Joshna Chinappa is set to make a record seventh appearance at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

At 39, squash star Joshna Chinappa is still going strong (Image: X) CHENNAI: The faces around Joshn Chinappa have changed with each cycle of the Asian Games. Teammates have left and rivals have disappeared, but as the countdown to the 2026 Asian Games begins, the 39-year-old is still going strong. Twenty-four years after making her first appearance as a teenager at Busan 2002, Joshna is set to make a record seventh appearance at the continent’s biggest sporting spectacle, making her the Indian athlete with the most appearances at the continental multi-sport event.When she takes the court in Aichi-Nagoya this September, Joshna will overtake squash player Saurav Ghosal, who she tied with six appearances at the Asian Games in Hangzhou four years ago. Joshn’s fellow Chennai-ite, paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal has made five appearances along with tennis legend Leander Paes.“Normally, longevity in sports is often seen in men and it is not easy for women. Yet Joshna has managed to go ahead and ensure that she continues to play at the highest level. She is not only representing the country but also competing for medals and performing exceptionally well,” Sharath, deputy chef of the Indian contingent at the upcoming Asiad, told TOI on Monday. “I know what it means to stay fit after a certain age and it’s not easy. He keeps saying, ‘Sharath, how do you do it (stay fit)?’ Now I’m like, ‘OK, how do you do it?’ The older he is, the fitter he is,” added Sharath.Ever since she became India’s youngest national champion at the age of 14 in 2001, Joshna’s mantra has been simple. “I’m just thinking about one game at a time and not the next one,” she said with a smile — whether it’s her return from knee surgery or her plans for the future.That simple answer has remained unchanged and helped her return to where she belongs today at the elite level. The former world number 10 has once again broken into the top 100 in the world rankings and is currently India’s second highest ranked player behind Delhi girl Anahat Singh.“I was playing pretty decent after the surgery and then I thought why not continue and see if there’s anything left in me. The last couple of years I’ve been focusing a lot on just training and playing and that’s what helped me,” said Joshna, a five-time Asian Games medalist, after winning all her matches at the Asiad trials on Sunday.But Joshna’s journey was far from smooth. She has undergone surgery twice, the last being major knee surgery on her right leg in December 2023, shortly after the Hangzhou Asiad. The injury left Joshna facing one of the toughest challenges of her career. She could have easily left because she had already achieved many successes, but she decided otherwise. What truly sets Joshna apart is her fighting spirit, a trait that allows her to excel in an intensely demanding sport. In typical fashion, the veteran battled back to win her first PSA Challenger title in over a decade in 2025 and was later part of the World Cup winning team.