VASCO: In the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2022, 14-year-old squash player Anahat Singh had the honour of being the youngest player to represent India.
We could soon see another young prodigy named Nimrit Kaur Pasricha, merely 12, to take international squash circuit by storm.
A student of Navy Children’s School in Vasco-da-Gama, she’s already attained a junior ranking of No. 2 at All India level and No. 4 in Asia.
Speaking to Herald, Nimrit gave credit of her success to parents, teachers and classmates for supporting her throughout.
“Since my early days, I was interested in sports and outdoor activities. My parents thought I would do very well in sports so they took me around to various sporting facilities available at the naval base and asked me to choose a sport of my choice. I found squash interesting and expressed my desire to pick up this sport,” Nimrit said.
Nimrit started playing squash at the age of 8 and now, at the age of 12, she has already become a national and international champion. How was this success achieved?
“This success has been possible due to support from my school parents, the Squash Association of Goa and my classmates. My teachers and my classmates help me in completing my lessons everytime I come back from playing a tournament. This has allowed me to play my game freely,” the young squash sensation said.
When asked about how she manages to keep herself physically fit and injury free considering that squash is a very physically enduring sport, Nimrit said, “I learnt from my coach that a proper warm-up is very important. I like to go for a run or cycling in the mornings to build my stamina. I really love cycling. I also play badminton as a side sport to keep myself energised,” she said.
About her future ambitions she said that her first aim is to be No.1 in Asia.
“There are some wonderful players from Malaysia, China and other South East Asian countries. I want to win the next Asian Juniors tournament. Anahat Singh is my very good friend and I do speak to her for tips on how to improve my game further,” she said.
Appreciating Nimrit for her achievements, her school Principal Anupama Mehra said that it was the school’s privilege to have a student like Nimrit.
“Nimrit has literally put Navy Children’s School on the global squash map. From the time she has started participating in squash tournaments, she has only brought laurels for the school. We feel very proud that she’s our student’ Mehra said.
The school principal said that the students are encouraged to participate in all kinds of sporting events. The children have been making a mark at national, state, district and taluka level in all types of sports, be it swimming, football, badminton or chess.
“Our students have excelled in all kinds of sports. We have a district champion in chess. We have a very healthy culture towards sports, academics, drama, oratory skills. We all feel that children who are able to balance extracurricular activities with studies, should be handheld in all possible ways,” she said.
