Ravi Dixit aims at entering top-50 in world squash

Elated over his steady rise at the national scene, promising squash player Ravi Dixit has set his sights on breaking into the world's top 10 by giving strong performances in the upcoming international tournaments.
"I am currently ranked fourth nationally and 133rd in the world. My performances have been consistent for the past couple of years on the circuit and I aim to improve further and make my presence felt at various PSA events this year. I also aim to make it to the top 50 in the PSA Rankings in the next 2-3 years," said Dixit, who is participating in the ongoing senior national squash championships here.

Though Dixit has made phenomenal rise in the world of squash, he still bats for the nursery where he learnt the basics of the game -- Dhampur Sugar Mill sports complex in Uttar Pradesh.
"I feel centres like Dhampur should be supported so that there are more facilities enabling the youngsters to learn more about the game. There were coaching camps by stars like Ritwik Bhattacharya and Arjan Singh and Ritwik is generous enough to provide tips to us but a little more support can help and nurture the budding players," the 21-year-old said.
Dixit is the first Indian to become the Asian junior champion and is currently world No.2 in Under-21 category. He has not forgotten that it was at Dhampur that he got hold of squash racquet as a 10-year-old.

Kush Kumar, who won gold at the ongoing Youth Games in China, also comes from that academy.

"Dhampur has been a good nursery and many like me and Kush Kumar, Ravindra Singh, Deepak Mishra, Paramjeet Singh, Naresh Kumar were able to rise to national and international level," said Dixit, who has twice won the Malaysian Junior Open title.
The youngster has also featured in a reality TV show 'Zor ka Jhatka' hosted by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.
"I wanted to tell people more about squash and that's why I agreed to feature in the show. Also got a chance to work with SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) besides making some good friends during the shoot in Argentina," he said.