Squash – ed

Since, I can’t play tennis these days, I have started the next best thing-Squash. There are two main reasons for that :

1. It is like Tennis ( ie hitting a ball with a racquet). I try to ignore the fact that the feeling is not quite as the lawn tennis.

2. It is a great exercise and calorie burner. Of course, since I mostly practice alone, I am not playing full throttle most of the time and therefore do not burn as many calories as I should.

But still, since the time I have started( which will be two weeks now), I dedicate about one hour daily to this sport and I have to say that I am loving it. It is refreshing.Clears the head and tones the body.

When I started, I expected the ball to bounce like just the tennis ones. You can understand why I never was able to take even one shot in the first few minutes. After I adjusted to the bounce, there was this question of running around the court. Now, I am inherently, genetically, bodily, mentally, any-ly, a lazy bum. So moving around in any sport is a problem for me but this time I challenged myself to take low shots, far away shots and run basically. After two weeks, today, I found that I am improving in the movement department. I am finding my feet under myself. I presume that in about a week or so, I will be able to play a match for half an hour. As of now, I have done horrible in matches, losing one by 9-0, 9-3.

Sometimes, people, who are visiting the court come and see me hit the ball. It is embarassing to say the least. Just as soon as I realize someone is watching, I am unable to hit it well. Spectator nervousness. Although that was before. Now, I am as shameless as one could be. So, I play bad. So what?

Anyway, I did not know much about squash . I mean I had never heard about any of its players or tournaments. So, I searched on the internet and you tube. Found out that Jonathan Power is a great squash player. Joshna Chinappa from India does very well and British Open ( or something like it) is a very coveted tournament.

Squash is not exactly a spectator sport. I mean, the viewers only get to see the player’s behinds and the ball is so small too and the game is played so fast also. I mean, the enthusiasts obviously enjoy it, but for general public, it is a little difficult game to follow. I have heard that Pakistan produces some great squash players. The culture for squash is very good there. For the most part, it is a club game since the courts are to be found in clubs only as it cannot be played in an open field.

I am loving it. Every evening I look forward to hitting the ball and sweating out the worries and the weariness and the boredom.