Ramit Tandon: The Squash Star Leading India’s Charge to the Olympics
For a country where cricket commands the lion’s share of attention, Indian sports lovers often overlook a vast world beyond the pitch. However, in the realm of glass-walled courts and lightning-fast reflexes, Ramit Tandon is making waves, proving that Indian sports can shine beyond cricket. As the country’s top-ranked squash player, he is on a mission to take Indian squash to new heights, especially with the sport’s recent inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Nick Matthew: the 20-year career of Britain’s squash great
By Rod Gilmour
David Pearson chuckles when asked if he can remember his first lesson with one of the most successful player-coach partnerships in squash.
“I gave Nick a ball to hit and he would jump up after the shot,” he says of that first hour at Harrogate SC in 1998. “It looked like he had a carrot up his bottom! He had a sense of humour failure but I said he had a lot in terms of mentality but I knew we had to take him back to being a beginner and reshape his technique, movement and swing patterns. He looked at me and went ‘okay then, let’s go for it’.”
For the next five years it was “heavy technical work” and for Pearson it was a “matter of tweaking it and getting on top of it.”
“Even as a junior, he hated losing and he was willing to change everything technically from the age of 18,” he adds. “He was prepared to put everything into it and it enabled him to flourish without getting frustrated."
Thus forged a 20-year career that ended last May prior to the World Series Finals, Matthew’s last event before retirement. “Even the last lesson I had with him he was still working on his grip,” Pearson smiles. “It sounds basic, but he was always willing to work. He has always been loyal and he’s picked people who have been loyal to him.
“He was squash intelligent and in as much as that he took away the information and practiced it. You could see the changes happening steadily. And coming from someone who was always told he wasn’t good enough and how he wanted to prove people wrong.”
The bottom line, according to Pearson, was that Matthew simply had a different “psyche” which took him to the level he reached.
At that top level, Pearson looks to the Qatar Classic in the early 2000’s when he faced the great Amr Shabana. “The Egyptians told me, as I got to know them better, they used to laugh at the way he played and had no chance. Well, the last laugh was on them!”
Open-minded. An eccentric. A tough bugger, with a slight awkwardness. Pearson produces many variables to describe Matthew over his two decade-long association. In Pearson’s eyes, it allowed him to “never bow down to anyone.”
He adds: “To be three times world champion, the way he played physically meant that many players couldn’t cope. His volleying and his presence, the Egyptians didn’t like it. He wasn’t a flashy player but they struggled with it.”
Then came the back-up network and Pearson is in agreement that Matthew is perhaps squash’s first true “professional”.
“He knew how to rehab without ruining his body,” he admits. “He was one of the first ones to use the support services to the best of their ability. He always did it with coaching as the core and knew how to get the best out of people.”
Turning in 2008 to Mark Campbell, the strength and conditioning specialist at the English Institute of Sport, added a world-beating string to Matthew’s bow.
“He wouldn’t question anything if it meant getting the best out of his performance,” says Campbell. “I saw him rehab for five weeks and then win Commonwealth gold. The most boring, mundane rehabilitation work in your life and he would do it.
“The biggest thing was his technical ability. I remember a match against Karim Darwish [then world no.1] in the 2009 Qatar final. He beat him in the front left hand corner and Darwish never got beaten there. I thought that my job was done as he was winning matches technically. It was immense attention to detail.”
At the sharp end of the sport, Darwish’s technique had been sliced open. Matthew’s temperament and skill had won through. And for that he benefited from another key relationship, having started working with Mark Bawden, the revered sports psychologist, who in turn help shape Matthew’s mind awareness.
“Once he decides he works on something, he wants to nail it,” Bawden told Squash Player. “From then on, he drove the car and our relationship was forged.”
Pearson, the EIS and Bawden; three loyal partnerships who played a telling part in Matthew’s rise. Meanwhile, other sporting greats know only too well of Matthew’s utter persistence.
"He is a great example of the complete sportsperson,” says now-retired Olympian Jess Ennis-Hill, Matthew’s friend and fellow Sheffield star.
Nick Matthew: watershed squash moments in route to the top
By Rod Gilmour
“My attitude is that if you push me towards a weakness, I will turn that into a strength.” So said Michael Jordan, the great American basketball player. Yet these this sporting quote could quite easily apply to Nick Matthew’s own extraordinary squash career as he blossomed from an average, largely trophyless junior player into a persevering, persisting global champion.
The hunt began after the 1998 World Junior Championships when David Pearson dissected his game and implemented a rigorous change in both movement and technique for the next five years. He benefited immensely: between April 2004 and April 2018, he spent only three months outside the top 10.
One of those months was enforced due to a shoulder injury which kept him off court for eight months. This period spawned two further pivotal moments. He was nurtured back to fitness by Mark Campbell at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, while he started working with psychologist Mark Bawden, who also helped the England cricket team.
Matthew returned a new man, ready to conquer. At the end of 2009 he played Ramy Ashour in the Saudi International final, the winner guaranteed the world no. 1 ranking. The Englishman lost but for Matthew it felt like a “watershed moment”.
The floor felt like an ice rink with the humidity seeing both players’ shoes overfill with sweat. “I didn’t think that finishing the year as world No 2 would get any better. It was still unexpected,” recalls Matthew.
“It was the moment I believed I had what it takes to reach the top level. The belief came through then and you learn so much about yourself in those pressure environments.”
Spool forward six months to June 2010 and a previous occupant at Matthew's hotel room in Cairo had added " ... contemplating my future" beneath the 'Do not disturb' sign hanging from the England no.1's door.
It had come a year too late for Matthew’s own career-threatening injury. There was no stopping the Yorkshireman as he won the Sky Open and became the 16th world squash no.1 and only the second Englishman, after Lee Beachill in 2004, to top the rankings. He had done so by winning 28 matches in a row and landing six of eight titles.
“One of the things that I am most proud of is that I am one of if not the oldest first time world no. 1s. To get to the very top of the game at 30 was pretty late,” reflects Matthew.
“It shows that if you do have that dedication and willingness, get good advice along the way, put yourself in a good environment, have that drive and determination within you, then you can achieve if you set your mind to it.”
Watching the Cairo final that day back at Hallamshire, Nick’s father, Hedley, was forced away from the TV to shed a tear in the club’s car park. An only child, Hedley, along with wife Sue, had refrained from becoming pushy parents. As a PE teacher, Hedley had given his son perfect grounding. At junior events, the pair would warm up and warm down together as others left in their cars. There were to be no half-measures in Hedley’s ‘three Ds’ coaching manual: determination, dedication and discipline.
The Sky Open ignited further trophy riches in 2010 as he became world and Commonwealth champion. Two more world titles followed, he was voted as England’s flagbearer for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and became the first Englishman to win three British Open titles.
Soon enough, the women’s game saw late bloomer Laura Massaro reach the world no. 1 pinnacle.
“One thing Laura and I have is that drive,” says Matthew. “That sort of story will hopefully be a great inspiration in the years to come, that you don’t have to be the best when you’re 12, 13 or even aged 25. It’s part of the journey, doing the right things, being motivated and setting yourself apart. That can happen later and people develop at different times.
“There’s not one path you have to take. We have taken very different paths, but we are our own individual people who blaze our own trails.
“I’m grateful for what I’ve been able to do, travel the world, made some great friends and the glass has to be half full.”
Rod Gilmour looks back on 2018 for the Squash Player’s The Annual edition
Player of the Year
Spare a thought here for Simon Rosner. In his 15th year on the circuit, 2018 proved to be a breakthrough year: a first PSA World Series title win in New York and three further finals' berths into his 32nd year. But one of the hallmarks of a great champion is how to overcome the hard times and remain at the top of the game. Mohamed ElShorbagy, knows more than most. He has been consistent throughout his career in suffering early round knocks - everyone want to beat him, after all - and then winning big titles. Yet, he continues to adapt, learn and embrace being Egypt's world no.1 male. Through 2018, he did indeed dip but won the US Open, World Series Finals, Windy City Open and Canary Wharf Classic and continues to revel being trained and coached by David Palmer. Meanwhile, compatriot Nour El Sherbini once again earns our award as top female player. She started the year by collecting the Arab Outstanding Athlete Award in Dubai and then showed the world why she remains above the rest on the global stage. She now exudes confidence as world no.1, typified by her brilliant Allam British Open win in May - and continues to be a fans' favourite for her genteel mannerisms, both on and off court.
Young Players of the Year
If 2017 proved an award entree in this category for Diego Elias, 2018 set in stone that the Peruvian has a big future in the game. Sure, his only victories came by virtue of three Pan and South American titles, but he continues to make inroads on the PSA Tour. That was highlighted in October at the Qatar Classic with a sparkling, five-game win over the world no.1 to become the first Peruvian to reach the last four of a major PSA event. It was no fluke, the match was as a pure spectacle and suggests a first major title looms for the 23-year-old. On the women's side, the emergence of another young Egyptian should not be a great surprise and Hania el Hammamy, who turned 18 this year, is already showing great potential. In between her world junior runner-up prize, she made a plethora of PSA World Series main draws and signs are that she will take these experiences and make further headway in 2019.
Surprise of the Year
South America and "Historico!" are becoming common place in squash. None more so than when Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez made history to become the first South American player to win the British Open title in May. Victories included Ramy Ashour, Omar Mosaad, Ali Farag and then Mohamed ElShorbagy in the final. He did so as a 32-year-old and unseeded. His final victory was remarkable, a 102-minute thriller against a tiring Egyptian. The Colombian's renowned fitness had won the day. “It’s huge, this is like winning the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’, I’m a legend I think I can say," he mused. The 2018 Cairns Squash International will also be remembered for an equally enthralling story. World no. 494 Darren Chan, a former Malaysian junior, happened to be on holiday in Cairns before entering the tournament where the 22-year-old proceeded to upset world no. 95, Evan Williams to claim the title. With his win, he rose over 200 places in the world rankings.
Highlight of the Year
He has been so close to a major title throughout an otherwise illustrious career, but the stars finally aligned for James Willstrop's golden success at the Commonwealth Games. There was to be no final game heartbreak here. The former world no.1 was simply unstoppable in the final on the Gold Coast after a brutal display of accuracy to topple Kiwi Paul Coll. "Shots went in. It just came together," said the Yorkshireman, whose emotional bear hug with manager Mick Todd was equally memorable. While there was no competitive action, the sight of squash being part of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires was seen as a "great milestone" for the sport. "I hope we will look back upon this as a great step on our Olympic journey," said Andrew Shelley, WSF's chief executive. We await how the sport's administrators, along with its public relations team, tackle the complexities of convincing Paris 2024 officials that it finally merits a place at the top table.
Comeback of the Year
Returning in July after 20 months out with a serious knee injury, not even Low Wee Wern expected such a rapid return to success. The 28-year-old Malaysian went on a 19-match unbeaten streak to win four PSA Tour titles in Malaysia and Australia before returning to World Series events in November. A ruptured achilles at a tournament in Colombia in March 2017 also started a gruelling process of recovery for charismatic American, Amanda Sobhy. One year later, after three tentative events in early 2018, she was back to winning ways to become US national champion. A return to the top 10 also beckons in 2019.
Most improved players of the Year
Another year, another set of athletes who want to muscle their way into squash's ever-expanding game. Our correspondents have chosen an array of names and to pick a standout proved as tough as these committed stars. There's Tesni Evans, entering into the world's top 10 after a stellar year which included the British national title. We have rapidly rising Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar, 25, who won the China Open for the biggest title of the year. Qatar's Abdulla Al-Tamimi has certainly added dimension to his game after a stable 2017. But plaudits must go to Simon Rosner. Granted, he's always been world class but 2018 added a new level.
Team of the Year:
On the European scene, Paderborn once again proved a formidable team to lift the European clubs title. Plaudits must also go to the Walking Squash over 60s team in Hertfordshire who have invented their own form of the game, alongside Walking Hockey and Walking Football. However, how's Nour El Sherbini, Raneem El-Welily, Nour El-Tayeb and Nouran Gohar for a team? The Egypt women quartet duly retained their world team title in China and look a top podium outfit for several years yet.
Squash in flux: our view ahead of PSA 2017/18 season
BY RICHARD EATON
Rarely has a professional squash season heralded such change as the 2017-18 campaign. Perennial champions may be verging on final famous deeds, photogenic tournaments are generating new images and the PSA World Series is acquiring greater status.
Meanwhile, the PSA Tour’s total prize fund ($5.7 million last season) should break another record, as equal prize money starts to appear at more major events, and a game-changing, new scoring system will be trialled.
Furthermore, squash may attract publicity beyond the sport’s boundaries. A pioneering PSA Masters in Riyadh will be the first women’s professional sporting event ever held in Saudi Arabia and the appearance of athletic, jet-setting ladies in the world’s most gender-segregated nation could be eyeball-popping.
To squash insiders, the best-of-three game matches at the Canary Wharf Classic in March could grab their attention even more. There may also be scepticism, but consider Nick Matthew’s perspective.
“Whilst best-of-five is at the heart of the core ideals of squash – and we don’t want to lose those – it would be foolish not to look at new ideas,” the three-time world champion said. “It’s a bit like cricket with Twenty20. That format can contrast well alongside traditional Test matches.”
Another door into the future opens in August at Shanghai, where the China Open at The Peninsula hotel will enjoy views of the historic Waitan waterfront.
That Middle East adventure follows soon afterwards, the pioneering Saudi women’s event taking place at the same time as the men’s Qatar Classic in the neighbouring UAE in October. Both are World Series tournaments and both offer $165,000 in prize money.
The Tour’s first World Series event is the U.S. Open, earlier in October in Philadelphia. None of the three American World Series events from last season had been re-confirmed at the time of writing, but all are committed to equal prize money and should go ahead.
The third World Series stop, in November, showcases another photogenic venue – the shimmering Tsim Sha Tsui harbour's edge – at the Hong Kong Open. Here, the women’s prize fund increases from 60 per cent to 90 per cent of the men’s, a growth mirrored by that at the World Championships in Manchester in December, the first combined worlds for six years.
Linking these two tournaments is a 10,000-mile detour to another historic harbour city – Marseille, where the World Men’s Team Championship takes place from November 27 to December 3. This should underline Egypt’s dominance and help heal the trauma of the event’s violence-induced cancellation in Cairo.
The New Year’s World Series tournaments have yet to be confirmed, but should begin beneath the chandeliers of Grand Central terminal in New York with the Tournament of Champions in January, followed by the Windy City Open at Chicago in February and the British Open from May 19 to 26.
Hopefully, the seventh World Series event will be held in April at El Gouna, the entrancing Red Sea paradise.
Image creation is so crucial to squash’s Olympic bid that three other tournaments are also significant.
The Floridablanca Open, under the gaze of a 37-metre high statue in Colombia, should return in March and the Nantes International re-appears in September at Les Machines de l’ile, boasting a 40-foot high mechanical elephant. No other sport can embrace all this!
New contenders should emerge in pursuit of the increased rewards. If Mohamed Abouelghar, the 23-year-old Egyptian, can consistently repeat the sensational hitting that defeated world champion Karim Abdel Gawad at the British Open, he will certainly be one. His compatriot, Fares Dessouki, 22, appears complete in all but temperament, while Diego Elias, the former world junior champion from Peru, is nearing top 10 standard.
By far the most impressive young player, though, is Nour El Sherbini, the 21-year-old world champion and world no.1 with potential for lengthy domination. Her 19-year-old compatriot, Nouran Gohar, also hits hard enough to win any title, while Egypt’s third leading woman, Raneem El Welily, 28, remains sufficiently skilful to outplay anyone on her day.
And yet oldies continue to perform as though age were an illusion. Greg Gaultier, the 34-year-old world no.1, still moves superbly and so may again still contest the men’s top spot with Gawad and Mohamed ElShorbagy, while Laura Massaro, 34 in November, is developing her tactical varieties well enough to win anything and the remarkable Matthew is 37 and still dangerous.
“One minute I’m planning my retirement party, the next I want five more years!” the Englishman joked. In serious moments he realises his great career may end at the Commonwealth Games next April on Australia’s Gold Coast, perhaps with a gold medal.
