He’s barely 28, but already Ritwik Bhattacharya finds himself in the position of senior statesman, often slipping into ‘when-I-was...’ mode with young greenhorns hanging onto his every word.

Indian squash’s first real achiever on the PSA circuit, Bhattacharya is heading into a phase where his contribution to the sport begins to have an impact beyond the number of titles he’ll pick, or the seven that he has previously won (still three ahead of the rapidly rising Saurav Ghosal).

But Bhattacharya isn’t averse to playing mentor to the burgeoning group of juniors — fresh talent mushrooming in different parts of India.

Sensing the buzz at the Bombay Gymkhana, where 35-40 juniors were bursting with energy as Mumbai looked to get back seriously on the squash-radar, the senior hurriedly agreed to a detour to the city, squeezing the state open in between two scheduled events.

Regularly sought out for coaching clinics, Bhattacharya goes about his job as an advisor diligently. The home-page to his website is peppered with advice and Mumbai junior Mahesh Mangaonkar got an elaborate pep-talk before he started out to Zurich for the World Juniors: Relax, enjoy the event, play as a team with passion...

“I end up learning too, and most times when I’m teaching them, I realise we didn’t have these things when I started playing,” he states. Wisdom flows, as the pro who has spent close to a decade at the highest level with a top-ranking of 38, plays the guide.

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