Squash is the oldest tournament in India, the Western India Championships had its origin in the Army cantonment of Deolali, 200 km from Mumbai. The first Services Championships were held in 1927 and were won by Capt ESJ Birnie of Sam Browne's Cavalry.
The Services, in particular the Indian Army, have contributed greatly to the development and proliferation of Squash all over India, especially in the remotest parts of the country. Some of the best players produced by India have been from the Services and the trend continues to this day. The Indian Navy can take pride in its beautiful stale of the art, seaside twin glass back Squash stadium complex in Navy Nagar, Colaba, arguably one of the finest in the country. Every Air Force station has a squash court to ensure all the pilots get their opportunity of physical exercise to keep them fit, mentally and physically, for arduous flying duties. The Army due to its large size has naturally stolen a march over its sister services and provided some superbly gifted squash players to the nation.
The most legendary figure ever to grace the Indian Squash scene, Raj Manchanda who started making his presence felt as a Captain from the EME, but it was as a Major that he achieved greatness through his exploits on the Squash Court. He was Services Champion for an unprecedented 11 times (a record not likely to be broken) and won 6 straight National open titles from 1977 to 1982. He also represented India in Asian Championships and World level tournaments during this period and made his presence felt through his patented use of the lob accompanied by a nagging accuracy of shots all around he court. He was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 1983.
Another notable player to emerge from the Services in the early 1980s was Capt Narjit Singh of 2nd Lancers (Armoured Corps). Narjit also holds the unique distinction of representing India in 6 successive Asian Championships from 1980-1990, which is a record.
The early eighties also saw in action the never say die Paratrooper from 17 Para Fd Arty, Major Vikas Kapoor who was ranked in the top four in India at this time and represented India in an Asian Championship at Jordan, 1986.
The other Services players to make a mark at this period were Capt LK Agnihotri, Capt Ashun Behl and who did well to make it in the top 8 of the rankings in India and were important members of Services teams for many years.
The late eighties saw fresh talent from the Services in the form of Capt. Ravinder Malik and Arjan Singh. Malik did remarkably well to win two back to back India today titles and represented India in the South Asian Federation games at Islamabad in 1989. Malik was Services champion from 1982 and in 1996 and accompanied the Indian team to the Cairo World Squash Championships (1995) as coach.
The early nineties belonged to Capt Arjan Singh who was Services Champion from 1991 to 1993 and National Champion from 1994 to 1996.
Represented India in Asian Championships in 1990, 1994 and 1996 and World Championship at Cairo, Egypt in 1995. He has left the Army now to seek greener pastures outside. Also prominent at this time was Lt Akshay Joshi of the Navy who represented India in the Asian Championships in Malaysia in 1996.
Some other notable players who were part of Services teams in the eighties & nineties were Capt A Ganguli, Capt IS Bains and Maj KJ Vohra (retired as Lt Col).
The Late nineties saw Capt Rajdeep Brar coming into his own and dominating proceedings at the Services and national Level. Brar, won Services Championships in a row from 1995-1999. He was part of Indian teams for Asian Championships in 1992 and 1996.(Jordan) and also played as India No 2 in the World team Squash Championships at Cairo, Egypt in 1995. This gutsy Paratrooper from the Army Ordinance Corps used his never say die spirit and physical ability to the Stretch World No 10 Zarak Jahan Khan (Defending Asian champion) of Pakistan to five games and almost beat him in the Asian Championships at Jordan. This ranks as probably the finest performance by an Indian against a top players in recent times. Brar was also coach of the Indian Junior Squash team from 1995-1996 and coached the Juniors to the 15th position in the World Junior Championships in Egypt (1996) which is the best ever achieved by the juniors.
History of Squash in Armed forces
And I assure you that these people were not playing Squash 24 x7. They also had to do their official duties for which they joined the Army.
In the Army, one has to pass Promotion Exams to get the ranks and one who is merely playing games and not doing his service work can hardly expect to be capable of passing Promotion Exams.
It is not like the IAS where merely the years decide promotion.
