After clinching the two prestigious titles in successive weeks, the 12-year-old Joshna underlined her prowess by going on to win the National under-14 title at Delhi shortly afterward.

Joshna could be defined as pure untamed energy as she destroys her opponents on court. She gave a hint of her arsenal recently at the Willingdon Sports Club here during the Little Masters Squash tourney.

But Joshna's campaign in the country's commercial capital experienced a fall in fortunes. She lost in both (under-14 and under-16) semi-finals to top seed, Rhea Bhandare and Tricia Chuah.

Doing some soul searching, Joshna reflects on the reverses: ``I don't give excuses for those defeats but I had a sore ankle since Wednesday and it affected my play. That's all. They won and I lost -- simple,'' defines the seventh standard student of Lady Angal, Chennai.

Despite a twisted ankle during a practicesession of basketball at school, she preferred to play. ``I wanted to play so I did not inform my father.''The confident Joshna claims that she doesn't hesitate to play anybody in the country falling in her age group. And surely enough, she has become a terror on the court. ``Not many girls like the idea of practicing with me. I think they are too afraid. But I do enjoy my status as I have my father as my partner,'' she says.

``I defeated Priya Abraham 3-0 in a tournament and she refused to play me after that,'' adds the current u-14 national champion.

Joshna trains for three hours with her father Anjan Chinappa at Madras Cricket Club (MCC) -- the only squash facility in Chennai -- and through the sweat and toil, aspires to be a professional squash player. But she laments: ``People in our country use sport to win a scholarship or admission to the United States. Once they do so, they neglect sport.''

Joshna currently tops the rankings in her age group and was the youngest under-14 competitor at theMasters. And quite naturally perhaps, the most enthusiastic. Joshna talks of her plans: ``I plan to play the British and Scottish Opens and I am quite sure that I'll win both events because I am playing in the under-13 category,'' she says almost in the same breath when asked about her prospects. ``The motivation is there -- representing your country is the greatest feeling,'' the schoolgirl adds.

Anjan, her father, hopes to send Joshna to Malaysia for training sometime in May 1999. No mean player himself in his days, Anjan's ability to read the opponent's well before a match appears to have rubbed off on his daughter.Younger brother Gaurav, aged eight, has also been wielding the racquet in several tournaments -- perhaps inspired by Joshna's sparkling achievements and Dad's encouragement.

Joshna admires Scotland's Peter Nicol and Malaysia's Nicole David Asian champion at only 14 and among the top 30 in the world. A feat not quite out of reach, should she sustain her remarkable progress.