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The countdown has begun to what is set to be a landmark moment in Squash in India. Indian Open 2025, India's first-ever PSA Squash Copper tournament, with a prize purse of USD 53,500. The Indian Open 2025 will commence on March 24, with the finals scheduled for the 28th at the Bombay Gymkhana. The competition will begin on the indoor courts, with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final set to be played on a full-glass outdoor court, offering fans a unique experience, as per the PSA press release.
The India Open is even more significant for the Indian sports fraternity as it welcomes back a major squash tournament to the country after a seven-year hiatus. Coincidentally, squash is set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games. The return of top-level squash in India with the India Open was announced in the presence of Manisha Malhotra, President, Inspire Institute of Sports, Divyanshu Singh, COO Sports, Ramit Tandon (India No 1 in Men's Squash) and Anahat Singh (India No 3 in Women's Squash). This tournament will see top Indian squash players such as Ramit Tandon, Velavan Senthilkumar, Veer Chotrani, Anahat Singh, and Akanksha Salunkhe take the court alongside some talented international athletes from France, Spain, Holland, Egypt, Canada, England, and USA, Malaysia, and Japan among other countries. Both the men's and women's draws will see a total of 24 players each, with India's Ramit Tandon and Akanksha Salunkhe going in as the top seeds. Meanwhile, India's Suraj Kumar Chand and Anjali Semwal are the two Wild Card entries at the India Open. Manisha Malhotra, President of IIS, said as quoted by the PSA press release, "We are delighted to be able to bring squash back to India at the highest level. Sports like squash need to see the return of circuits at the state and national levels. Through such events, we have to promote and support our players, and they need to learn how to play bigger events. From an Indian perspective, it's definitely a sport we can dominate, so this will be a good opportunity for us. Divyanshu Singh, COO of JSW Sports, stated, "We are trying to develop an ecosystem when it comes to the business of sport in India. It is dominated by cricket, but our endeavour is to change that and promote other Indian sports. Very luckily, Indian squash has six players in the top 100, which is a phenomenal achievement already. There is great optimism that going forward up to LA2028, these athletes will shine for India and we are here to get them on the spot." "From a marketing perspective, our endeavour is to raise the profile of the players and to raise the popularity of the sport," he added. When asked about his thoughts on the tournament, India No. 1 Ramit Tandon said, "It's always good to play at home. I think in India, we don't get the opportunity to do it enough, so I'm very thankful to JSW and everyone involved who has made this possible. Especially with the Olympics coming up, our PSA rankings are going to be crucial, and home-court advantage is something Indians don't really get at the top level. Since this is the biggest squash event ever to be hosted in India, it's important to reach out to more people and get more eyeballs on the sport. I think it's a beautiful thing to have some more sports events within the country, so I'm excited." India No. 3 Anahat Singh stated, "This will be one of the bigger tournaments for me up till now and getting to play in India as well as being able to play with so many international players is going to be wonderful. Especially for me, it's really important for my ranking and getting to play at home rather than travelling outside the country so much." (ANI)
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