THE HASHIM FILES - PART 8

Over the years since Hashim has written these pages, squash has changed in significant ways. Racquets are no longer made of wood, the tin is lower (for a large percentage of professional tournaments), the ball has been made slower, and the scoring system has changed. This makes for a faster and more exciting sport. However, tactful shot selection for most part seems to have remained constant despite these modifications. Basically, keep the ball tight and hold the ‘T’ position. What has changed is the amount of angles players use and their level of deception. Lighter racquets allows players to flick the wrist easier and open up more choices for almost every shot.

Hashim emphasizes the use of the straight drop shot keeping it close to the wall, and the importance of volleying. Combining the two is a difficult skill but a very valuable one. The one shot that he isn’t so keen on is the reverse corner – that is, when you hit a forehand so that the ball hits the backhand side wall before the front wall (or vise-versa). I often tell people to avoid this shot most of the time, but if you are inclined to use it – as I am - do it very sparingly so it is a ‘surprise’ variation and maybe you can catch your opponent off guard. The reverse corner is commonly played as a regular shot in the lower categories. It can be an effective weapon against lesser opponents, but it rapidly loses its success rate when you start moving up the ranks.

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