By Satya Rath/Doha

Can I sit and talk? Sorry, but my legs are paining,” Joshna Chinappa earnestly asked when this writer approached her on the courtside, soon after her straight games win over Egyptian 19-year-old Yathreb Adel on Monday that put the Chennai-based Indian in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic.
A simple request it was, but still, one couldn’t miss the irony of it all. At the other end of the glass court sat a dejected Adel, the girl who had packed off 12th-seeded Indian Dipika Pallikal in the first round, attended by her coaching staff, getting her tired limbs massaged, with one of her family members trying to cheer her up.
Joshna sat alone. She’s on her own on the Tour, and it’s been like that since “I don’t remember when”. She’s her own coach, her own physio, her own masseur. “I can’t afford one. I play this game because I love it,” the 29-year-old says.
In every tournament she travels to across the world, it’s the same story. She is her own support, while most of her opponents have their support system. “I don’t have a coach. It’s mostly my dad, and sometimes I take the help of David Palmer. But on the Tour, I am alone. Squash is not that financially rewarding like other sports, you can’t make a living out of it,” she adds.
Joshna, who stunned world No 1 Raneem El Welily on the opening day to spring the biggest upset of the Qatar Classic, has been one of two flag-bearers for India (the other is Dipika) on squash’s world stage for more than a decade now, but while the accolades have kept multiplying, the woes stay the same.
Against Adel in the second round, and also during her stunning upset of El Welily on the opening day, she at times looked in some discomfort while sitting alone during the break between the games, but there was no one she could turn to for advice or to soothe her aching limbs.
During Monday’s match, one girl sitting in the stands was seen going to her during the breaks to give some quick tips.
“She’s Amanda Sobhy (from the US, ranked 11 in the world), she’s my roommate here and a dear friend. She just kept telling me during the breaks that I was playing fine, and that I should just keep it simple and not get hassled, that I should just stick to the basics and not experiment too much. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it to the quarter-finals here. She lost very a close match today (to France’s Camille Serme in the second round),” said Joshna.
Squash is a strenuous sport, and one of the most injury-inducing ones too. But it’s not a rich sport, like tennis, so not many can afford the add-ons like a travelling coach or physio.
“I am what I am today because of my family’s support. The government gives some grant and our association chips in too but it’s hardly sufficient to meet the expenses. I have a couple of personal sponsors too. But I have no complaints against anyone. I chose to play squash, no one forced me. I am happy with I have achieved,” she states.
There’s one thing that rankles her though. “Yes, it feels frustrating sometimes that squash has not been included in the Olympic discipline. They are talking of adding a sport like mountain-climbing to the Olympics, why not squash? It’s really sad.”
Joshna, currently ranked 17 in the world, will meet world No 6 Omneya Abdel Kawy in the Qatar Classic quarter-finals today. She lost to the Egyptian in their most recent meeting, at last month’s US Open in Philadelphia.
“She will be tough. She’s one of the best in the world, and I lost to her in straight games last month. But I am under no pressure. I have consciously decided to take a relaxed approach to the game. I just want to enjoy my squash, work hard, stick to the basics and I am confident the results will come. It has been working for me. I hope the momentum continues,” she signs off.