Joshna Chinappa Aims for Asian Games, Balances Fitness and Goals

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) – Veteran squash player Joshna Chinappa, who continues to perform impressively despite being in her late 30s, is focused on setting short-term objectives with an eye on the Asian Games next year. Her accomplishments stand out even more as she remains the sole active player from Indian squash's illustrious era, following Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal's retirements. Joshna, a former World No. 10 who will turn 39 next month, said, "I am just taking one tournament at a time right now and I am going to play a few more PSAs towards the end of this year," while speaking at a felicitation ceremony organized by HCL and Squash Rackets Federation of India.

At her current stage, she is adopting a careful strategy, focusing on her fitness and being selective about the tournaments she participates in. Although the sport demands a lot physically, Joshna is prioritizing immediate goals with the Asian Games in Japan being a key aim. "The Asian Games is definitely there in the back of my mind. But again, it just depends on a few more tournaments, how I do. Maybe I have trials, things like that.

"I am preparing for it. But if it happens, great. If not, that's also okay," she expressed. Despite squash making its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, Joshna is not focusing that far ahead. "It's (Olympics) honestly a long way off right now for me. And right now I'm just really enjoying playing squash more in the moment and just playing selective tournaments," she remarked.

When asked about her motivation after years in the sport, Joshna noted her desire to win medals for India as her driving force. "I love winning medals for India. That’s always been my biggest motivation. As long as I feel passionate, as long as I love playing squash and know there’s still something left in me, I want to see it through."

Having undergone knee surgery after the 2023 Asian Games, Joshna has been actively participating in various tournaments, including teaming up with youth prodigy Anahat Singh to secure the women’s doubles title at the Asian Championships in June. Discussing her recovery, she mentioned, "It definitely takes a lot more work at this stage in my late 30s to still be competing, playing singles, playing doubles. So yes, the effort to look after my body is a lot more, there is more physio and, just training is a lot more different these days."

Recovery, for Joshna, is contingent on the effort. "Recovery really depends on the effort I put in. If I have my physio with me, if I stretch properly, all of that, I'm able to recover pretty well." Reflecting on her training approach post-surgery, she said, "It's really about being smart. When you're younger, your body can take a lot more, you can push harder. Now, it's about not overtraining, protecting my legs, and ensuring I'm doing the right strength work, watching my diet, and listening to my body. I just want to get the best out of myself without overdoing it."

In a ceremony organized by the SRFI and HCL group, 26 players were felicitated for their victories at the Asian Championships and Junior World Championships. The achieve<|endoftext|>

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