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Squash and the power of belief

By Rishabh Sharma, age 11 | July 1, 2018

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SQUASH, THE SPORT Rishabh Sharma, an incoming sixth grader at T.H. Rogers, had a scare with a finger injury but worked to recover and become a top squash player again.

Passion is what drives people. My passion is squash (the sport and not the vegetable!), which deeply affects me and defines who I am and what I do. Playing squash has given me many wonderful memories. I held a racquet when I was just 5 years old, started playing competitions when I was 8 and finished in the top 10-ranked players in the U.S. in my under-11 age group. I turned 11 in April, and now my goal is to finish in top five players nationally in the under-13 age group.

My coach and parents have helped me grow my skills, and in life. They taught me respect, responsibility and how to learn from my mistakes. Without this, I would never have become the player I am today, and my mind would not have been as strong as it is today.

There have been challenges along the way that have given me chances to grow. In February of last year, I had a serious accident. I severed my finger, and had to stop playing squash. I thought I would never get my finger back and lose my edge. Doctors attempted a reattachment surgery, but the surgeon told us that part of my finger could be gone forever.

My mind rejected that idea. I thought I could heal my finger as long as I believed it could be healed. And it worked. I was back on the court in less than a month, and my finger was fine in three months. And from there I realized that I could do anything as long as I believed in it.

From there, I went back to playing like my old self in two months. I played in the Junior Silver National Championship in April last year. I continued to persevere and worked hard to improve my skills and ranking. Finally this year in March, I got to play in the Junior Championship Tournament and was recognized as the Most Improved Player in my age group by US Squash. So now, I continue to strive to become a better player and a better person.

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