Taking the squash circuit by storm

On Saturday,Dixit entered the semi-finals of the Pune Open squash tournament and will face world number 25 Saurav Ghosal.

Dixit,born in Dhampur,a town in the sugar belt of western UP,famous for a sprawling sugar factory is not expected to produce a squash professional. There are no fancy clubs and no air-conditioned glass courts to practice in Dhampur. The 20-year-old was content to play tennis ball cricket,but a ride to the sugar mills’ sports complex changed his life forever.

“The factory had a big sports complex,which included a squash court. Being a deserted place,we were curious to find out why,we went there once and the coach invited us to play. I haven’t looked back since then,” says Dixit in broken English. “I first thought squash would be easy,you just have to hit the ball against the wall,but as I started playing,I realized it was much more than just pinging the ball against the wall,” says the lanky lad who is at present ranked third nationally.

He soon realized the long commute between Dhampur and Delhi was proving to be quite tough. He decided to move full-time to Delhi,training at the Siri Fort Complex. However,the lack of quality coaching made him shift to Chennai where he trains under India’s chief national coach Cyrus Poncha and Malaysian coach,Major. Maniam. The move to Chennai was not well received at home.

“My mother has never seen me play,even when I am playing international tournaments. She has expressed her displeasure at my decision to move to Chennai,” he says.

“My father used to tell me that its better if I study and get good marks rather than just smack a ball against the wall. However,after I won my first national tournament,he hasn’t scolded me since,” he says.

For Dixit,the decision to move to Chennai has paid off; he has won two junior Asian titles becoming the first Indian man to win an Asian title and held the India junior number one ranking for two years straight.

Saurav Ghosal who is the India number one says,“Ravi is a super talent,he is incredibly fit,but needs to work on the finer technical points.”

Dixit is currently playing on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) circuit and is looking to better his ranking of 178. He is hoping to break into the top 100 of the world ranking.