For Vasundhara Nangare, sky's the limit: 14-year-old reaches national squash squad after training on broken court

14-yr-old honed squash skills by watching YouTube videos, practised on cemented court with broken wallsNEW DELHI: Vasundhara Nangare grew up in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district in a region where enrolling a child professionally in a sport discipline was rarely given a thought.Most people in her area were associated with agriculture, or did small jobs.

Vasundhara’s interest in sports developed when she saw her elder sister travel nearly 60 km daily to receive formal squash training in a nearby town.

Her sister eventually gave up her sports dream to support the family financially. But Vasundhara did not let her dream of becoming a sportsperson fade away.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!She began learning squash by watching YouTube videos and practicing on a cement court with broken walls in Kalamb, a small town.

Without any formal training, coaching support or infrastructure, the 14-year-old made it to India’s national squad in age-group tournaments — proof that with the right focus and determination, even the remotest corners of India can produce world-class athletes.Today, Vasundhara is ranked No. 1 in the under-15 category. She recently won an under-17 all-India event, besides the 79th CCI Western India Slam.“I received no formal training in squash. It all began in 2019 when I started watching YouTube videos to learn squash.

I come from the small town of Kalamb, where there’s no sports infrastructure. My father is a govt school teacher with a limited source of income. Our neighbours, the Shinde family, came up with a makeshift cemented squash court which was covered with broken walls. I started practising there with other kids.

I had no other choice as travelling 50-60km to train at a squash academy in some other city wasn’t a financially viable option.

Initially, I would simply hit the rubber ball hard. There was no technique, momentum or direction involved. But after Abhinav Sinha sir visited my hometown and started giving me proper squash training, things changed. I became a better player,” Vasundhara told TOI.Sinha is a former India squash player with coaching experience of more than two decades. He has mentored several top athletes in the country through his foundation, Chance to Sports, which identified and supported Vasundhara.

He is also a World Squash Federation (WSF)-certified coach.“Because of the support extended to me, I have been able to fulfill my squash dreams. Now, I train on the squash courts of Khar Gymkhana in West Mumbai for 2-3 days. On remaining days, I still practise on the cemented court back home. I still watch YouTube videos to finetune my game because there’s no full-time coach available in Kalamb. Whenever a tournament comes up, I come to Mumbai to train for a week or so.

It’s been a difficult journey, but I am thankful for the support extended by Abhinav sir’s foundation,” she said.Vasundhara will be next seen playing the Indian Junior Open, an international squash event to be held in Jaipur next month. “My long-term goal is to play at the senior level and compete at the next Olympics,” said Vasundhara who stunned top seed Devashree Arora in the semifinals of the girls U-17 category at the Maharashtra State Open squash championships recently.