Defying age, Joshna Chinappa express chugs along

CHENNAI: At 39, when most athletes have already retired, Joshna Chinappa is showing no signs of stopping. On Monday, India’s evergreen squash star clinched her first PSA Challenger title in a decade, her 11th Tour title overall, with a win over Haya Ali in the final of the Japan Open.Joshna overcame players who were far younger and faster to come up trumps and break into the world top-100 after a long time. Talking to TOI on Tuesday, Joshna, currently ranked 87th in the world, said she didn’t enter the tournament expecting to win.“For many years, I’ve been playing only in big tournaments (world events). But obviously, with my ranking being very different today, I had to play these tournaments. The level of competition here was so incredibly high, I knew it was going to be tough.

But in the first couple of matches, I found myself feeling good, fit, and healthy. I felt maybe I could really do this,” the Chennai girl said.

But nothing came easy. At this stage of her career, Joshna feels recovery takes longer, motivation dips, and her body no longer lets her move from tournament to tournament the way it once did.“Some days I’m like age is just a number, and on some days I go: ‘My God, age is age!’ There are days I definitely feel my body is trying to catch up with my hunger and drive.

Especially in my late 30s, I found that recovery slows down a little, and motivation can drop as well. When you’re younger, you can do a lot more; bounce from training to training and tournament to tournament. I may have won this tournament, but I also know I’m not going to be able to do it tournament after tournament,” Joshna said.But as she comes towards the twilight of a glittering career, Joshna’s definition of success is also changing.

Her priority right now is a healthy, fit body.“Right now, for me, success is a healthy body and a healthy mind. My health is my priority, and as much as I love playing squash, it will not be at the cost of injuring myself or pushing myself too hard. That being said, I have planned only a couple of tournaments till the end of the year. I haven’t decided what I’ll do from next year onwards. But as long as I’m physically okay and able to compete at this level, I would love to play in the next Asian Games.

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