Hridhaan Shah Squash: Pune’s 16-Year-Old Wins National Under-17 Title in Jaipur; Eesha Srivastava Takes U-19 Bronze
Pune’s Hridhaan Shah, 16, won the national boys’ Under-17 squash title in Jaipur, while Eesha Srivastava took bronze in girls’ Under-19.
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Pune, 1st November 2026: Sixteen-year-old Hridhaan Shah of Pune is the new national Under-17 boys’ squash champion. He won the title at the Sub-Junior and Junior National Squash Championship in Jaipur, while Pune’s Eesha Srivastava, 17, took bronze in the girls’ Under-19 event, Punekar News reported.
The championship was held from 23 to 29 October at the Rajasthan Squash Academy in Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium complex.
A five-game final
Hridhaan beat Tamil Nadu’s Shiven Agarwal 3-2 in the final: 11-8, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-2.
The pattern tells the story. Each time Agarwal levelled the match, Hridhaan came back and won the next game while conceding only two points, which is a sign of a player who can reset under pressure.
This is not his first big result this year. In May he represented India at the Asian Junior Individual Squash Championship, where he beat a Malaysian opponent.
Eesha’s bronze
Eesha beat Tamil Nadu’s Vhyomika Khandelwal 11-3, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final she lost to Maharashtra team-mate Akanksha Gupta 7-11, 8-11, 12-14, taking a third game to extra points before going down.
The Pune academy behind them
Both players train at I-Squash Academy at the Chanchalatai Sandipdada Kodre Sports Complex in Pune, under coaches Asif Sayyed, Jainendra Bhandari and Marisha Jilka. Physiotherapist Kushal Vani handles fitness and injury recovery, and Hemani Tyagi of Prehab-121 is their strength and conditioning coach.
Jilka credited the results to the players’ consistent practice, discipline and hard work, and called it another step towards producing players for national and international events.
Where young Pune players can start
Pune is one of India’s stronger squash cities, with courts at clubs such as the Poona Club, at private academies and at sports complexes across the city. If your child wants to start, ask academies about coach qualifications, court time per week and whether the academy enters players in Maharashtra state ranking events, which are the route to nationals.
Earlier this week, Nashik’s Swara Karmarkar won an international table tennis bronze; read our story on Swara Karmarkar’s WTT medal. More in our sports section.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the national Under-17 squash title in 2026?
Pune’s Hridhaan Shah, who beat Tamil Nadu’s Shiven Agarwal 3-2 in the final in Jaipur.
Where does Hridhaan Shah train?
At I-Squash Academy, Chanchalatai Sandipdada Kodre Sports Complex, Pune.
Which other Pune player won a medal?
Eesha Srivastava, 17, won bronze in the girls’ Under-19 category.
