Mumbai: Having barely caught his breath after the quarter-final victory on the indoor courts, Veer Chotrani was out on the makeshift glass court erected on the outfield of Brabourne Stadium, practicing with former pro Harinder Pal Sandhu.
Chotrani is feeling good about being on court these days. As good as he’s ever felt, believes the 24-year-old.
From being ranked outside 150 in October 2024, Chotrani currently sits at a career-best world No. 43. From losing matches he ought to have won last year, Chotrani scripted a victory against world No. 20 Baptiste Masotti at the Squash on Fire Open in January this year.
The Mumbai pro, son of former national champion Manish Chotrani, has carried the form from Washington DC to his home city. He made the semi-finals of the JSW Indian Open, a PSA Copper event, after a 3-0 win over Egyptian Mohamed Sharaf on Friday.
“Since January, I’ve had some good wins. I’m feeling good about myself and my game. Now that I’ve started playing the big events recently, it gives me the belief that I belong in these tournaments,” said Chotrani, who has captured multiple PSA Challenger titles.
After the win against Masotti, the men’s India No. 3 took world No. 5 Joel Makin the distance in a five-game tussle at the New Zealand Open earlier this month.
“I knew I had it in me to perform at that level. It was about getting a chance and getting those wins at the top level,” Chotrani said. “I’ve taken small steps in the right direction over the last year-and-a-half.”
A big part of those small steps is working with a mental conditioning coach. Chotrani has been coached by David Palmer, the former Australian world No. 1, since his collegiate playing days for Cornell University. Chotrani realised in August last year that his steady strides as a pro needed a mental push after “losing a match I had no business to” in Canada.
And so, he linked up with Jesse Engelbrecht, a former pro who works with several top players on the PSA tour as a mental performance specialist.
“I called him up immediately after that match, asking if he could help me,” said Chotrani. “We mainly have conversations about squash and how I feel day to day. It’s important to share your feelings as an athlete with someone who works with fellow athletes and understands how they feel.”
Chotrani reckons the biggest driving factor is to go a level up, where he’s not just challenging the top guys but “also beating them at some point”.
“It’s a mental challenge, more than anything. I want to get mentally stronger,” he said. “The goal is to be consistent. I know I can perform at that level against the top 10, 20 guys. It’s about doing it on a regular basis. And I believe I can do it. I’m only at 43 (in the ranking), I don’t want to stop here.”
Especially with what’s to come later this year – the Asian Games. Two Indians are ahead of Chotrani in the rankings, but not far away. The fight to compete in singles for India is going to be close. And the reward, a spot at the 2028 LA Olympics for the champion, appealing.
“I have goals for this year, and the Asian Games is right on top,” said Chotrani. “We’re still not sure who is going to play what event. Two of us will have to miss out (in singles). I’ll try to keep my ranking where it is, or hopefully cross one of them. Of course, if I get a chance to play singles, there will be nothing like it. I’ll want to go for gold.”
