HARINDER PAL SANDHU - INDIAN SQUASH UPDATES

NEVER SAY DIE MAN OF INDIAN SQUASH

Indian squash player Harinder Pal Sandhu has seen ups and downs since the last couple of years, but he should be oozing with confidence now after having won second PSA Tour title in as many weeks. He must be feeling now on top of his game and peak of his career after having gone through multiple injury worries in the last one year. Adding another feather to his cap, he has continued his fine run, winning Victorian Open squash recently, beating top-seed Rex Hedrick of Australia in a close five set encounter.

Sandhu has played four tournaments on the PSA Tour in last 3 months and claimed all of them- the Malaysia Open, Makati Open, South Australia Open and most recent, the Victoria Open. He is on such a roll that he has not only won 4 back to back PSA titles, but also on a 17 match winning streak, and has achieved this year as much he had in his entire career of 12 years in terms of number of PSA titles won.

Sandhu could have never thought of such success, when he was sliping down the ladder last year due to two serious injuries that hit him in quick succession, almost giving a scare of finishing his career. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 56 in September 2015 and was expected to do well in the South Asian Games, 2016, but a hamstring tear ruled him out of action for four months. Things were tough for him as he couldn't make the cut for any World Tour event, after months of rehabilitation. Just as he was gaining confidence, he was hit with a disc tear in his lower back. These back to back injuries wiped out an entire year from his career, jolting his confidence hard.



To come back from that position and winning 4 PSA Tours titles on a trot, is something that doesn't happen everyday and neither every sports person has that mental strength to go through such tough phase and make it big so soon on the international circuit. Sandhu is special in that sense and he is now an inspiration for youngsters on how to go beyond injury challenges and prove your mettle.

National coach Cyrus Poncha, with whom Sandhu trains, says "Harinder is a full-time squash player. It wasn't as if he is from a very wealthy family or he has a full time job or he can fall back on his studies. And he had just suffered two very serious injuries. I really didn't know whether he would be able to return. But his comeback is quite fascinating."








His comeback to the circuit finally happened in March this year and it was not quite pleasant. Having fallen out of top 100, he lost to  a junior player(World Number 108) in the first round of PSA tour event in England. Then lost at quarterfinals of West Rand Open and semifinals of Parkview Open. But he was gradually improving, and finaly marked his presence with win over World Number 40 Abdullah Mohammad Tamimi, at Asian Championships in April. And his winning streak got underway at the Malaysia Open, a month later.



Sandhu was earlier a part of the Indian team, who won the Gold Medal at the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon. Sandhu's partner there, WR 27, India No.1 Saurav Ghosal said "I have known Harinder for long and I am happy for his wins this season. I have always believed that he is a much better player than what his world rankings show and he has the potential to break into top-50 and even top-25 if he continues this form"

Sandhu's next aim will be World Doubles Championships in August.