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Three young Indian squash players, Anika Dubey from Pune, Akanksha Gupta from Thane, and Vasundhara Nangare from Kalamb, have successfully cleared the SRFI Selection Round for the 33rd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships, scheduled to be held in Panzhihua, China, in May 2026.
According to a release, the trio was selected under the Kanga Kids programme by Chance2Sports. Vasundhara Nangare, who hails from Kalamb in Ahmednagar district, had no prior competitive exposure but finished third at the Under-15 Asian Junior Trials at the age of 13. She is now in contention once again to represent India at the continental level. Anika Dubey, a 15-year-old from Pune, is already one of India's most decorated junior squash players. She won a bronze medal in the Under-17 category at the 32nd Asian Junior Individual Championships in 2025, becoming the only player from Pune and one of the few from Maharashtra to achieve such a feat. Her return to the selection round this year reflects a steadily building career that started on public courts and now reaches the continental stage, the release said. Akanksha Gupta from Thane completes the trio. She has progressed steadily through the domestic circuit, representing India at previous Asian Junior Championships, and returned this year with the experience and composure of an athlete familiar with high-stakes selections. The Road to the Asian Junior Championships: Clearing the SRFI Selection Round is a significant achievement. Players qualify based on national ranking points earned across domestic events such as the Sub-Junior and Junior Nationals, the Indian Junior Open, and Khelo India Youth Games. Selection matches, held at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai under SRFI and SAI supervision, involve head-to-head competitions for a place in the probable squad, the release said. (ANI)
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