Squash
Squash fears cricket in Olympics inclusion race
Squash hopes to make it to the 2028 Olympics, but fears cricket's popularity.
Saurav Ghosal and Marwan El Shorbagy. (Source: squashnantes.net)
The ongoing Squash World Cup in Chennai has seen some elite participation from across the globe. The president of the World Squash Federation, Zena Wooldridge, who was also at the venue, spoke about squash's chances to get into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
However, Wooldridge spoke about the threat that cricket poses to her sport due to the size of the Indian market.
“India is such a massive attraction to any country, even the USA where they don’t necessarily play cricket, the attraction of the Indian market is something that is irresistible. So, we know that cricket is going to be a formidable competitor in that race,” she told Sportstar.
Even though cricket is not widely played in the United States, the appeal of the Indian market, which has a massive interest in cricket, makes it a foe for the squash fraternity. The recent T20 World Cup attracted a staggering 6.58 billion viewers for the ICC's official video content, highlighting how the Indian market pushes the global popularity of cricket.
World Squash Federation President Zena Wooldridge at the inaugural ceremony of the Squash World Cup in Chennai. (PTI)
Wooldridge believes that squash deserves a place in the Olympics and has presented strong bids for its involvement.
“Having squash won’t cost them anything in terms of courts because the sport will provide the glass courts and spectacular arenas, or we’ll put it into a theatre. So, the infrastructure is already there. I think we’ve got lots of allies in the US and they’re influential allies. And so, you know, I think we still stand quite a good chance,” she added.
