Squash An amazing indoor sport | Page 2 | Sunday Observer

Squash An amazing indoor sport

18 July, 2021

Squash is an indoor sport which is played with a racquet and a rubber bouncing ball. Two players playing the singles game and four players play the doubles. The aim of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return.

There are about 20 million people who play squash regularly worldwide in over 185 countries. The World Squash Federation (WSF), is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the sport is not part of the Olympic Games.

Squash was first played during the 19th century in England. Squash is a racquet sport and to play we need a squash ball, a squash racquet, eye guards and non-marking shoes. Squash must be played on a glass court.

Squash has its origins in the older game of racquets which was played in London prisons in the 19th century. Later, around 1830, boys at the Harrow School noticed that a punctured ball, which ‘squashed ‘on impact with the wall, offered more variety to the game. This game spread to other schools, and clubs.

In the 20th century, the game increased in popularity with people building squash courts. In 1912, the Association published rules for squash. This same year, the RMS Titanic had a squash court in first class, available for 50 cents.

The first class squash court was situated on G-Deck. The spectators’ viewing galley was one level higher on F-Deck. Passengers could use the court for one hour unless others were waiting. England squash was formed to set standards for the game in Great Britain. Internationally squash racquets have changed in a way similar to tennis racquets. There are custom variations on racquet head shape, racquet balance and the racquet weight of 130g.

There several variations of squash played across the world, although the international version of the sport has become the dominant form.

Equipment needed to play squash Squash rackets have maximum dimensions of 686mm (27.0 in) in length and 215mm (8.5 in) in width, with a maximum strung area of 500 square centimetres (77.5 sq in). The permitted maximum weight is 255grams(9.0oz), but most have a weight between 90 and 150 grams (3-5.3oz).

Ball

Squash balls are between 39.5 and 40.5mm in diametres, and weigh 23 to 25 grams. They are made with two pieces of rubber compound, glued together to form a hollow sphere and buffed to a matte finish. Squash balls must be hit dozens of times to warm up at the beginning of a session; cold squash balls have very little bounce.

Many squash venues mandate the use of shoes with non-marking tread and eye protection. Some associations require that all juniors and doubles players must wear eye protection. The National Institute of Health recommends wearing eye guards with polycarbonate lenses.

Court

The squash court is a playing surface surrounded by four walls. The court surface contains a front line separating the front and the back of the court, creating three ‘boxes’: the front half, the back left quarter and the back right quarter. Both the back two boxes contain smaller service boxes.

Manner of play

The players spin racquets to decide who serves first. This player starts the first rally by electing to serve from either the left or right service box. For a legal serve, one of the server’s feet must be in the service box lines, as the player strikes the ball. After being struck by the racquet the ball must strike the front wall above the service line and below the outline and land in the opposite back quarter court.

The receiving player can choose to volley a serve after it has hit the front wall. If the server wins the point, the two players switch sides for the following point. If the server loses the point, the opponent then serves, and can serve from either box.

Scoring system

Point- a rally to 11

Games are played according to Point- a rally scoring (PARS) to 11 points. PARS is almost universally preferred by the game’s top professionals, and is the current official scoring system for all levels of professional squash tournaments. Games are played to 11 and must be won by two points. That is if the score reaches 10-10, play continues until one player wins by two points.

The Sri Lankan best squash player is Mihiliya Methsarani who is known as the Squash Queen of Sri Lanka. She studied at Sirimavo Bandaranaika Vidyalya in Colombo 07 and she has represented Sri Lanka in international competitions such as the Asian Youth Games, South Asian Games, and the Commonwealth Games. She is the best player in my school and in Sri Lanka and I wish to be like her in the future. If you haven’t tried squash playing you have to try it.

 

 

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