2020 bid fuels squash frenzy

There’s a slim chance that squash, called the healthiest sport by Forbes.com, will make it to the Olympic calendar in 2020 but whether it’s voted in or not, the bid is creating a frenzy of tournaments all over the world and the Philippines isn’t spared from the craze.

Squash nearly got the nod for the 2012 London Games but while the majority in the IOC Congress agreed, the rule called for a 2/3 vote and it fell short. Squash and karate would’ve been included if only a simple majority was required. At the time, the IOC Congress deliberated on which sports to replace baseball and softball. Other candidates were golf, roller sports and rugby 7s.

For the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the IOC Congress agreed to replace the 2/3 rule with a simple majority. Squash and karate were considered shoo-ins but in a shocker, golf and rugby 7s made it instead. For the 2020 Olympics, only one sport will be introduced to replace wrestling which was previously excluded but remains a candidate. Aside from wrestling, other sports under consideration are squash, karate, baseball, softball, wakeboarding, roller sports, wushu and sportclimbing.

The IOC Executive Board will meet in St. Petersburg next month to trim the candidate sports from nine to three or four. AIBA president Dr. Wu Ching-Kuo, an Executive Board member, said squash could be among the three or four to be elevated for final judgment by the IOC Congress in Buenos Aires in September. Dr. Wu, who plays squash himself, said the sport’s limitation is a court which does not appeal to a large viewing audience. A portable four-sided transparent court lends itself only to a small crowd and angles are viewed differently depending on a spectator’s seat. Still, the bid for 2020 is alive and even tennis star Roger Federer, who played squash as a boy, has publicly announced his support to include it in the Olympics.

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In the country, squash is governed by the Squash Rackets Association of the Philippines (SRAP) whose president is former POC secretary-general Romy Ribano. The SRAP Board of Trustees is composed of Ribano, Boyong Deles as vice president, Allan Tantoco as secretary-general and Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez, Jovie Vilar and Tet Manalac as members. The SRAP is recognized by the POC and PSC as the national sports association for squash. Last year, a group of squash players formed the Philippine Squash Academy (PSA) to do parallel events with the SRAP. The PSA Board of Directors is made up of Bobby Bachmann as president, Romy Dona as vice president, Vince Abad Santos as secretary-general, Sanjeep Gopaldas as treasurer, Dondi Verano as PRO and Bong Recio, Stephen Gan, Joey Mabilangan, Lorenzo Lichauco and Jun Paganpan as directors.

“The PSA will strive to collaborate with all stakeholders in the Philippine squash community, including the SRAP, key club programs, top coaches, regional and national organizations and corporate supporters,” said Bachmann. Among the PSA projects are a coaching and training program for clubs and schools, four individual tournaments, the Dave Puyat Memorial Cup for teams, La Salle vs Ateneo, the revival of a national junior pool and the development of a seniors squad to represent the country at the 2014 Asian Games and 2015 Southeast Asian Games.

To kick off the year’s calendar, the PSA recently staged the Elite 8 tournament under the supervision of Pro Squash Asia Pacific tour director Kenneth Tuttle at the Makati Sports Club. In the finals, Robert Garcia downed Richard Espinola, 9-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-2. David Pelino, 19, beat Reymark Begornia, 20, for third place, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8. Lydio Espinola swept Paolo Gomez, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3, for fifth and Bachmann topped Mabilangan, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 for seventh. 

Then, the SRAP held the first leg of the season at the Manila Polo Club with Garcia claiming the open title, Manesh Mahtani the closed championship (for club players only) and Sinzia Croce the women’s crown. Garcia defeated archrival Richard Espinola, 13-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-13, 11-8 in the open finals. On the way to the throne, Garcia upended Ed Aguinaldo, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 and Ricky Espinola, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 14-12. Mahtani outlasted Dudo Vaca, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, for the closed title. Speedo’s chief operating officer beat Vilar, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 in the semifinals. Croce toppled Milet Narciso, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 for the women’s championship. She tripped Patrice Diaz, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4 and De Leon-Gonzalez, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 en route to the finals. 

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The first leg drew a big turnout of players including Bachmann, Romy Quinto, Gil and Gary Coscolluela, Yohoo Villanueva, Nilo Mapa, Vince Arellano, J. C. Chavanon, Gilly Gomez, John Paul Mangahis, Ogs Cruz, Anshukant Taneja, Peter Hager, Mabilangan, Tantoco, Ames Legarda, Tommy Villanueva and Mario Shinghal. Women players included Margot Garcia, Nikki Santos, Lourdes Guerrero and Mia Kat Gervacio.

At the Palms Country Club, a four-team blitz tournament was won by a squad made up of Greg Andrews, Croce, Bern Winter and Bachmann two weekends back. Second place went to a team composed of Dr. Red Roces, Sung Luck Lee, Dona and Wolfgang Raborcan. Julien Bello, Aernot Tierie, Guillermo Aponte and Vilar comprised the team that took third while Rod Bacani, Verano, Chavanon and Mahtani brought up the rear. Each match was a best-of-three affair and 11 went the full route with Aponte’s 11-10, 4-11, 11-10 win over Chavanon and Croce’s 11-10, 10-11, 11-10 thriller over Verano the highlights. Bachmann towed his team to victory with a sweep of his assignments, 11-9, 11-7 over Mahtani, 11-6, 4-11, 11-5 over Vilar and 11-8, 11-3 over Raborcan. Aponte also won 3-of-3, beating Dona, 11-10, 9-11, 11-9, Winter, 11-9, 11-7 and Chavanon. The event was organized by veteran pro Edgar Balleber.

De Leon-Gonzalez said the next event in the SRAP calendar is the Celebrity Cup at the Manila Polo Club on April 27. Among the celebrities invited to join the one-day competition are Dr. Vicki Belo, Hayden Kho, Robby Carmona, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Grace Molina, Apples Aberin, Dickie Bachmann, Franco Limjuco, Phoem Baranda, Angel Jacob, Teddy Dario, Rep. Roman Romulo and Gilbert Remulla.