The BOSM English Press (BEP) sat down with Kaushal Kirpekar, the Captain of the Squash team for BOSM 2022. The game of squash consists of a squash court, a racket and a squash ball. It is played with two players, and the game begins when one player serves the ball from the serving square. The goal for both players is to hit the ball as far out of reach as possible from the other player, and the last person to successfully hit the wall during a rally wins a point. Squash matches must be won by two points and are played to a maximum of 11. The game continues if the score is 10–10 until one player prevails by two points. Typically, competition games are played as “best-of-five” games (i.e. the first player to win three games).
When asked about his experience as the captain, Kaushal said that he was excited for and looking forward to his first BOSM. All the team members have been giving their 100 percent on the court and hope to win. It is no doubt that balancing academics and sports is no easy feat at the moment, and Kaushal mentioned that he pushed himself to keep going, and manage daily, rigorous practice for the two months before BOSM. The squash team has been practicing everyday for 3 hours, and they have also hired a coach to fine-tune their techniques. He added that his interactions with the institute and the CoSSAc have been pleasant, the planning and execution has been smooth and the team has not faced any issues.
The recruitments for the squash team take place every semester, and all batches are welcome to try out. Kaushal explained that Ashoka University and IIT Delhi were their major rivals in the previous editions of BOSM, and they were hoping to compete with new teams this year. During the 2019 tournament, the Squash team of Pilani came third, and Kaushal aims to bring home the trophy this year, adding that the team is strong and they have a very good chance of winning. Signing off, he said that squash is not very popular, and he hopes more people would watch their matches and learn more about this exciting sport.