SCHOOLS URGED TO INTRODUCE SQUASH

By NATION REPORTER MANAGERS of both public and private schools should encourage their pupils to take keen interest in the sport of squash, former squash player Imran Patel has said.

Patel said squash was an important sport if fully recognised at lower levels in secondary and primary schools and once the pupils learnt the sport at an early age, they would have the interest to play at a higher level.

Schools, he said, would also provide a dependable nursery from which future budding starts could be picked.

He said it was sad that squash was considered a minor sport in Zambia despite it being a very vital sport that could change one’s life.

Patel told the Daily Nation Sports in an interview in Kalulushi yesterday that squash was an enterprising sport and if it was properly exploited the country could become a powerhouse in the sport in Southern Africa and beyond.

He advised the public and private schools to introduce talent identification programmes in their institutions so that the sport of squash could be raised to another level.

Patel said it was sad that in Zambia football was highly recognised as a major sport and yet games like squash could equally make a positive difference.

He said business houses and other stakeholders should come on board and invest in the sport of squash.

Patel said the country had the potential to produce top class squash players if the sport was properly sponsored and managed.