Monday, June 25, 2007

To Know them is to love them..... (Part I)

Some say you shouldn't talk about people if they aren't there to defend themselves.... They are a 100% right but am not listening...
I am going to talk about Joshana while she is away in LA playing a tournament and this way she won't hear about this for a few days... however she knows i love her and so I am taking advantage of the situation.
For those who don't know her Joshana Chinappa is the country's best squash player and has dominated the Indian circuit for a few years now and we are now trying to prepare her to do the same internationally.
For those of you who don't know the sport of Squash (perfectly understandable) it is for people who want to play tennis but can't :)(she is going to kill me).
I got to know Josh, after we signed her, and I accompanied her on a trip to Egypt to find a coach. She is extremely reserved and shy and it took a while for me to break into the shell. She is a great kid who like all people her age only dresses in Guess, Abercrombie or Tommy Hilfiger and the first impression is that she is this happy go lucky kid who is very content with all in the world. She will never leave the room without ironing her already straight hair and then promptly putting it up in a pony tail... yes go figure...
Scratch the surface and you see how tough she really is, Josh has been through it all and managed to come out of it on top. The hard existence of and Indian sportsperson, from no funding to court cases, to various conspiracies to people writing her off. Amid all this adversity she went on to win the Junior British open and now making her mark in the WISPA.
Her biggest asset is that she can perform when her back is against the wall and that is a great quality to have. On the court she is focused and all athletes will tell you its not easy to play in India.
Here we have to perform under extreme scrutiny and the negative vibes emanate from all sides. She has not only been able to get over that hump but has also played some of her best games and pull out victories when even i have doubted her.
Its one thing to get to the top, but to be able to stay there with younger people constantly gunning for you shows grit, which in my opinion trumps talent and is a reason i believe Josh can get to the top of the squash world.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your statement, "Squash is for people who want to play tennis but can't" is an insult to all the squash players in the world. They are two comletely different sports that require different techniques to play the game. Very much dissapointed at your statement.

Manisha Malhotra said...

it was a joke hence the smiley face. It wasn't meant as an insult so apologize for that.

ChaBS said...

hello Manisha

i was going through your blog and realized that you are into indian sports i wanted to ask you do we have enough national level competitions? Also are the conditions (court,equipment etc) good enough? And one thing that i do not understand is why dont we domestic tournaments organised by private companies because if the quality of sports is good it will get viewers.

ChaBS

Manisha Malhotra said...

Hey Chabs-
My point exactly... i think that corporates lack knowledge about sport and hence flock to cricket... but if we made our domestic events fun and made it appeal to people it would attract a lot of people. We do have the facilities in a lot of places (not everywhere) and its just a matter of putting in the work to create a good event.