Malls across the world are conducting a host of activities in order to attract footfalls and increase sales, but Express Avenue, Chennai, just went a step ahead of all. The popular mall recently hosted the World Junior Squash Championship in its premises.
While the tournament was formally declared open by the Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, P Balakrishna Reddy at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai, all the matches were held at Express Avenue mall in the city.
Managing Director of Express Avenue mall, Kavita Singhania, said, “We at Express Avenue take pride in presenting customers with a differentiated retail experience, and hosting the World Squash Tournament is a step towards that. We bring to the fore, the power of Sports and its ability to enhance everyday life, while also presenting the people of Chennai, the opportunity to witness world class games, in the heart of the city.”
Members from the 28 teams, including host India, marked for participation in this championship were present for the expertly organised function, which included an opening ceremony in the mall where flag bearers of representing countries came in to the arena amidst cheers all around.
He underlined the role the government played in the promotion of sports in the state, talking about how former Chief Minister, late J. Jayalalitha, had taken a keen interest in developing sports, an ideal that the present government stood strongly for. Towards this, the government has worked to provide modern infrastructure as well as infuse money into sports, while also giving incentives to the best performers.
He said he was happy that Tamil Nadu was in the forefront in the sport of squash and specially mentioned the role of State’s squash players Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the main in bringing laurels to the country.
