Express News Service
CHENNAI: When someone’s father is a former state footballer and a reputed coach, and their mother is a former international athlete, it’s only natural for them to take up sports growing up. Abhisheka Shannon David, who won the Tamil Nadu state squash championship in both the women and under-19 categories last week, is one such person.
The eighteen-year-old is following the footsteps of her parents, former Tamil Nadu player Robin Charles Raja and SAF games gold-winning athlete Angela Lincey Robin. But the journey hasn’t been easy.
With the whole of last season wiped out due to Covid and with no tournament in the horizon, squash players were short of match practice and court mobility and Abhisheka was no exception. Having multiple injuries didn’t help her either. Which is why, when she went on to win the state championship last week, it was a massive breakthrough for her.
“After a long break due to the pandemic, it was nice to compete once again. Also, last year was kind of really hard for me because I had a major injury after they opened the courts. And as soon as I recovered from that, I had the same injury again which was hard, mentally, more than at a physical level. But, I didn’t give up even though at times I felt so,” said an elated Abhisheka.
Playing after a long break, the Ethiraj College student needed some game-time to get into a rhythm. Taking part in both women’s and u-19 categories, Abhisheka had three matches on Thursday and two more finals on Friday. “Both my finals were a bit nerve wracking. In the girls Under-19 category, I played against Pooja Arthi. I lost the first game; then caught her in the next three. Then, after a short break, I played Rathika Suthanthira Seelan in the women’s final. I would say that was my hardest match in the tournament because I have never beaten her before and she was the top seed. But my hunger helped me tide over my nervousness,” she said.
Systemic coaching and training is very important for any athlete to excel. For Abhisheka, to be able to train at the Indian Squash and Triathlon Academy (ISTA), Chennai, one of the best training centers in the world, has been a blessing.
“I have been training there since I was six years old. We get to train in an all-glass court as well which is one of the very few available in India. My head coach is Cyrus Poncha; he’s been supportive. I train with Deepak Mishra, he has a separate schedule for me,” she said.
Former national coach and secretary general SRFI Cyrus Poncha has nothing but praise for Abisheka. He believes that she has tremendous potential to do well in the senior circuit. “Her strengths are movement on the court and the beautiful swing she has which makes her hit the ball very cleanly,’’ opined Cyrus Poncha.
Abhisheka, who won two gold (team and individual) SGFI nationals in 2020, credits her parents’ support, fitness trainer and sponsors for her growth. “My fitness trainer is Ramji Srinivasan at Sports Dynamix. He and his team have made me stronger and fitter,’’ she signed off.