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Oman’s squash warrior It will not be an exaggeration to describe Jamal Al Barwani as the Sultanate’s squash sensation. Considering what the Dubai-based Omani has been accomplishing, Jamal is undoubtedly the best squash exponent. Following are the excerpts from the tête-à-tête T.K. MOHANDOSS had with Jamal...
Q. How did squash happen to you? Are you currently based in the United Arab Emirates? A. Yes, I have been living in Dubai for nearly five years, whilst working as a teacher. Regarding the game, it is a story. Well if I’m being honest, when I was in primary school I found myself being good at a game called ‘Rounders’ which we used to play during our Physical Education lessons. From there weirdly Rounders I resorted to playing tennis. I became pretty good at that too and even became a qualified LTA tennis coach whilst coaching beginners and international players. Growing up I played everything to be honest from rugby, football and badminton to a good standard for my age category. Squash was another sport I enjoyed playing. I played it casually from the age of 10 until about 15 and then I really got the bug for it. Everything then revolved around playing squash. I played in the Welsh senior leagues from the age of 13 and just wanted to play and improve all the time. I used to bug everyone who was better than me for a game, including a huge mentor and crazy fitness fanatic, who was the coach and No.1 player for Neath Squash Club, a guy named Kevin Williams. Q. Detail your achievements so far? A. I played for Swansea University Team as the No.1 player from 2001-2004. I was also No. 1 at the Neath Squash Club (2001 – 2003) and Glamorgan Health and Racket Club (2007-2010). Between 2007 and 2010 I was the head coach at Glamorgan Health and Racket Club and was also the head coach at Llanelli Squash and Racket Club during the same period. After coming to the UAE, I was consistently finishing in the top 4 of UAE squash events and highlight was becoming semifinalist in the UAE Squash Championship 2013 and Abu Dhabi Open 2015. I also won the Sheraton Winter Series in 2013. Internationally, I played in many tournaments in France with quarterfinal finishes and I was proud to have been invited to the play the Dubai3s in 2010 with all former World top 10 players. I have also completed my dissertation in Analysis of Squash professionals in my Bsc Honors degree and have consistently trained and played with players ranging from top 10 to 200 in the World. My highest world ranking of 404. Q. In your view point how can this game grow in Oman? A. If I am being truthful, there needs to be structure. There are boys like Tahir Al Barwani, who are really enthusiastic and are great ambassadors to the sport to push the game forward and are putting an abundance of time, effort and finance in. However for it to progress and move forward a coaching structure needs to be in place from grass roots level. I know league matches have been going on and they still need to happen. There also needs to be steps in place for performance players to compete and play on the international stage, which requires funding.
Take squash into the schools or bring the children to the squash courts. My previous experience with promoting sport in schools, have had a great degree of success
Q. Do you think that the game has attracted renewed interest in Oman? A. Well since playing in the first tournament I can see that it has definitely brought interest and publicity. The latest squash tournament in Sohar was also highlighted in squashsite. com, in which anyone who’s anyone in squash looks at. Q. How do you rate national interest in the game? A. Well I’m not familiar with all the sports that go on in Oman, however the sport gets
Jamal Al Barwani Oman’s top squash player
addictive at every level. I have seen great enthusiasm and a push from all players participating in the two tournaments and who have been keen to organise coaching weekends and travel to Dubai for extra exposure to good squash. Q. Do you think that Ministry of Sports Affairs should give full support and encourage the game in schools? A. This is the key to promoting the sport. Children need to be encouraged and the initial push for this is to go to the schools. Take squash into the schools or bring them to the squash courts. My previous experience with promoting sport in schools, have had a great degree of success. Q. You were being looked upon as Oman’s best bet to represent the country in international arena. Detail your ambitions? A. Firstly, I want to train hard and play as many international tournaments in the next two years, to achieve a very respectable world ranking All my training partners are all playing internationally. I also want to do this! To do this properly I do need backing. I would love this to come from Oman. Even though I have spent 27 years in Wales, Oman is huge part of my heritage and I would feel really proud that Oman is backing me with playing and representing Oman internationally. I have consistently played with players at the highest of levels and I more than know what is required to play squash as a professional. This also gives children and other participants in the game in Oman an aim and goal to try and get to. There needs to be professional role models whether they assist in advertising the sport to top players competing at National level, who will encourage the sport. Along with playing and after I am playing and I would love to share my knowledge to encourage people at a social level and more importantly produce players that can compete at the highest of levels. Q. Your ideas for tapping young talents in Oman? A. Going into schools, getting as many children playing as possible. From there setting up squads for age and ability categories. There also needs to be people playing in the senior categories. When there are all ages playing it just builds a positive vibe surrounding squash. It is looking likely that I will be in Dubai next year, however there is no reason for me coming over for weekends and also inviting groups to train here in Dubai. I think it would also be a great idea to have a resident coach in Oman. Q. Can frequent tournaments all over the country help? A. Well I have discussed this with Tahir Al Barwani, who has been fantastic with organising tournaments Q. Other than squash, what do you do in UAE and Oman and how are you helping in developing the game? A. He...he... (smiles). Well after work, sad as it may sound, but it is a lot of squash. But I love it! But I do like to go to the beach on the weekends, go for dinners, play beach tennis and many more. Q. Do you run a squash academy in Dubai? A. I don’t run an academy in squash, no. Currently I am training to compete myself and train with coach Khwaja Maqbool and his son and my dearest friend Adil Maqbool. — sportseditor@timesofoman.com
FUTURE IS BRIGHT
‘There’s strong growth potential for squash in Oman’ T.K. MOHANDOSS sportseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: PC Thomas, one of the architect of Muscat Squash League, sees strong growth potential for the game in Oman and feels the future is bright. Thomas, who works in Oman and pursues his passion in squash, while breaking into a conversation with Times Sport, said that lately he was amazed at the standard set by the senior players. “I was amazed at the senior level of local squash players, which is very high. But unfortunately most of them are at the senior level. For Oman to excel in squash, we should start at the grass roots level of the sport which is schools and colleges,” he said. “Local youngsters have great stamina and determination to excel at sports. Squash needs to be introduced to them. We need to spread the sport and have an organisational set up to monitor their growth and training. Squash being a high reflex and pace sport, stamina and agility plays an important factor in physical benefits,” he added. Thomas, who came to Oman in
2012, said that he loved the country from the first day. “Having played before, I decided to start playing squash again at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. My father used to play in India at a senior level and take me along initially to watch his game and build the interest of the sport, slowly he started training me and taught me the basics of squash,” detailed Thomas, who picked up his racquet at a very tender age. “I first picked up the racquet at age 10, a wooden one, and now even after 25 years I still love the game. I participated at a few local tournaments throughout my early years in India and was able to raise my level of game as I grew older,” he said about his first step. When asked about the renewed interest in Oman, Thomas said: “Definitely, when we started playing at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, there were only a few players. We started spreading the word through our contacts and soon we had a pool of 20 to 30 players from different nationalities. After we completed the first local tournament many national youngsters have picked up racquets and started playing.
CATCH THEM YOUNG: Squash player PC Thomas calls for tapping
talents at the grassroots level.
“The level of professionalism is very high at the senior level and they are very committed to the sport, they are very keen to see the growth of squash and have high hopes on the next generation. “With a proper recognised association or federation up and with the help of trained coaches, things can improve further and maybe in the future we will have an Oman
Squash World Champion one day. On support from Ministry of Sports Affairs, he said: “The ministry has already started to encourage by conducting a Oman squash tournament for the local players which was a very positive step in the right direction. “The game needs to be spread to schools more and may be have more squash courts and introduce
the game in sports curriculum. Also setting up a training module for different age groups and monitoring their growth is vital. Squash is a game which can be played all year, many residential buildings and hotels have started building squash courts as fitness centre since it is a sport not affected by the weather,” said Thomas. On the Muscat League, Thomas detailed that the League in Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex started with a few players coming together and it is held every month. “Now more and more local players have joined and the League is getting stronger. Being from different countries, we each have a different style of game. For example the Europeans players were better at playing the straight power game down the line, while the Asians were better at the boast and drop game. Having a mix of players allowed all of us to learn from each other.” He went on to say that to develop young players, all of us put together with the help of Sports Ministry must introduce a 2-3 day coaching session at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. “Once we have identified the
young players, their growth and training modules have to be charted out separately, as each player have their own physical strength and weakness,” said Thomas. “The next step would be to conduct tournaments at schools and colleges to promote the sport. Seeing their classmates play can be an inspirational factor for other youngsters.” Highlighting further he said: “The plan of the Ministry of Sports Affairs is to hold frequent tournaments in all parts of the country. The sport needs to spread out and this will help in unearthing a national hero.” On his personal front, Thomas said, other than squash he plays football to build stamina. “At the same time I utilise my spare time to impart my knowledge on squash to the upcoming youngsters.” As a concluding message, Thomas said: “I truly believe, Oman youngsters have great stamina and a strong desire to excel in sports. They are highly motivated to represent their country internationally in every sport. Squash is definitely a sport in which they can excel and bring glory and medals to their country.”