India’s Veer Chotrani feels the inclusion of squash for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is a huge step for the sport and also presents himself and India an opportunity to bag an Olympic medal.
“It’s a huge step in the correct direction for the sport. We have been trying for the last 25 years and we did it finally. So, its very important that we made this decision and hopefully we have Indian representation at the Olympics. I’m hoping I’m one of them because. I’m trying my best to make it. Yeah if I can do that the goal is to try and win a medal for the country,” Chotrani stated in an interaction on the sidelines of the 79th CCI Western India Slam.
Elaborating on the qualification process for the Olympics, the second seed explained he is still unaware of the exact criteria.
“We actually still don’t know what our qualification process is going to be. But what I’ve heard is that we have to be within the top 35-40 in the world in the PSA rankings. So I think its two players per country in that ranking bracket. That is what I have heard. But it could change, we are still three and a half years away from it. Hoping that I am in that ranking bracket by then. So, to have a chance to make it. It’s all about working hard and trying to achieve.”
The 23-year-old felt its going to be challenging to make the cut for the Olympics given there are higher ranked Indian players as well.
‘It is going to be hard because we already have players ahead of me. So I’m No 4 now, we have Ramit Tandon, Abhay Singh, Velavan Senthilkumar. They are in front of me in the rankings and they also want to make it to the Olympics just like me. Only two of us can make it out of the four. And we all are going to try our best and lets see whoever gets there first,” he added.
Chotrani stated that his sole focus now is giving himself the best chance for the Olympics.
“My goal is to make the Olympics and that is my long-term goal. So whatever PSA tournaments I play now is to get my ranking up and move towards the top 50 bracket so I have a real shot in three and a half years time. Every single tournament is important, yes. Nothing is clear as of now. What I’ve heard is with regard to the rankings and if anything changes then we will see,” the India No 4 added.
Chotrani was also elated with India’s performance at the recently concluded World Team Championships in Hong Kong.
“We played the World Team Championships in Hong Kong where myself, Velavan, Abhay etc came fifth and that was our best ever finish at the World Championships for India. It was a historic achievement.”
The young lad was optimistic about the future of Indian squash considering the talent.
“We are definitely doing really well because like this last week was extremely important. It was a good step in the right direction for Indian squash. At the moment, its Abhay, Velavan, Ramit and myself in the top 100 of the world. Now that Suraj is also part of the team, its a good experience for him as well experiencing the world stage. What we did last week was phenomenal. We were seeded 12th and we finished fifth in the whole world. That was huge. The future is looking bright for sure, if 3-4 of us keep going in this direction,” he concluded.
