The BOSM English Press sat down with Kartik Rao, the Captain of the Squash team, to understand more about the game and the team’s preparations for the upcoming fest. 

Squash is an individual sport. Played on a four-walled court, participants hit a small rubber ball against the front wall and tried to get it to bounce twice before their opponent could return it. Points are won when the latter doesn’t happen or the opposing player fails to return the ball. The first player to score eleven points wins the game. The concept of a deuce, seen in sports like volleyball and table tennis, features in squash as well.

Kartik explained that the team is hard at work currently. Practicing becomes an issue with twelve players on the squad and only one court. To ensure that all players get sufficient court time, they practice in various time slots. Apart from just playing the game, the team also exercises twice a week in Gym-G, focusing on their physical fitness. Kartik added that he was quite confident in his team. He mentioned that although they had lost to IIT Kanpur last year in an outstation tournament, he was sure that they’d beat them now. The team’s other major competitors include SRCC and Sri Venkateswara College.

When asked about his experience as a captain, Kartik said that it was all possible because of his team, who supported him in every way. His love for the sport enables him to balance academics and squash well enough for him to not feel that there’s ‘anything that needs to be balanced.’

Mentioning that his interactions with the CoSSAc had been very helpful, informative, and pleasant, the captain signed off by urging more people to pick up the sport, especially girls. He expressed regret that the college does not currently have a girls’ squash team, which he hoped would change in the future.