How India's junior squash ended a 13-year world medal wait
'To never have that feeling again, if ever the opportunity came up again,' said Harinder.
It did, against the same team at the same stage. This time in Cairo, up against a more fancied, third seeded Asian champion Korea, the Indians would script a 2-1 upset and secure a medal. Although they lost to USA in the semi-finals, the bronze by the boys added to 17-year-old Anahat Singh's individual bronze from the recent world juniors.
The team medal was equally significant, if not more, given that the last time an Indian men's team medalled at the prestigious event was in 2012 (bronze). Sandhesh PR, Yusha Nafees, Arihant KS and Aryaveer Dewan ended a more than decade-long wait, and showed promise in the men's game to go with Anahat's potential among the women in a sport that will make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles in 2028.
Of the four medallists, only Arihant was part of the previous edition in Houston. The other first-timers were zeroed in by Harinder, a former top-50 pro whose career was curtailed by a severe back injury in 2018. The 36-year-old coach's 'eyes were locked on' the national and Asian circuit over the last year.
'I would study their games in every tournament, or whenever they came to play in Chennai. And then I would speak to each one of them every day,' Harinder said.
Aryaveer, 16, won the U-17 individual gold at the Asian Junior Championships in July. He is also a 2023 U-15 US Open winner. Arihant, 18, was the India No.1 in the U-15 age group. He beat Korea's Lee Jong-hyeok in the decider, after the tie was locked 1-1. Yusha, 17, was India No.1 in the U-17 category. He gave India the 1-0 lead. Sandesh won the U-19 title at the WSC Classic Open in January.
Each has different personalities and plays a different game, said Harinder. Sandesh, the No.1 player in the team, was down on confidence after a below-par individual outing. He asked Harinder to drop him down in the team order. The coach refused. Instead, he engaged the teen in plenty of talk that was at times polite and angry yet always honest.
For Arihant and Sandesh, this was their last junior cycle as they prepare to step up into the demanding pro world.
'Both showed they're ready to play on the pro circuit. The game that they played over the last week was very professional, and different to what the juniors play. I hope they will reach top 100 and 50 soon,' said Harinder.
'As for Yusha and Aryaveer, they have the chance to be in the team next year too, provided they keep their level up. This was a good experience for them, and now they know how much they need to work harder if they have to change the colour of the medal.'
Harinder, a multiple Asian Games medallist, singled out mindset as the biggest challenge in translating junior promise at the pro level, where many talented youngsters have faltered. In these four though he sees potential to take forward the men's game in the country.
As for his coaching career, also in its young days, the team bronze is a tick but not bold enough. 'I'm thankful that SRFI (squash federation) and SAI gave me another opportunity to get this medal,' he said. 'But the satisfaction will come when I can get an Indian or Indians in the final two.'
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