Mahesh Mangaonkar is an Indian squash player from Helsinki, Finland. Apart from being the first Indian to win the IMET Open, he was part of the Indian men’s national squash team that won gold medals at the 2014 and 2023 Asian Games.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Mahesh Mangaonkar was born on Wednesday, 23 March 1994 (age 29 years; as in 2023) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His zodiac sign is Aries. In September 2021, he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Heim University of Applied Sciences, Hämeenlinna, Southern Finland. In May 2023, he joined CalevaLAB as a thesis student.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 10″
Weight (Approx): 75 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
Mahesh Mangaonkar’s father’s name is Dayanand and mother’s name is Anjali.
Mahesh with his parents at his Borivali home in Mumbai
wife and children
In February 2023, he married Marit, a social worker from Finland.
Mahesh with Marit
relationships/affairs
Mahesh dated Marit for six years before marrying her.
livelihood
In 2009, he won the prestigious British Junior Open Squash Championship in the under-15 category. In January 2012, she was inducted as a professional athlete into the Professional Squash Association (PSA), a global governing body responsible for the administration of both men’s and women’s professional squash worldwide. At the age of 18, he made his debut on the PSA World Tour and made it to prominence by defeating his rival Lukas Serme in the final and winning his first title at the Prague Open in the Czech Republic. In an interview after the 2-hour match, he said,
It was extremely difficult and extremely long. I am completely dead. This was definitely the number one match for me.”
In 2013, he competed at the PSA World Tour Challenger 5 event held in Bratislava, Slovakia, defeating two-time champion Jan Koukal of the Czech Republic in the semi-finals. He then defeated defending champion Greg Lobban of Scotland in a thrilling final, making him the first Indian to win the IMET Open. While talking about winning the game during an interview he said,
I was happy to win the third, relaxed a bit in the fourth and struggled in the fifth. Squash is also a mental game and I gave everything in the last game.
Mahesh Mangaonkar in IMET Open
In 2014, he was a member of the Indian men’s national squash team; Saurav Ghoshal, Kush Kumar and Harinder Pal Sandhu were the other members of the team. The team won the gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea by defeating Malaysia in the final. In January 2015, she achieved a world rank of 44, her highest career ranking. In 2016, he competed at the Sekisui Open, a Professional Squash Association event held in Kriens, Switzerland, defeating Bernat Jaume of Spain in the final. In June 2019, he won the 76th Senior National Squash Championship held in Pune by defeating Abhishek Pradhan with an easy winning score of 12-10, 11-7, 11-9.
Mahesh Mangaonkar with Joshna Chinappa after winning the national championship in their respective categories.
After living in Finland for more than 3 years and becoming Finnish National Champion, he was allowed to participate in the Finnish National Championship in 2022. At the 2022 PSA World Tour, he achieved his career-best performance in the very first match and reached the top 16 of the platinum event.
Mahesh Mangaonkar is playing in the 2022 PSA World Tour
In 2023, he was a member of the Indian men’s national squash team; Saurav Ghoshal, Harinder Pal Sandhu and Abhay Singh were the other members of the team. The team won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China by defeating Pakistan in the final.
19th Asian Games gold medal winners Saurav Ghoshal, Abhay Singh, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Harinder Pal Sandhu (left to right).
In an interview he talked about his victory in the 2022 Asian Games and said,
I was very disappointed after losing to Naseer Iqbal. It was nerve-wracking. Winning the gold was a proud moment for me, the team and Indian squash. We had a tough draw in the pool stage, but we were successful. Unfortunately, we lost to Pakistan in the pool stage and that inspired us to perform well in the final. This was good retaliation and revenge for us. Special thanks to Saurav [Ghosal] To be a great leader. He has been an inspiration to the juniors including me.
award
- In February 2019, Mahesh Mangaonkar won the prestigious Shiv Chhatrapati Award instituted by the Government of Maharashtra for excellence in sports.
Facts/General Knowledge
- In September 2020, he joined CrossFit, Finland as a Level 1 Trainer.
- In June 2022, he joined the Finnish Squash Association as a part-time coach of the men’s national team.
- He is a professional sparring athlete affiliated with several national federations across Europe.
- He plays for 8 different clubs in the Dutch League, English League, Czech League, Swedish League, Finnish League, Italian League, German League and French League.
- Her squash coach, Sebastian Wenik, is a Dutch national coach, and her fitness coach, Pierre Macon, is a CrossFit regional athlete from France.
Mahesh Mangaonkar is training in Helsinki
- He is the head of sport at Norges Squashforbund, Oslo, Norway.
- According to him, his mother has been his biggest supporter. Talking about his mother in an interview, he said,
Life has been tough and there have been times when things weren’t going my way when I felt like giving up. Every time my mother was there to remind me of my value as a human being. My mother encouraged me to reach out to the unreachable and to never settle for less than what I am capable of.
- According to him, his favorite food is prawn curry and grilled chicken cooked by his mother.
- He moved to Europe at the age of 19 and has lived there since then.
- Mahesh Mangaonkar’s dream is to be a part of the Olympics and win a medal. In October 2023, the International Olympic Committee officially recommended the inclusion of squash in the 2028 Olympic Games. Talking about his dream in an interview, he said,
I have a few years left before I have to decide on retirement. Since squash will be included in the 2028 Olympics, I want to aim for an Olympic medal. I definitely want to play another Asian game. I want to push myself and stay fit till the LA Games to fulfill my dream of being a part of the Olympics and winning a medal there. I’ll be 34 then, so hoping for the best.
- In February 2020, he underwent surgery to repair a knee injury caused by overuse and excessive training. The injury occurred in 2018, but the pain increased significantly after the 2019 Tournament of Champions in New York.
- He mostly uses Prince Sports rackets.
- According to him, the most dangerous task till date is climbing the 6150 meter high peak in Leh.
Mahesh Mangaonkar in Leh
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn