Creating champions

"He had a huge part to play in putting India on the world squash map. It cannot be denied that Poncha has produced 14 national and five international players at the Squash Academy here,” said Walter Devaram, executive vice chairman of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. Devaram was speaking in Madras on September 2, 2005 while felicitating national squash coach Cyrus Poncha on his receiving the Dronacharya Award 2004 for coaching.

Instituted in 1985 by the Government of India, the Drona­charya Award honors eminent coaches who have done "outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis… for raising the standards of sportspersons to highest performance in international events.” Each awardee receives a cash prize, a bronze statue of Dronacharya, a scroll, a suit, a blazer and a tie. [The award is named after Dronacharya, the legendary guru (teacher) and master archer who taught the Kaurava and Pandava princes and others the skills of archery.] "It was a wonderful function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29. I am truly honored to receive this Award,” Madras-based Poncha told Parsiana. At 29, Poncha becomes the youngest coach to have achieved this distinction.

Poncha has nurtured many a talented youngster, changing them from contender to champion. India’s name, hitherto virtually unknown on the international squash stage, has been carried into the forecourt, not only at the Asian level, but on the European and world circuit as well. "I am a squash freak; body and soul. If I am not working out at the courts, I am thinking of squash,” Poncha writes in his column "Cyrus Calls,” posted on the website http://indiansquash.net/cyrus.htm

After six years of playing at the national level, Poncha took to coaching in Bombay, primarily at Bandra’s Otters Club. He achieved the rare distinction of being appointed the national coach in 1998, when he was but 22 years old, becoming also the youngest national coach in Asia. "I got the opportunity to shift to Madras in 2001. I had no idea what was in store for me – but with faith in the Federation [Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI)] and the desire to achieve excellence, I decided to give it a shot,” Poncha told the gathering at the felicitation function. Poncha is a Level Three coach (the highest level in India).

1st row: President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (left) presents Poncha the Award, Ghosal (dark shirt) in action; 2nd row: Poncha (extreme left) with Chinappa (adjacent) and Indian team members with Ghosal (holding cup) at the British Junior Open, Roshan and Cyrus Poncha display the statuette

From 2001, Poncha has been the head coach at the ICL (India Cements Limited) Squash Academy in Madras, run under the auspices of the SRFI. "The launch of the ICL Academy has been the best thing to have happened for squash in India. From a club preserve, squash today is a vibrant sport and with the structured training being given under Major S. Maniam, the consultant coach from Malaysia and the national coach Cyrus Poncha, results have begun to show at the international level. Names like Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa are right there at the top… and they happen to be prized trainees at the Academy,” leading sports journal Sportstar had reported in its issue of January 8-14, 2005.

As national coach/coach, Poncha has guided teams who have participated at the World Doubles Championship, World Championships (Women), Commonwealth, Asian and SAF (South Asian Federation) Games, as well as World Juniors, Asian Seniors and Juniors, in Pakistan, Malaysia, Europe, Egypt, Singapore, Hongkong… When Ghosal won the prestigious British Junior Open title last year, he was but the second Indian to do so – after a gap of 34 years! Chinappa was queen of the court when she become the British Junior Open under 17 champion in 2003 and won the same title in the under 19 in 2005 as well. Both Ghosal and Chinappa have smashed the top 75 barriers in the PSA (Professional Squash Association) world rankings, with Chinappa on No 62 and Ghosal on No 72 (as of September 2005). Ritwik Bhattacharya, though not an Academy trainee, has been part of the national team and has a world ranking of 62. Setting the pace for upcoming youngsters is 14-year-old Deepika Pallikal who with skill and sweat has already annexed the French, Dutch, Scottish and German Junior Open titles in different age categories. Harinderpal Singh, Anwesha Reddy, Siddharth Suchde, Ramit Tandon, Vaidehi Reddy… figure among individual champions.

While commending Sania Mirza for her tennis achievements, Poncha notes: "She has become a superstar overnight. Our squash players on the other hand toil for years and don’t seem to get that sort of recognition… Their achievements at the World Doubles (referring to Bhattacharya and Ghosal’s silver medal at the world tournament in Madras in December 2004) passed us by so quickly. No fanfare, no accolades, no recognition other than from a few hardcore squash enthusiasts.”

But no sooner had the Dronacharya Award been announced in late August that Chinappa, talented but temperamental and now 19 years old, whipped a cross court volley at Poncha, accusing him of not being her coach and "of misusing her name.” Reacting sharply to the criticism, SRFI general secretary N. Ramachandran issued a statement strongly rebutting her allegations: "Joshna has been training at the ICL Squash Academy from August 2002 to January 2005 under national coach Poncha and consultant coach Maniam. She had attended every SRFI camp under Poncha’s supervision.” For her to now state otherwise is a travesty of the truth, he continued. "The records of Chinappa’s daily training schedule for the last four years are available for perusal,” Ramachandran asserted, while producing before presspersons in Madras copies of letters written by Joshna’s father Anjan to the SRFI as far back as December 2000 and January 2001, as well as by Joshna herself in May this year, thanking Poncha for his guidance and SRFI for its support.

"Joshna has been training with me on and off for various individual or team championships since 1999, and full-time at the Academy from August 2002 to January 2005,” Poncha stated in an e-mail response to Parsiana’s query regarding the controversy. Her "prodigious talents” had been nurtured and fine-tuned at the Academy, but success at the junior level has "given her a few airs and she behaves in an ungrateful manner towards the very people who developed her from a budding junior to a world class squash player,” Poncha believes.

Roshan and Cyrus at their engagement with parents Roshan and Mehli Poncha (left of picture) and Dolly and Hoshang Nanavati (right)

Chinappa herself had, in an interview with Shobha Warrier posted on the website rediff.com in 2003, acknowledged the coaches’ contribution to her game. Chinappa told Warrier that she had played her best squash at the British Open 2003 and that the presence of Maniam and Poncha had helped her game "a lot. My fitness had improved at least by eight percent. Mentally also, I became much stronger.”

Chinappa has been misled by a group of persons "who are interested in creating controversies,” Poncha asserts. Joining the joust for media attention was a body known as the Indian Squash Professionals, as well as snooker player Yasin Merchant and ex hockey player Joachim Carvalho who did not get the Award. The SRFI has forwarded documentary evidence to the ministry of sports and youth affairs to reiterate that Poncha was a worthy winner.

Poncha is also on the World Squash Federation Seeding Panel for World Junior Women 2005 and was on the same panel in 2003 and 2001. He is on the coaching committee, 2000-2008, of the Asian Squash Federation (ASF). In February 2005, he was adjudged ASF Junior Coach of the Year 2004 and had earned that distinction the previous year as well. The Madras Parsi Zarathosti Anjuman conferred on Poncha on August 25, 2005 the F. B. Taraporewala Award which is given each year for outstanding achievement/excellence in any field.

Fond of movies and Western music, Poncha did his BCom from Bombay University in 1997. His parents Roshan and Mehli reside in Bombay. "My parents, brother and family have always given me the moral support required to pursue squash as a career. Not many parents in India allow their children to give up higher education for sport,” he says. Poncha also commends his other "priceless award” – his wife Roshan (nee Nanavati) whom he married last November and thanks her for her "unconditional love and support.” "Cyrus is a cool-headed person,” opines mother Roshan. "We are all very proud of him.”

"Talent is extremely common. Disciplined talent is rare. A talented junior sportsperson needs the maturity to make the shift from junior to senior ranks,” Poncha states. "To me the Squash Academy has been the greatest boon for Indian squash. With the vision of the SRFI, coupled with world class infrastructure and staff, I am confident in time we will produce many world class squash players.”