Hartford, CT — The following is a statement from Trinity College:
Baset Chaudhry, the top-ranked squash player in the country, has voluntarily withdrawn from competing in the national singles championship to be held March 5-7 at Trinity. Chaudhry is the defending national singles champion and co-captain of Trinity’s national championship team.
This decision follows a sportsmanship incident on February 21 during Chaudhry’s match with his Yale opponent, Kenneth Chan. Chaudhry earlier this week issued apologies to the Yale Coach and team, including Chan, as well as to the coaches of all the member institutions of the College Squash Association (CSA), the governing body for collegiate squash in the United States.
At the team tournament in New Haven last weekend, Trinity captured its 12th consecutive national championship. Chaudhry, a senior and a four-year member of the squash team, has played a leadership role in the team’s success and achievements.
“I am extremely proud of Baset for making this difficult decision,” Trinity President James F. Jones, Jr. said Friday. “Throughout his four years at the College, Baset has been an exemplary student and athlete, demonstrating great engagement and success in the classroom, as a campus leader whom students admire, and obviously as an accomplished squash player. He has both my admiration and my support during what has been a very challenging period.”
Added Rick Hazelton, Trinity Director of Athletics, ” I would like to thank Baset for the tremendous effort he has given and the acclaim that he has brought over an extended period to his teammates and to the College, not just on the court, but equally important in the distinguished way he has carried himself as a student and leader. He is one of the most impressive student-athletes to step on this campus during my time here. We are proud to be associated with a young man of his quality.”
Assaiante, Chaudhry’s head coach, echoed Hazelton’s praise. “This is a kid who’s been one of the best players I’ve ever had since I’ve been here,” said Assaiante, Trinity’s squash coach for 16 years. “Baset is one of the most beloved figures on campus and a scholar-athlete who has achieved faculty honors. He had a youthful lapse of composure, and now he has voluntarily agreed to step down. It’s a classy thing to do and we applaud him for it.”
