A smash on squash circuits,Mumbai teenager set to scale new highs

Mangaonkar has been playing squash for the past 11 years and is at present ranked fourth in India and 137th in the world. Squash happened to him by chance. “I used to play badminton with my mother and the squash court was adjacent. I tried it once and was hooked,” says Mangaonkar. Though he stopped playing badminton after discovering squash,he has managed to incorporate subtle techniques from badminton into his repertoire. “I hit my drop shots like I would a shuttlecock,the flick of the wrist is something I imported from badminton,” he says.

Mangaonkar’s talent was noticed when he helped India take home a bronze in the World Junior Championships. “The world championship was a great place to be — all the top juniors in the world were there and the amount of talent in the room was terrifying,” says the lanky lad.

But that did not deter India from beating Great Britain in the bronze medal match in Doha in July and Mangaonkar played a critical role in clinching the medal by dispatching Ollie Holland in four games. “I went into the match knowing that Kush had done his job (Kush Kumar won the first of the two bronze medal matches). I didn’t begin well,losing the first game and missing relatively easy points,but from the second game on,it became clear that Holland did not want to move around too much. I knew that if I forced him to move,the match would be mine,” he says. Mangaonkar’s growing prowess on the court was visible at the recent Pune Open squash championship. He initially wanted to give the tournament a miss but decided to play at the last minute. “I came back from Australia last week and was a bit tired but I decided that playing this tournament was better than staying at home and training,” says the Borivali boy.

However,once Mangoankar landed in Pune,he was on a rampage. He downed seasoned professionals like Bhalchandra Bulle,Gaurav Nandrajog and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu — ranked India’s number two — in the semi-final. “Beating these senior players gave me a big confidence boost. Even in the final when I played Saurav Ghosal (ranked number one in India),it was a great experience,” he says. (Ghosal won.)

Sandhu says Mangaonkar has the potential to climb into the top 100 in the world. “He is a quick learner,very strong and makes the right decisions on the court. The way he has moved up in the world rankings is proof enough of his talent,” says Sandhu.

Mangaonkar who advanced to semi-finals of the Challenger 5 event in Australia last year says lack of proper funding is hindering his chances of progressing. “My parents are supporting me but they can’t go on funding me,” he says. He is seeking a full-time sponsor who can take care of his travel engagements.