Chance2Sports Athlete Anika Dubey to Represent India at World Junior Squash Championships in Canada

Bengaluru: Sixteen-year-old squash prodigy Anika Dubey is all set to represent India at the World Junior Squash Championships, scheduled to be held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, from July 20 to 31. Anika has been on a winning spree in recent months, having clinched the silver medal in the Girls’ Under-17 category at the 33rd Asian Junior Individual Championships held in Panzhihua, China, in May. This is her third National Championship title.

Dubey has come a long way from playing on a public squash court in Pune to showcasing her skills at the international level, thanks to social enterprise Chance2Sports Foundation, which spotted her potential and guided her through the competitive squash circuit.

Founded under Section 8 of the Companies Act, Chance2Sports works with the mission of unearthing sporting talent by conducting grassroots tournaments and then training and mentoring these athletes to build their sporting careers.

“We do not lack talent in India; what we lack is the right ecosystem to groom our players into becoming world champions. Anika Dubey, Vasundhara Nangare and Akanksha Gupta are just the tip of the iceberg. The World Junior Championships will further give us insight into the level of talent we have in squash in India,” said Abhinav Sinha, co-founder of Chance2Sports and former international squash player.

Apart from supporting Anika Dubey, the organisation has been playing a significant role in nurturing young sporting talent across the country. From Kalamb’s Vasundhara Nangare and Thane’s Akanksha Gupta to Vedant Shinde and Viraaj, there is a crop of promising squash players being guided by the social enterprise.

The foundation has been working to build a comprehensive ecosystem around sports and fitness. It claims to have worked with more than 450 athletes while conducting talent-spotting events for over 900 students across Pune and Mumbai. In addition, the enterprise has shaped and moulded more than 20 national and international-level athletes through its various grassroots initiatives.

“We have a well-defined system and governance mechanism in place and update our donors and corporate partners on a regular basis. Our strategy has yielded visible results, and now we intend to create a sustainable model through which we will be able to fund more than 150 athletes over the next five years,” said Chetan Desai, co-founder of Chance2Sports.

Anika Dubey and her teammates will be taking on the best junior squash players from around the world at the World Junior Squash Championships 2023. With squash making its debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Dubey is part of a new generation of Indian athletes with the potential to elevate the sport to greater heights.