Peruvian squash player Elias aims for World No.1

The 22-year-old grew up holding a squash racket and has been practicing since he was only three years old.

He was crowned Junior World Champion two times in a row.

Elias then joined the world tour, where he competed against world powers from Egypt, the United Kingdom, and France.

"At the beginning, people could not believe that I had left Peru and that I was beating them when they were the best in the world," Elias told EFE.

His biggest advantage is his height of 188 cm (6ft2), which helps him reach all points of the squash court, which is 62.42 square meters.

Squash is only played in private clubs in Peru, but Elias has been training since before going to school, thanks to his father, Jose Manuel Elias, who was a national champion for 20 consecutive years and currently serves as his son's coach and accompanies him to almost all his international tournaments.

"Luckily, it did not take me a long time to adapt and in my first year, I won three tournaments and climbed quite fast in the rankings. A year and a half later I was in the top 50," he said.

He came to recognize that the hardest part of the routine was the concentration of matches can accumulate in a few days and cause physical exhaustion.

"Every time I have a good result, we are happy, but my father always tells me that the next day we have to forget and focus on the next championships. It's good to have him because he helps me focus on the upcoming challenges," he said.

Elias, who spends between six to eight months each year competing away from home, is hoping to grab the gold medal at this year's Pan American Games in Lima, where he will be the home favorite.

"I've had it in mind for quite some time," said Elias, who had to settle for silver in the 2015 Pan American Games after losing the final against Colombia's Miguel Angel Rodriguez.

"Now I want my revenge and I'm training hard for it, I also think we have a lot of chances in doubles with Alonso Escudero, we already won in the South American Games and in the Pan-American squash championship," he added.

For Elias, Rodriguez will not be his only rival, as he also has respect for the Mexican brothers, Cesar and Arturo Salazar, "who hold positions 25 and 40 in the world."

"Step by step, squash is growing in South America and I think there will be more tournaments in the near future. In the juniors there are already some South American players who are having good results," he added.

He highlighted the sacrifices and practice required for success in the sport, which led him to study far from home for two years of his high school years when he won the World Junior Squash Championships, a success he obtained at the cost of his social life.

Elias is now able to spend hours hitting the ball with his racket on the wall without it hitting the ground. This strict form of training that has transformed his way of life to try and be the best squash player in the world. 

(END) EFE/RMB/MVB