Squash: ‘TV-friendly squash right for Olympics’

Squash lost to rugby sevens and golf in campaign to replace baseball and softball for 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

PARIS: Squash’s evolution as a TV-friendly sport, played against some of the world’s most dramatic backdrops, should serve well in its bid to become an Olympic sport in 2020, its federation president said yesterday.

Squash lost out to rugby sevens and golf in the campaign to replace baseball and softball for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. But the World Squash Federation (WSF), under the presidency of India’s Narayana Ramachandran, has implemented revolutionary changes which have boosted its attraction for the global television viewer.

“It is totally different to two to three years ago,” said Ramachandran. “There are all glass courts, glass floors, under-floor lighting, we have Hawkeye like in cricket and tennis, reviews by referees and slow motion replays. In short, we have more broadcast experience and our own specialised team that goes from event to event.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2013.