Joshna Chinappa in quest of her second SAF Gold in a row

Colombo, Aug 18 (UNI) Joshna Chinappa insists she is not squash's answer to Sania Mirza and has her own identity. And with the same self-esteem, she hits the four-walled court of the Colombo Gymkhana Club here tomorrow hoping to add one more SAF Games Gold to an already overflowing cupboard back home in Chennai.

Joshna won the SAF Gold in the last edition of the Games in Islamabad and looks set for one more even though the Chennai girl is not taking anything for granted.

''I have no illusion, it's never going to be a cakewalk. I think there are two Sri Lankan girls and two from Pakistan who would be out to make my life difficult. Of course, I'm confident but I can't afford to be over-confident,'' she told UNI in an interview here.

Joshna is one of the most decorated Indian sportspersons of her age and she was the first Indian girl to win the British Squash Championship title in 2003, at Sheffield, UK and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion.

Her game took off in the last two years and the year 2004 saw her finishing runner-up in the British Open, clinching the SAF Gold in Islamabad, claiming bronze in the Asian Championship and winning the Malaysian Junior, Junior National and the Senior National.

Last year, she added the British Open Junior title and the Asian Junior crown, besides finishing runner-up in World Junior Championship in Belgium. Joshna is high on confidence here and says her biggest motivation would be playing for the country.

''The biggest motivation is always representing the country. I'm in the best possible shape, in fact have trimmed down from what I was in the past and I'm just raring to go,'' she said.

And despite being considered the face of Indian women's squash, she insists she is very much part of a team and no prima donna herself.

''I know what I'm, just a part of an Indian team, nothing more or less than that,'' she said.

Before coming here, Joshna took part in an event in Hong Kong but crashed out losing her first round match.

''I got through the qualifiers and made it to the main draw. But I was unfortunate to face the top seed in the first round and made an early exit,'' she recalled.

She also refuses to call SAF Games a dress rehearsal for the Doha Asian Games.

''I think you can't compare the two. Asian Games would be a huge thing. You would have world number one and 15 playing there and that gives you an idea how tough it would be,'' she said.

After the SAF Games, Joshna would be having her hands full.

''I would be playing in the Senior Nationals in September and another in the US,'' she said.

Currently ranked 50th, the Indian is hoping to break into top 35 by the end of this year.

''It's not going to be easy to bridge the 15-rung gap but I'm hopeful of being among the top 15 by the year-end,'' she asserted.

UNI AY PM VC1106