Pune’s Hridhaan Shah Wins National U-17 Squash Championship; Eesha Srivastava Bags Bronze

Pune, 30th October 2026: Pune’s 16-year-old squash player Hridhaan Shah won the boys’ Under-17 title at the Sub-Junior and Junior National Squash Championship held in Jaipur from October 23 to 29. Another player from Pune’s I-Squash Academy, 17-year-old Eesha Srivastava, secured a bronze medal in the girls’ Under-19 category.

Both players train at I-Squash Academy, located at the Chanchalatai Sandipdada Kodre Sports Complex in Pune.

The championship was held at the Rajasthan Squash Academy, situated within the Sawai Mansingh Stadium complex in Jaipur.

In the Under-17 final, Hridhaan defeated Shiven Agarwal of Tamil Nadu 3-2, with scores of 11-8, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11 and 11-2, to clinch the national title.

In the girls’ Under-19 category, Eesha reached the semifinals before losing to fellow Maharashtra player Akanksha Gupta 7-11, 8-11, 12-14. She had defeated Vhyomika Khandelwal of Tamil Nadu 11-3, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6 in the quarterfinals to secure her place in the last four and finish with a bronze medal.

Both players train under coaches Asif Sayyed, Jainendra Bhandari and Marisha Jilka.

Marisha Jilka said the results were the outcome of the players’ consistent practice, discipline and hard work. Physiotherapist Kushal Vani oversees their physical fitness, injury recovery and overall conditioning, while Hemani Tyagi of Prehab-121 works as their strength and conditioning coach.

The academy follows an integrated training approach that includes technical coaching, physical conditioning, injury prevention, recovery and mental preparation.

Jilka said the performances marked another important step towards developing players capable of competing at national and international levels.