Sports

Squash in Chennai: Indian Squash Academy, Events and Courts

Chennai hosted India's first Squash World Cup win. The Indian Squash Academy behind it, the national and PSA events it hosts, and where locals can play.

19 October 2026

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Updated 2026-10-29, 2:05 AM

India won its first Squash World Cup in Chennai on 14 December 2025, beating top seeds Hong Kong in the final at Express Avenue mall. Joshna Chinappa, Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh won the deciding matches, with national champion Velavan Senthilkumar the fourth member of the team, The Bridge reported. A day earlier the team had beaten defending champions Egypt 3-0 in the semi-final, News On AIR reported.

The event used a glass show court in a shopping mall, but most of the work behind it happens at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA), the training centre that has produced almost every top Indian player of the past two decades. Here is what the academy is, what it hosts and how a Chennai player can use the courts.

The Indian Squash Academy

The ISA’s first three courts were built in 2000, and structured training began in 2002, The Bridge reported in a profile of the academy. The academy has since grown to two complexes:

One with three glass-backed courts and another with four, which can be converted into two doubles courts.
A four-sided ASB glass court, imported from Germany, which seats 500 and allows television coverage from every angle.

N. Ramachandran, former president of the World Squash Federation and patron of the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI), is credited as the force behind the ISA. National coach Cyrus Poncha joined in 2001. The academy says it has produced 62 national champions across age groups, and Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu all trained there.

The state also runs its own squash facilities. The government’s 2023-24 sports policy note lists air-conditioned indoor squash courts at SDAT’s Integrated Sports Complex, and the 2024-25 note names a Tamil Nadu Squash Racket Academy in Chennai among the state’s specialised academies. The same note records that Tamil Nadu’s squash players won three gold and four bronze medals at the Khelo India Youth Games 2023, which the state hosted.

What the academy hosts

The ISA is the default venue for national squash events held in Tamil Nadu. Recent fixtures include:

When	Event
July 2026	HCL Squash PSA Challenger, Chennai
December 2025	Tournament won by Velavan Senthilkumar and Anahat Singh
November 2025	Sub-Junior and Junior National Squash Championship
May 2025	HCL Doubles Squash Nationals

The dates above come from DT Next’s coverage of the academy. At the July 2026 PSA Challenger, held at the ISA, Malaysia’s Joachim Chuah won the men’s title and Egypt’s Rouqaia Othman the women’s, IANS reported. Six Indians had reached the quarter-finals.

Bigger team events tend to move to a show court in a public space. Chennai has now hosted the Squash World Cup twice: in June 2023, with eight countries at Express Avenue, according to the 2024-25 policy note, and again in December 2025. The 2025 edition was backed by the Tamil Nadu government and the Union sports ministry, with SDAT and SRFI involved, Squash Mad reported.

Playing squash in Chennai

For a Chennai player, there are three main ways onto a court:

Academy coaching. The ISA runs training for juniors with an eye on national ranking events. Contact the academy for trial and batch details; it does not publish fees online.
SDAT courts. SDAT’s squash courts are open to members under its venue membership system. Check rates at the venue office or on sdat.tn.gov.in.
Clubs. Several private and members’ clubs in the city have squash courts, often with coaches attached.

Players who want to compete register with SRFI through the state association to enter ranking tournaments. Many of those tournaments are held at the ISA itself, so local juniors can build ranking points without travelling far.

Quick answers

Did India win the Squash World Cup in Chennai?

Yes. India beat Hong Kong in the final on 14 December 2025 at Express Avenue, the country’s first World Cup title.

When was the Indian Squash Academy built?

Its first three courts were built in 2000, and structured training started in 2002.

Which top players trained at the ISA?

Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, among others.

Can adults learn squash in Chennai?

Yes. SDAT courts are available to members, and private clubs and coaches offer adult sessions.

Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.