Squash Steps Up
A hugely popular racquet sport squash is usually played by two players in singles and four players in doubles in a court that is four-walled with a very small and hollow rubber ball.
The opposing players must take alternating turns in hitting ball onto the playing area of the walled court.
The game shares a very similar heritage with its popular cousin tennis and has a similar beginning as well. With the development of stringed racquets, sports such as racquets, tennis and squash made their way into the world in the later 16th century. The game is a direct descendant of racquets and was formerly called squash racquets in reference to the very squashable soft ball that is used to play the game as opposed to very hard ball used in racquets, its parent sport.
Apparently basketballer Michael Jordan is a massive fan of the game, as well as Andy Murray and Roger Federer.
The Harrow School is credited with the invention and development of the sport out of the older game of racquets in or around 1830 and from there, the game spread throughout the schools of England before becoming an international phenomenon.
Presently, over 30,000,000 players are registered with the World Squash Federation which is the governing body of the sport around the world. According to a 2009 report of the World Squash Federation, there are 49,908 courts in the world up to the international standards as recommended by it and a whopping 188 countries or territories have at least one court of international standards.
The International Olympic Committee of the IOC has recognized squash and players, supporters and officials of the game have been lobbying for a long time to get the sport incorporated into the Olympic Games. Although it is not yet been granted that permission yet, there is hope that in the near future, squash will be allowed entry into the Olympic Games too.