© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A six-leg India Squash Tour will begin next week, aimed at providing international exposure to the country’s players.
The 2025-26 season – that will witness events in Jaipur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Delhi – will have Challenger tournaments with varying prize money. These events will be sanctioned by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), and will have a 24-player field with the top eight seeds getting a bye in the first round.
The tour has extended its footprint from four events, with Delhi and Ahmedabad the new venues. It has been backed by HCL and is being conducted in partnership with the sports ministry and the Sports Authority of India. All events will offer equal prize money for men and women.
“We are expecting top international players to feature in these tournaments. It will be good for Indian players, especially the youngsters. We will have the likes of Joshna Chinappa, Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh in action,” Squash Rackets Federation of India secretary general Cyrus Poncha said.
The 2025-26 calendar includes Challenger 15k event in Chennai ($15,000 prize pool), Challenger 9k events in Jaipur and Mumbai ($9,000 each) and Challenger 6k events in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad ($6,000 each).
Double Asian Games medallist Tanvi Khanna explained how the tour would help Indian players.
“I got injured after the Asian Games in 2023 and my ranking slipped to 400. However, when I returned to action, the PSA India tour was crucial in getting important ranking points for me,” said Tanvi, currently world number 69.
Poncha also announced that Delhi will host the senior National Squash Championship at Major Dhyanchand National Stadium from August 23 to 28 of this year.
“We expect most of the top players to participate in the event,” Poncha said at Thursday’s media interaction.
Jaipur – August 4-8
Mumbai – September 8-12
Bengaluru – September 26-31
Chennai – December 1-5
Ahmedabad – January 27-31, 2026
Delhi – February 3-7, 2026
