Teeners out to end 12-year squash jinx

MANILA, Philippines - Fresh from facing world-ranked opponents in the Guangzhou Asian Games, junior players Myca Aribado and Ayssa Dalida said yesterday they’re dead set to end the country’s 12-year medal drought in ladies squash at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The Philippines has never won an individual medal in ladies squash in SEA Games history but collected five bronze medals in the team event since 1991. In contrast, the males have won three individual and six team bronze medals in the last 20 years.

At present, the national pool consists of two-time individual bronze medalist Robert Garcia, Richard Espinola, David Pelino, Reymark Begornia, Aribado and Dalida. They will spearhead the country’s quest for squash glory at the SEA Games in Jakarta next year.

For Aribado and Dalida, the experience in Guangzhou will go a long way in boosting their confidence when they face veterans in Jakarta. The world’s No. 1 ladies player Nicol David of Malaysia is reportedly skipping the SEA Games, leaving the door wide open for rising stars to ascend the throne.

National coach Jaime Ortua, who accompanied the teeners to Guangzhou, said lack of experience was evident in the way Aribado and Dalida lost their composure against seeded players. Aribado, 17, bowed to World No. 37 Joshna Chinappa of India, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4, in 19 minutes while Dalida, 18, was bounced by World No. 52 Misaki Kobayashi of Japan, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4, in 15 minutes. 

Aribado battled Chinappa, four inches taller, to a 6-6 tie before lapsing into unforced errors in the first set. It was also close in the early going of the second set but Chinappa, a whiz at concealing her shots, eventually wore out Aribado. The Filipina wilted in the third set.

“I put the ball deep into the back corners so she wouldn’t control the middle,” said Aribado. “But she kept hitting volley drops. She’s so much taller, making it easy to hide her shots. She used the force of her forearm instead of her wrist in hitting the ball. Sometimes, she just held out her racket without swinging and the ball went dead. I ran after her drops but I got frustrated when after I saved the point, she killed the next ball with a volley drop and nick.”

Dalida raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set as Kobayashi was caught with her guarddown. But the Japanese stormed back to break down Dalida.

Ortua filmed both players’ matches and also took videos of other pairings for study purposes.

 “Our players are young,” said Ortua. “Although they’ve played international juniors tournaments before, it was their first time playing seniors. I think they were surprised by the level of squash their opponents played. Now, they know what it’s like matching up against world-ranked players. They’re determined to train seriously. In 2010, squash didn’t get a single overseas trip before the Asian Games. Guangzhou was our first. It’s difficult to improve if you don’t compete against quality opposition abroad.”

Squash Rackets Association of the Philippines (SRAP) vice president Jovie Vilar said in 2011, there are plans to send the national pool to overseas tournaments in preparation for the SEA Games. It’s relatively inexpensive to expose local players to high-caliber squash because the sport has world-ranked stars in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore which are only a few hours’ plane ride away.

Squash recently got a shot in the arm when Sonia Trading managing director Anil Buxani provided the Asian Games players with top-of-the-line Asics indoor shoes, Asics sports bags, Asics shirts and Asics socks.

Last Saturday, the Philippine team expressed its gratitude by presenting Buxani with a hand painting of the Guangzhou mascot playing squash, a souvenir from the Asian Games, during a meeting at the Palms Country Club in Alabang.

Buxani promised to continue supporting the squash team. Vilar raised the possibility of a training camp for the players in India where squash is played at a high level.

For starters, Buxani has supplied the team with Asics shoes that are lightweight, durable, comfortable and protective. In a sport where players lunge and make split-second twists, shoes are critical.

Aside from footwear, Buxani said he will provide Gosen flat-gut racket strings, now under experimentation in soft tennis and tennis. Initial findings show that the Gosen technology improves power by 25 percent.

 “On our part, Sonia is committed to provide the equipment to help our players win,” said Buxani. “We want the players to use their indoor shoes only for competition and we will provide Asics shoes for other purposes. We’ll look into the players’ foot width and try to fit each shoe to their particular measurements. We expect the players to perform their best on the court so the least we can do is to provide them with the tools to get the job done.”

Vilar welcomed Sonia’s’ and Asics’ support for squash, saying he hopes the partnership will be a long relationship to extend beyond the SEA Games and into the next Asian Games.