Squash has never received the same level of limelight as some of the other racquet sports it competes with - tennis, table tennis, badminton, etc. The sport, however, is played by more than 20 million people globally and for anyone whose been able to watch or play the sport, they would attest to the entertainment value it brings. Its fast paced, requiring quick and decisive movement- its a high intensity battle in a small space. Mahesh Mangaonkar and Vardhan Ladiwala are two of the many in India who fell in love with the sport! Mahesh is a professional squash player who represented India, including being on the gold medal team that took home gold at the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon. In 2009, he won the prestigious British Junior Open in the Under-15 category and was the first Indian squash player to win the IMET Open (Bratislava, Slovakia) in 2013. To date, Mahesh's highest career rank is an impressive 44th in the world. Vardhan also grew up playing at a high level, competing at Nationals, with a highest national ranking of 9 and state ranking of 3. He has similarly played the sport internationally as well, including the Asian circuit, finishing juniors in the top 16 in the World. Oh and did we mention Vardhan also went to high school with three of the four podcast hosts (shout out St. Mary's - ICSE, Mumbai)!! Join us as we get into what drew Mahesh and Vardhan to squash, and why they love playing the sport! We also dive into what has historically limited the spread of the sport amongst India's youth, and infrastructure that would help squash's growth going forward. The pair also help us understand what countries like Egypt, U.K. and Hong Kong have done to facilitate and support squash players. Make sure to stay till the end for a fun rapid fire with the two - including a walk down memory lane of some of their (somewhat one-sided?) duels in the past, on the court! You can follow Mahesh's squash journey @maheshmangao (Instagram and Twitter) --- Leave your comments on thoughts and suggestions for upcoming episodes. Like, Share, Subscribe/Follow our page for episodes every week! https://linktr.ee/AllAboutSportsThePodcast --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/allaboutsports-thepodcast/support