Squash teeners bow out in Asiad

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s top junior ladies squash players Ayssa Dalida and Myca Aribado were trounced by world-ranked opponents in the round-of-16 in the 16th Asian Games at the Town Gymnasium in Guangzhou last Thursday.

Facing quality opposition, the Filipina teeners hardly gave their seeded rivals a scare as they went down in straight sets. Dalida, 18, lost to World No. 52 Misaki Kobayashi of Japan, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4, in 15 minutes while Aribado, 17, bowed to World No. 37 Joshna Chinappa of India, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 in 19 minutes.

The scoring was based on the point-a-rally system approved by the World Squash Federation in April last year for use in sanctioned international competitions. The system allows a player to score in any rally, no matter who serves, up to 11 points in a set. Each match is a best-of-five set contest.

Kobayashi, 20, was unruffled in disposing of Dalida. She has won two titles so far this season, beating England’s Lauren Selby in the NSC series No. 1 Tour 4 finals last April and Chinatsu Matsui in the Pro Squash Kansai Japan finals last September. The third set of Kobayashi’s wipeout of Dalida was over in only three minutes.

Aribado posed a stiffer challenge to Chinappa than Dalida to Kobayashi. Displaying a deft touch, the Makati High School senior tried to push India’s national titlist to the limit in the first two sets which were competitive. But she ran out of steam down the stretch. Chinappa, 24, enjoyed a four-inch height advantage and outweighed Aribado by 13 pounds. The physical disparity was evident as Chinappa covered a lot more space in controlling the action on the T of the court.

Warming up for the Asian Games, Chinappa whipped Switzerland’s Gaby Schmohl in the German Ladies Open finals last May.

To show the high level of competition in the ladies event, both Kobayashi and Chinappa were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Kobayashi was ousted by World No. 15 Annie Au of Hong Kong, 11-3, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, while Chinappa lost to World No. 20 Low Wee Wern of Malaysia, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-3, in a 61-minute duel.

Squash Rackets Association of the Philippines (SRAP) president Romy Ribano said yesterday the exposure in Guangzhou will go a long way in toughening the girls for future tournaments, particularly the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta next year.

“From the beginning, we knew the Asian Games would be an uphill battle for the girls,” said Ribano. “The other countries listed world-ranked players. We weren’t supposed to send players but the Asian federation asked us to reconsider because without our two players, the ladies event would be cancelled. We appealed to the POC to allow our two juniors to play for developmental purposes and because of the Asian federation’s request, we were lucky to get approval.”

Ribano said the girls had no previous international exposure this year. “This was really a preparation for the SEA Games,” he said. “Without international exposure, our players lag behind. They lack mental toughness. It’s all psychological. We want our players to be confident of winning.”

Ribano said the SRAP has laid out a program to address the long-term development of the sport.

“For our elite players, we want them to benefit from sports science,” said Ribano. “We lack the aspects of physical conditioning and nutrition. We notice that our players lose steam after three sets. It’s a problem that athletes in other sports also face. For squash, it’s not just court training. It’s also physical strengthening, healthy eating and conditioning.”

Ribano said he also plans to uplift the quality of coaching and training by tapping “new blood.” “There are new developments and techniques in squash,” he said. “We’ll invite foreign coaches to come over and conduct clinics so there is transfer of technology. Our former national champion Manny Boy Yam is now a high-level coach in New Zealand and we hope to invite him to share his knowledge with our coaches.”

Ribano said squash is considered a “minor” sport by the PSC because it is not a potential medal gainer in the Asian Games. “That’s why squash doesn’t get too much assistance but without assistance, we’ll never become a potential medal gainer,” he said. “Squash is popular in countries near us, like Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, so we don’t have to go far to learn from the experts. We can bring in foreign coaches 10 days at a time to stay in Manila and conduct clinics. It won’t be expensive. But it will make an impact.”

Ribano said he will push for the opening of a public squash court.

“Our national players came from sports clubs or schools but a Pakistan coach once told me the best players come from the streets because if they don’t excel in sports, they have nowhere to go,” said Ribano. “That’s where the public court comes in. If we construct a public court at the Rizal Memorial, it will be accessible to everyone but the cost is about P12 to P14 million. An alternative is to refurbish the Manila Boat Club squash courts in Santa Ana and open the courts to the public. The repair work will cost only P600,000. Either way, we’ll need the PSC’s support for the funds to make our dream of a public squash court a reality.”

SRAP director Jovie Vilar said the Filipina teeners were the youngest in the ladies event. “I’m sure they gained a wealth of experience,” he said. “They should be better prepared for the SEA Games next year.” Another SRAP director Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez said, “it really was a tough tournament but I’m sure they’ll have a better showing in the SEA Games.” Sonak Sports head Anil Buxani, who provided the squash players with top-of-the-line Asics indoor shoes, shirts, socks and bags for the Asian Games, said “I’m sure the exposure did a world of good.”