FOLLOWING ISP’S EXAMPLE  

At the Press Conference held at Oberoi Hotel, Mumbai, Joshna Chinnappa along with (from left to right): Mahendra Agarwal (Founder Director, ISP) Ms Noreena (PRO, ISP), Amit Bhatia (Trustee, Mittal Champions Trust) and Mahesh Bhupati.  

Indian Squash Professionals led the way. Now it is good to see others taking things forward. When she was just hitting headlines ISP, led by Mahendra Agarwal, had found her a sponsor for Joshna in Switcher, the T-shirts people. When she was having trouble with the national federation it was ISP that moved the sports ministry and the late sports minister Sunil Dutt to release Rs 6 lakhs for her coaching abroad and reward for her achievements in International events 2003 ahead of the world juniors. Joshna finished No 2 and wrote history. 

Now the father can heave a sigh of relief. London-based steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal announced in November the launch of the Mittal Champions Trust in order to identify, support and enhance the performance of young Indian sportsmen. The trust will invest Rs 40 crore to provide a set of chosen youngsters with the highest quality training for their respective sports. The sportsmen will be identified from three age brackets: 10-12, 13-17 & 17 and above. The plan is to focus on sports where there is a paucity of funds. The first beneficiary of this endeavors is teen squash sensation Joshna Chinappa. The second is badminton player Saina Nehwal.The athletes will be selected by an advisory board comprising shuttler P Gopi Chand and athlete Anju Bobby George. Rahul Dravid, captain of the Indian cricket team, is one of the trustees. The trust plans to take on all sports-related expenses of the athlete which include training, competitions, fitness and nutritional requirements. 

Joshna is the first beneficiary of Lakshmi Mittal's initiative. At the function a beaming Anjan Chinappa said:``I am happy for Joshna. but I cannot forget those who stood by her during her climb to the top, Mahendra Agarwal (ISP), SRAM, Late Raju Chainani, Switcher and Late Mr. Sunil Dutt (Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs).

SCOTTISH JUNIOR OPEN SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP 2005

India finishes with 4 runner ups, Anaka wins Title.

Indian players finished with 3 runner-up positions with Abhishek Pradhan losing unexpectedly to David Wardle (Eng) in 3 staraight games after leading 5-0 in the first. His nerves got the better of him as he squandered 9 points in a row to lose the first game. He lost 5-9, 7-9, 6-9 to finish Runner-up in the Boys Under-13 section. In the Boys Under-11, Arjun could not match the strength and speed of Ahmed Ashoush (Egypt) and lost 9-0, 9-2, 9-0.

Sachika Balwani, hoping to repeat her title winning performance of last year, lost to a much improved A. Anaka (India) 0-9, 2-9, 5-9 in the girls Under-13.

INTERNATIONAL RESULTS 

Qatar Squash Classic, Doha, Qatar (28/11/2005)

Men's final:[8] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [3] David Palmer (AUS) 11-1, 11-7, 11-7
Women's final: [2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [6] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 9-7, 9-4, 9-2

Malaysian Open Squash Championship, (19/11/2005) 

Final: [3] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [4] Wael El Hindi (EGY)  11-10 (3-1), 11-6, 8-11, 11-7

US Open Squash Championships, Boston, USA (09/11/2005)

Men's Final: [3] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [2] David Palmer (AUS)   11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-1, 11-8
Women's Final:[1] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [2] Vicky Botwright (ENG)    9-7, 9-10, 9-3, 9-4