Spanish squash legend Borja Golan is set to be in Kathmandu from 29 March to coach the Nepalese national teams and underprivileged children who are often denied the chance to take part in sport.

This article has been adapted from one first published by SquashPlayer Magazine. To read the full article, “Golan Taking Squash To New Heights In Shadow Of Everest,” click here.

It was 25 years ago that the Italian Renato Andorno founded a school for underprivileged children in Namche Bazar, best known for being the staging point for expeditions to Mount Everest.

In 2015, Renato’s school was destroyed by an earthquake. The school was rebuilt in 2017 with a capacity for 200 children. Around that time, Renato’s son Renzo also created a project called House for Children through his non-profit organisation SOS Nepal. The house supports kids from troubled backgrounds with shelter, food, and scholarships.

In 2018, Renzo met Amrit Magar, Nepal’s No.1 squash player, and his father Hira, the national coach. Through their friendship, Amrit was sent to Italy’s national squash centre in Riccione to train for a month with coach Marcus Berrett. Amrit returned for another training block in 2023 and spent a week in Santiago at the Borja Golan Academy.

Covid prevented completion of a plan to bring more Nepalese players over to Italy for training. Once the pandemic had eased, the Nepal Squash Rackets Association invited Renzo to coach the national team twice in 2022 and again in summer 2023 ahead of their participation in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The training blocks inspired Renzo to open a Squash Training Camp in Nepal last year. Renzo decided to make the Squash Training Camp free of charge, giving aspiring players a programme and a safe space to learn new skills and make friends.

As well as giving local underprivileged children a precious opportunity to play squash for free, it also offers a monthly salary to Nepal’s national senior and junior team players to enable them to train every day.

 “All our children are from low-income families or without families at all, and some of them live in hostels because the families are very far from Kathmandu or Patan,” Renzo said.

“Children in Nepal have a view of sport which is very much conditioned by their family. Parents are very concerned about their studies, which is certainly a good thing, but they do not leave space for sport because it could distract the kids from working and because it’s an unnecessary expense.”

Children in Nepal often grow up without any basic motor development or bodily coordination due to their lack of physical activity.

Up until now, the Nepalese national team have trained and played without pay. Renzo believes that the monthly salary his foundation can offer senior and junior players will have a positive impact on retaining talent in the sport.

Funded by the PSA Foundation, Borja is travelling to the Squash Training Centre in March to help prepare the national teams for the South Asian Championships as well as inspiring the 35 young beginners who play there each day and provide them with equipment.

“I will take care of accommodation and training for them to have new experiences and train with people from completely different backgrounds. I think it’s a great exchange which will bring motivation to Nepalese squash players,” Borja said.

“I believe Borja’s experience as a player and as a coach is a great opportunity for these children,” said Renzo.

“Beginners have a great deal of energy, and they are curious to meet players and coaches from all over the world. Elder boys need to compete with players from other nations and therefore need a different, international vision of squash, a different way of working.

“For us it will be a great thing to have other players and coaches visit our Squash Training Centre and bring their experience of the game. And I believe it will be a great experience for Borja too.”

After his time in Kathmandu, Golan intends to invite the Nepalese players back to Santiago de Compostela to train at his academy.

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