Shameena Riaz realised she had ticked off a “special” goal from the manner in which her father hugged her.
“In the last 20 years,” she said, “I’ve never gotten a hug like that from him.”
The father is Mohammed Riaz, India’s former hockey captain, a two-time Olympian and two-time Asian Games medallist, the first medal came on his debut in 1994 in Japan.
Thirty-two years later his daughter is set to feature in her first Asian Games, in the same country, but in a different sport.
Shameena earned the last spot in India’s four-member women’s squash team for the continental event in Aichi-Nagoya through the selection trials in Chennai. Joining Anahat Singh, Joshna Chinappa and Tanvi Khanna — part of the bronze-winning team in Hangzhou three years ago — will be the 20-year-old debutant.
“It will be my first big event in squash,” Shameena told HT. “It feels a bit surreal, especially since my dad also played the Asian Games and won a gold (1998) and silver (1994). Now my next aim is to also get a medal.”
The Chennai youngster has only recently transitioned from juniors, with last year’s Asian Championships being her first senior event. The Asian Games will be a test unlike any other for her, one that she is willing to embrace with an open mind and in the company of more established teammates.
“This will be Joshna’s 7th Asian Games. That’s just crazy,” said Shameena. “Travelling with the likes of Joshna, Abhay (Singh) and Anahat, it’s time for me to learn all the good things from them. Just talk to them, see what they do, and improve my game.”
Ranked 159th in the PSA charts, Shameena is starting to play some bigger events while largely competing on the Challenger circuit. She has learnt plenty about her game over the last couple of years while stepping up from rubbing shoulders with juniors to the pros.
“I’ve switched my game a little professionally,” she said. “It’s a mixture of mental, physical, how you train on and off the court, and how to calm myself in pressure situations. I always look up to my dad for these things.”
Mohammed Riaz’s influence on her journey has been enormous, right from when he took her to the Madras Cricket Club as a kid.
“Coming from a sporting background, my parents wanted me to play some sport. My dad’s friends were into squash, and he knew Joshna,” said Shameena. “They said it would be good for me to play squash. The next day, I was at ISA.”
The Indian Squash Academy in Chennai has been Shameena’s training base for the last 11 years. She has Cyrus Poncha to call as coach, and her father as mentor.
“I talk to him a lot, even about his past matches, his training schedules, how focussed he was, what he did to get where he was. It’s crazy, I don’t think I could’ve done that!” Shameena chuckled. “I always learn a lot from him and his experiences.”
Dinner table conversations mostly revolve around sport with her father, and academics with her mother. Shameena is also pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering from Chennai’s SRM Institute. A supportive college helps, but juggling squash and academics hasn’t been easy.
“Managing both is really hard,” she said. “But I love both.”
And so, Shameena wants to complete her engineering even as a professional squash player. She also wants to break into the top 100 soon, and win a couple of Challenger events this year.
“And, of course, an Asian Games medal would be really nice.”
