Little Veer sets sights on bigger things

MUMBAI: Veer Chotrani rallied from a 0-2 deficit to win a thrilling boys' under-11 title against second seed Tushar Shahani 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 on the final day of the CCIWestern India Squash Open on Sunday.
Top seed and India No. 2 Siddharth Suchde took the men's Open crown in a heated contest against India No. 3 Harinderpal Singh Sandhu, while defending champion Saumya Karki bagged a double -- overcoming Urvashi Joshi in both under-19 girls as well as women's final.
For Veer, it was the 13th victory of the year. Having secured the under-11 nationals and India juniors titles, he has had his share of international outings as well. While he was the only Indian to reach the final of the Malaysian Open this year, he also got the Penang Open bronze under his belt.
Seeing him after the match, one would think he was just there for a stroll. There was none of the restless celebration to be found.
Instead, all that could be seen was a little, shy boy with a dream of matching the skill and accomplishment of his idol and the focus to fuel that dream.
"I want to be as great as Ramy Ashour," is all that you can get out of the under-11 Asia No. 2. But watch the 10-year-old yield the squash racquet, and one is reminded of the adage 'like father like son'. After getting over with this match for the day, he hurried to watch his father and former national champion Manish Chotrani win the men's over-35 title.
"He has a coach but most of his squash comes from his father. It was due to him that he initially took it up," says mother Meera Chotrani.
"It is a tough routine for him. He has to practice at least two hours everyday without fail, plus there is the school and studies to take care of," Meera adds. Unlike other kids his age, it is not the usual Ben-10 s that Veer engages during his TV time. "I watch sports. I like cricket & tennis," he says, all the time eagerly eyeing the CCI ground where the Mumbai vs Karnataka Ranji game was on. After having gotten a taste of the Asian circuit, Veer is now eyeing European shores.