David Palmer Set to Be Named India Coach for Asian Team Squash C'ship

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) Former world number one squash player David Palmer is set to be named as coach of the Indian team for the Asian Team Championships to be held in Kuala Lumpur next year.

In a shift to 'event-based' coaching rather than appointing a full time coach, the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) had approached the Australian to guide the national team in the Asian Team championship scheduled to be held from March 25-29.

"Yes, he has agreed to our offer. He will be joining us in March before the Asian Team Championship. We are just awaiting the approval of the ministry which should not be a problem," SRFI Secretary Cyrus Poncha told PTI.

Following his retirement as a professional squash player in 2011, Palmer remained associated with the sport as a successful, high-level coach at his David Palmer Squash Academy in Orlando, USA.

Palmer now leads both the men's and women's squash team at Cornell University in New York. Indian players like Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa have also trained under the 43-year-old in the past.

Earlier this year, SRFI decided against a full-time appointment of a coach, opting for an event-based system.

The Indian players have been training without a full-time foreign coach ever since Egyptian Achraf Karargui left on a bitter note ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Asked about the possibility of appointing someone on a full time basis, Poncha said the federation will continue with the event-based coaching system.

"We will stick to event based coaching as most players train on their own with personal coaches."

However, the country's top squash players like Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa have stressed the need for a full time coach.

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