The Hindu : Sport : Joshna leaves for Amsterdam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 06, 2006

Sport

Sport

Joshna leaves for Amsterdam

Special Correspondent

— File Photo

Joshna Chinappa.

CHENNAI: Joshna Chinappa has set off on a mission. The champion squash player, the reigning world junior runner-up, left for Amsterdam on Thursday night on what is her first phase of a two-month training-cum-competition drill in Europe before the acid test — the Asian Games in Doha in December.

Selected under the Mittal Champion's Trust, something that gives her the financial support to pick the best facility to further her skills, Joshna has put her faith on the Amsterdam-based famous women's coach Liz Irving, who has the reputation of coaching some of the top women players in the world including the current World champion Nicol David.

With a sports psychologist and a personal trainer forming part of her team, the national champion is set for productive sessions ahead. Already having impressively jumped from 75 to 62 in her rankings after some good show in five tournaments that she had played in USA in recent times, Joshna hopes to improve that to around 50 in the next few months.

As per her schedule, Joshna will be playing in two WISPA tournaments, the Open de la Cite tourney in Carcassone in France later this month and the Trenzparanz Open in Amsterdam in June. She is seeded in both these tournaments.

The Amsterdam stay will help her spar with some of the top players like Nicol herself as also the Grinham sisters Natalie and Rachael among others.

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