NEW DELHI (India): The Squash and Racket Federation of India (SRFI) has decided to cancel the upcoming Sub-Junior/Junior National Squash Championship 2020 due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournaments were slated in Mumbai from October 31 but SRFI’s general secretary Cryus Poncha said in a press release that risk associated with travelling for young players and their accompanying parents and coaches remains, forcing them to take the call.
“The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) regrets to announce the cancellation of the Sub- Junior/Junior National Squash Championship 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in India,” Cyrus was quoted as saying.
Notably, many states haven’t allowed the squash players to return to courts due to the nature of the sport being played inside a courtroom, making social distancing difficult and SRFI has always maintained they are willing to wait till it’s safe for the players to return to the court.
“This is indeed disappointing news for the squash fraternity at large. However, after a lot of deliberation and keeping the safety of all stakeholders; players, coaches, parents, officials, spectators and support staff in mind, the SRFI has decided to cancel this year’s Sub-Junior/Junior National Squash Championship.”
However, SRFI has encouraged organisers to host local tournaments if permitted by their respective governments while restricting districts two tournaments from December onwards.
“The SRFI, however, is encouraging organisers to conduct intra district/city or state closed tournaments in states that have permitted the opening up of their sporting facilities. Districts can host a maximum of 2 tournaments from December 2020 onwards,” the release added.
