For nearly a quarter of a century, Joshna Chinappa has stood like a colossus on the squash court. At 40, Joshna doesn’t seem to have lost her fighting spirit and tenacity.

She knows she is ageing, has tweaked her training module accordingly and has remained one of the finest players in the country a good 24 years after she made her Asian Games debut in Busan in 2002.

Taking part only in the women’s team and mixed doubles (with Velavan Senthilkumar) events at the ongoing Aichi-Nagoya Games, the veteran from Chennai is more than eager to bag another medal.

Seeded third in mixed doubles, the Velavan-Joshna duo will take on the fellow Indian pair of Suraj Chand and Shameena Riaz in the round of 16 after having received a bye in the first. In the women’s team event (Anahat Singh, Tanvi Khanna and Shameena are her teammates), the No. 3-seeded India has been drawn in Pool C alongside Japan, China and Iran.

On the PSA World Tour, Joshna’s career has overlapped with three generations of elite squash players. Most of her contemporaries — Nicol David (43), Laura Massaro (42), Jenny Duncalf (43), Alison Waters (42) and Annie Au (37) — have long retired, underlining her remarkable longevity.

Placed 73rd in the chart, Joshna is India’s third-highest ranked woman behind the 18-year-old Anahat Singh (World No. 17) and Tanvi Khanna (World No. 71). A winner of 11 PSA titles, she continues to perform at a high level and is determined to make another significant contribution at the Asian Games. Everyone who has followed Joshna’s career knows how meticulous and disciplined she is in her preparation.

Saurav Ghosal, a former men’s top-10 player, perhaps perfectly summed up her longevity. “First and foremost, she really, really loves the game. She’s immensely talented, but she has also worked tirelessly on every aspect of her game to remain at the top for as long as she has. I hope that she comes back from the Asian Games with quite a few gold medals.”

In this interview with The Hindu, the five-time Asian Games medallist reflects on her longevity, debut at the 2002 Asiad, most cherished memories from the continental showpiece, and the motivation that continues to drive her at the highest level. Excerpts:

You are competing at the Asian Games for the seventh time, becoming the first Indian sportsperson to achieve the feat…

I honestly didn’t think I would make a seventh Asian Games appearance. I just focused on my training and tournaments. It definitely feels great to be a part of the Indian team again.

You have won five medals at the Asiad, but a gold remains elusive. What are the chances of clinching the yellow metal?

We have a strong team and yes, it would be great to win another medal. I have always taken my matches one at a time, so I am as prepared as I can be.

Looking back, which was your best Asian Games?

Performance-wise, 2018 would probably be the best I played (singles bronze and silver in women’s team).

How special was it to be on the Asiad stage as a teenager?

As a 15-year-old, it was amazing to see so many superstars of Indian sport in one Village. There is one memory that stands out from my first Games in Busan in 2002. We are usually given our official India clothing and I would obviously wear that to play and train. But in my down time at the Village, I wore a personal T-shirt at the food hall a couple of times, and legendary hockey player Dhanraj Pillay told me that I had to be in my India clothing. It’s something we should always be proud of. It was inspiring for me because it made me aware that I am always representing my country at the Games on and off court… that has stayed with me till now.

You were part of the top 10 in the PSA rankings thrice. When you got there for the first time as a 29-year-old in July 2016, how did you feel?

The top 10 is a special place. It took a lot of effort, especially coming back from my ACL surgery, and years of work with my team.

There were top players like Nour El Sherbini, Raneem El Welily, Nouran Gohar, Camille Serme and Massaro. So how difficult was it to get or stay there?

I definitely played with a bunch of incredibly talented and hardworking women who were greats of the game. Playing with them, beating some of them and making it to the top 10 was one of the best moments of my career.

What did the win over Nicol — an eight-time World champion — in the 2018 Asian Games women’s team semifinals mean to you?

It meant a lot because I have always looked up to her and admired how humble she is as a champion. I really wanted to do it for the team. She is one of the greatest of all-time. Coming in from the disappointment of losing singles and making the team final after beating a strong team like Malaysia was amazing!

You had a on-court rivalry with Dipika Pallikal but shared a bond and went on to bag medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games…

We have had some amazing wins together for India and I will always think of my time competing with her and playing alongside her as inspiring and motivating.

You have won 11 Tour titles. You had to wait 10 years to earn your latest crown, at the Japan Open in 2025. Why did it take so long to end the drought?

I didn’t expect to win in Japan. It felt great to win after ages, especially since I beat girls who were in their early 20s and were ranked way higher than me. The difference now is that I am a lot more relaxed towards competing and I am more performance-oriented than result-focused. Maybe it just helps me enjoy and appreciate these moments more and play better squash.

Every title I have won has come at different times of my life: they all have come after years of training and preparation. Each one has been rewarding.

How have you been able to sustain at this level for nearly quarter of a century? Is it down to mental sharpness, your focus on fitness, outlook towards life or all three?

The main reason I am able to still compete today is my parents. My team, including my coach, strength and conditioning trainer, physios, nutritionist and sports psychologist, has been amazing. The support from my sponsors, the State government, Central government and Squash Rackets Federation of India has been great. It takes a lot to compete at the highest level and it’s only possible because of the amazing people I work with. I do work a lot on the mental and physical side of the game besides recovery. I really appreciate and worship my body, which has been so incredibly supportive.

How much has the sport evolved since you began playing?

So much! At the international level, the game has become so much more physically demanding, faster and skilful. Domestically, we have many players playing, and the level has improved a lot. Seeing so many PSA (World Tour) events happening in India is wonderful because many of our players benefit tremendously by playing in them and watching the top players competing here in India.

Squash will make its debut at the 2028 LA Olympics…

Such exciting times ahead for squash. India has a great chance to do well.

You had knee injuries/surgeries in 2011 and 2023? How challenging was it physically and mentally to come back from those?

I tore my ACL on the right knee in 2011 and was out of the game for a year. I was encouraged to quit playing and get into coaching. I had no financial support but I moved to Bombay (Mumbai) and worked with a really good Egyptian physio and trainer — Ahmed Youssef. When I got back to playing, coach Ritwik Bhattacharya helped me. Some of my best victories came after that surgery because I believed I had a lot more to offer to the game and I really wanted to play for India again.

And in 2023, during the last Asian Games, I found that there was no cartilage in my right knee and it also needed a surgery. But I did the surgery more for quality of life as it was painful to do basic things like driving, getting out of bed comfortably and jogging. My surgeon, Dr. Jagdeesh, who did my ACL surgery, also did my cartilage surgery and told me that I would be able to compete again. So I moved to Bengaluru and worked with Yash Pandey at Peak Performance. I got back on court after five months of rehab. I decided to train and play for a couple more years to see if I could play the Asian Games.

How big a support has your father been and what are your memories of playing with him at Madras Cricket Club?

My dad is the main reason I am here today. He introduced me to the game as he was a squash player himself. I have the best memories of tagging along with him to the MCC and playing squash with him, other MCC members and my friends. He was my coach and motivator for a very long time, especially when I was a junior.

India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur poses for photographs with Gold medal after winning the women’s final T20I cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in the ongoing Asian Games 2026, in Nagoya, Japan on September 22, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

In an era where opening the batting in Test cricket revolved around giving the first hour, if not the first session, to the bowlers, K. Srikkanth was a glorious exception to the accepted rule. High on risk and therefore a little short on consistency, the maverick from Tamil Nadu was unstoppable when in the mood, treating the best fast bowlers in the world with utter disdain.

Mark Greatbatch at the 1992 World Cup, and Sanath Jayasuriya in 1996, are often eulogised for changing the face of opening the batting, but long before these two left-handers left their mark, Srikkanth had made hitting over the top fashionable. With complete and utter disregard for reputations, and with a nonchalance that comes only to the chosen few.

Strategies chalked at team meetings, he was told, need not concern him. First Sunil Gavaskar, and then Kapil Dev, encouraged Srikkanth to be himself, to bat with natural flair and flamboyance. No one expected him to bat like Gavaskar, studied in defence and treating each ball assiduously on its merit because, well, he wouldn’t be Srikkanth then, would he? And so, the right-hander went on a rampage whenever he could.

Not an accurate picture

A Test average of 29.88 from 43 matches, and a 50-over international average of 29.01 spread across 145 innings, do not paint an accurate picture of the potential for mayhem that he possessed. Srikkanth was a lot more than the sum of his six international hundreds and the highest individual tally in a low-scoring final of the 1983 World Cup, because the entertainment he provided and the value he brought with him to the batting crease were beyond parallel in that time and age.

Srikkanth was a pioneer, without question, his brand of batsmanship unique and remarkably enviable in his time in international cricket. The subsequent emergence of a host of destructive openers, among them a certain Sachin Tendulkar who was thrust into the role of an ODI opener almost accidentally in 1994 and who went on to finish with 49 international tons in the 50-over version, is a back-handed compliment to the Srikkanth school of aggression that has gained immense currency in the last two and a quarter decades, from the time the 20-over iteration stormed cricketing consciousness.

Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle made a name for themselves by beautifully fusing untold havoc with stunning consistency. Both openers, the former converted from a middle-order practitioner, signed off with two Test triple tons apiece – with only the great Don Bradman and Brian Lara for company in that exclusive club of four – to reiterate that aggressive batting need not be at the expense of sustained masterpieces.

Having grown up watching the deeds of these two stalwarts, among others, Abhishek Sharma has now burst forth as a modern-day six-hitting behemoth against whom the margin for error is miniscule and to whom clearing the boundary boards is little more than child’s play.

Abhishek is now 26, still some way short of hitting his peak as a batter. Internationally, he figures in only one format and it is only a matter of time before he is allowed to spread his wings and dot the 50-over landscape too with spectacular edifices. But even in that one limited-overs format, he has showcased a penchant for the bold and the beautiful that is impossible to miss.

Numerous batters who have failed to tickle the scorers in their first international innings have had a stellar career, not least the legendary G.R. Vishwanath, who followed up nought in the first innings of his debut Test against Australia in Kanpur in 1969 with 137 of the best in the second dig. Abhishek’s international career too got off to the most inauspicious of beginnings – he fell for a second-ball duck against Zimbabwe in Harare in July 2024 – but the very next day, he made the world sit up and take notice by smashing a 47-ball century against the same opponents, now thoroughly shell-shocked.

It was evident even at that early stage that this was a special talent that needed to be encouraged rather than fettered, that was best left to its own devices so that he could learn from his mistakes and polish the rough edges instead of being instructed to redefine his high-risk approach. Abhishek took some time in striking the right balance between all-out attack and judiciousness in shot-selection, but once he found the magic formula, he has been an unstoppable force at the highest level.

Abhishek has played 58 T20I innings, which is a fairly reasonable sample size. Despite taking the fight to the bowlers, he has blasted three hundreds and 12 half-centuries. Despite his propensity to hit the ball in the air, he averages 33.17. And because he loves dismantling attacks and bruising egos, he has been able to strike at an extraordinary 194.55, laced with 182 fours and 126 sixes.

Every year since its inception, the Indian Premier League rewards the highest scorer of the season with the Orange Cap. In so many ways, that is incongruous because T20 cricket is seldom about quantum. It is about impact, it’s about the value of the runs made. Given that eight-ball 25s are seen as being more crucial than 35-ball half-centuries, strike-rate would appear to be a logical route to deciding the significance of a batter to his team’s fortunes, but strike-rate alone can’t be the criterion if it rewards only cameos and disregards more meaningful contributions.

Various quarters have advocated using average and strike-rate in tandem to decide the worth of a batter. The former is a marker of consistency, the latter a pointer to explosiveness. In Abhishek’s case, combining the average and the strike-rate in T20Is will give him a whopping total of 227.72. Now, while that is just a number, it is a more accurate reflection of the kind of havoc he can wreak. Abhishek’s latest epic came on Thursday night at the National capital’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. In the last of three T20Is that Afghanistan hosted against India in India last Thursday, Abhishek’s most unforgiving avatar was on full view. In a mere 30 deliveries, he raced to his third T20I century, a good 19 months after his previous ton, against England in Mumbai in February 2025.

The hundred included nine fours and 10 sixes – 96% of his runs came in boundaries – and by the time he was dismissed, he had added one more six in his final score of 108, off a ridiculous 34 balls. It is the fastest T20I hundred against a full-member nation, the fastest ton internationally in the 20-over game by a batter from a full-member country.

Quips that Abhishek defeated the Afghans by 14 runs weren’t just cute. They aptly illustrated the full weight of his dominance against a bowling group that is pedestrian by no stretch of the imagination. Afghanistan might be a little undercooked when it comes to batting in the topmost echelons, but as a bowling unit, they hardly suffer in comparison. Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi form a formidable quartet, but Abhishek left them quivering in their collective boots, waiting for and ruthlessly punishing any indiscretion in length or direction with the most scything, punitive of willows.

In the two preceding matches of the series at the same venue, Abhishek had reeled off scores of 82 (32b) and 39 (19b) respectively. His lowest strike-rate (205.26) came in game two, sandwiched between similar efforts of 256.25 and 317.64, the latter killing any competitive interest in the dead rubber just a quarter of the way into the no-contest.

It was Abhishek at his majestic best, unhurried and unflustered, using a strong base as his ally and carefully eschewing the premeditation that has left many a batter horribly out of position. Abhishek seldom uses exaggerated feet movement whilst waiting for the bowler to deliver the ball, nor does he often seek recourse to the unconventional such as the reverse-scoop or a switch hit.

His areas of preference are in front of square rather than behind it. A beautiful bat-swing with the willow on the downward curve can be mesmerising and because Abhishek strikes the ball cleanly and down the ground, it’s more than likely that he will forever be one step ahead of the opposition. The effortlessness with which he sends the ball soaring deep into the stands is audaciously breathtaking in its simplicity and for the debilitating (for the bowlers) outcome from which there is no recovery.

The very nature of the T20 beast is such that it is almost an antidote to consistency. The consensus is that opening batters are best placed to stack up all the records, and there is no arguing with that because, after all, they are in a position to play more deliveries than those succeeding them in the batting order. But the propensity to push the envelope manifests itself in greater risk-taking when the field restrictions are in place, which automatically brings with it the threat of courting cheap dismissals.

Conservatism has been thrown out of the window a long time back. India are the leaders, in a manner of speaking, in setting the tone, having woken up to the demands of the format a little later than some others, and have now meticulously pieced together an amazing set of destroyers with Abhishek as the primary wrecking ball. The Afghanistan series saw him at his fiercely consistent best. He had a reasonably forgettable T20 World Cup; three ducks at the start were only marginally offset by a blazing half-century in the final, but he seems to have rediscovered his mojo now, which is an excellent sign with the Asian Games gold medal defence now exactly a week away.

Furious competition

Abhishek will be keen to show that there is more to him than just a 20-over marauder. There is furious competition for top-order places in the 50-over setup, with someone like Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has two hundreds in his last three ODI innings, struggling to break through. Abhishek’s List A (domestic 50-over) record isn’t trifling – he averages 33.78 while striking at 100.18 in 68 innings – but while he will be keen to evolve as a multi-format performer, he won’t lose any sleep over his longer-version future.

For now, his calling is in T20s and that’s where he will try to maximise his efficacy and get the team off to the kind of starts they have come to take for granted. He won’t be fazed by the fact that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is breathing down his neck, or that there are other acknowledged ball-bashers aspiring for higher honours. Abhishek has found his Zen state — India’s pride, the rest of the world’s envy.

Smriti Mandhana plays a shot during the second semifinal T20I cricket match between India’s women and Bangladesh’s women in the ongoing Asian Games 2026 on September 20, 2026
| Photo Credit: PTI

Shree Charani, right, led the way with a four-wicket haul that sent the host’s batting line-up packing during their Asian Games cricket quarterfinal clash at the Korogi Sports Park, Nagoya, Japan on Friday, September 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: X@BCCIWomen

Shafali (40 not out, 15 balls) played the lead role in that pygmy-sized chase. Photo: X/@BCCIWomen

James Willstrop, part of the coaching staff for the Asian Games-bound Indian squash contingent, with player Shameena Riaz during a practice session at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU

James Willstrop, part of the coaching staff for the Asian Games-bound Indian squash contingent, with player Shameena Riaz during a practice session at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU

The organisers have come under the scanner for accommodation issues.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Antim is one of India’s leading medal contenders.
| Photo Credit: United World Wrestling