British Junior Open (2-6 January 2008)

It was ‘fifth time lucky’ in the climax of the Women’s U17 event. On course for her fifth British Junior Open title in a row, top-seeded Egyptian Heba El Torky crashed out 9-6, 5-9, 9-6, 1-9, 9-5 to India’s Dipika Pallikal.
Dipika is only the second girl to win this championship after Joshana Chinappa.

Suchde Wins Maiden Psa Event

Siddharth Suchde has clinched his maiden Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour title in style, upsetting two higher-seeded players on way to victory at the Regions Racquet Club Pro Squash Series.The eighth seeded Mumbai-born Suchde, who turns 23 on Jan 20, took just 50 minutes to defeat unseeded Cesar Salazar of Mexico 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 in the final at the Racquet Club here.

On his way to the final, Suchde had defeated qualifier Joe Millman of England 11-1, 11-4, 11-4; fourth seed Ian Power of Canada 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 in 40 minutes in the quarter-final; and top seed Tony James of Australia 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 in the semi-final in 55 minutes.In the final, 20-year-old Salazar was no match for Suchde as the former US Inter-Collegiate champion won his first PSA title since joining the association almost four years ago.

kolkata international (3-8 february 2008)

Pakistan’s Mansoor Zaman claimed one of the most important triumphs of his career when he upset second-seeded Asian rival Ong Beng Hee in the final of the Kolkata International in India to win the 3-star PSA Tour event at the Calcutta Rackets Club in Kolkata. It was the pair’s 13th senior clash since contesting the Asian Junior Championships final in Beng Hee’s home country Malaysia in 1999 - with the Malaysian boasting a 9-3 head-to-head advantage before their first confrontation on Indian soil. Seeded five, Zaman overcame cousin and former Pakistan number one Shahid Zaman in the quarter-finals before upsetting Egypt’s rising star Omar Mosaad, the No3 seed, in the semis. Zaman raced to a two-game lead over Ong Beng Hee, ranked 18 in the world, in the Kolkata final. Though the Malaysian came back to take the third game, Zaman stuck to his game-plan and went on to win 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 in 54 minutes. It was not only Zaman’s first ever PSA Tour win over Beng Hee, but his first title win from such a low seeding for more than six years. The win takes his Tour title tally to six.

Final :

[5] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) bt [2] Ong Beng Hee (MAS)11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 (54m ).

Asian Senior Championships, Kuwait (13 - 21 - Feb - 2008)

Indian finishes 4th & 5th

Malaysia celebrated a clean sweep in the Asian Squash Championships for the second successive time after winning both the Men’s and Women’s Team titles to add to the individual trophies won earlier in the week in Kuwait. Hosts Kuwait, celebrating their maiden appearance in an Asian team final, put up a brave performance against favourites Malaysia. Mohd Azlan Iskandar, winner of the individual gold medal for the first time, beat Kuwait’s Abdullah Almezayen 10-8, 9-2, 9-6 to put the top seeds ahead. But, to the delight of local fans, Ali Alramezi pounced back to beat third string Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 9-2, 10-8, 9-4 in 67 minutes to tie the tie. However, Ong Beng Hee - the Malaysian number two who was denied a fifth successive individual gold medal by team-mate Iskandar - beat Kuwait hero Salem F Mohammed 9-3, 9-0, 9-8 in 41 minutes to give Malaysia the men’s gold medal for the third time since 2000. In the play-off for third place, Pakistan - denied a place in the final by Kuwait for the first in the event’s history - salvaged some pride by beating India 2/1. Malaysia beat Hong Kong in the women’s final for the third time - but for the first time were taken the full distance. Six-time individual champion Nicol David beat Hong Kong rival Rebecca Chiu 9-1, 9-5, 9-0 in the opening runner to put Malaysian ahead. But Joey Chan forced a decider when she defeated Malaysia’s Delia Arnold 9-3, 9-3, 5-9, 9-2 in a tense third string encounter. But experienced Sharon Wee saved the day with a 9-6, 9-2, 6-9, 9-1 defeat of Hong Kong’s Elise Ng to give the title to Malaysia for the fourth time in a row. Japan claimed the bronze medal for the third time by beating South Korea 2/0 in the third place play-off.

Men’s final

Malaysia beat Kuwait 2-1
3rd place play-off:Pakistan bt India 2-1
Women’s final

Malaysia bt Hong kong 2-1
3rd place play-off:Japan bt South korea 2-0
5th place play-off:India bt China 2-0
7th place play-off:Chinese Taipei bt Macau 2-0

Joshana Wins Individual Bronze

Top seeds Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Nicol David celebrated the fifth successive Malaysian double in the Asian Squash Championships - but did so in contrasting styles in the 14th staging of the biennial event in Kuwait.

In the men’s final, Iskandar was made to battle for exactly two hours by compatriot Ong Beng Hee - the defending champion, ranked two places lower in the world - before winning 5-9, 8-10, 9-5, 9-0, 9-7 to secure the title for the first time.

But, arguably, the standout performance in the men’s event was made by 20-year-old Abdullah Almezayen - a 9/16 seed who upset Pakistan’s 5/8 seed Yasir Butt 9-3, 10-9, 4-9, 5-9, 10-8 in 98 minutes in the last sixteen before overcoming India’s 3/4 seed Saurav Ghosal in a 72-minute quarter-final to become the first Kuwaiti to reach the semi-finals this decade. Siddharth Suchde too joined Saurav in the quarterfinals when he upset Mohd. Nafizwan before bowing out to Beng Hee in four sets.

The women’s event saw Malaysia’s Nicol David confirm her status as the undisputed Queen of Asian Squash when she beat long-time Hong Kong rival Rebecca Chiu 9-5, 9-2, 9-2 in 34 minutes in the final.

Joshana Chinappa did exceedingly well to defeat Sharon Wee in her quarter final match in four sets. In the semi final Joshana lost to Rebeccan Chui from Hong Kong. Joshana won’s the bronze medal for India.

German Junior Open (25-27 april 2008)

Mahesh Mangaonkar won the German Junior open defeating Oliver Holland 3-2. Anaka loses to Amanda Sobhy from USA (3-2) in the girls u15. Ravi Dixit (Bu17), Raghav Mehrotra (Bu13) & Anwesha Reddy (Gu17) all secured the 3rd position.

Malaysian Junior Open (24-29 May 2008)

Aparajitha Balamurukan (girls under 15) & Kush Kumar (boys under 13) keep the Indian tri colour flying high after winning the Milo All Star Malaysian Junior Open Squash Championship held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 24-29 May 2008.

Aparajitha from Chennai is a student at Church Park School while Kush Kumar from Dhampur is a student at Hamdard Public School, New Delhi.

Aparajitha seeded 5/8 in the girls under 15 event defeated 3rd seed Ka Yie Lee from HK 9-5 9-4 2-9 6-9 9-5 in the quarterfinal, then defeated 2 nd seed Dijo Sarah Sexton from Australia 5-9 10-8 9-7 9-0 and finally defeated Jemyca Aribado from Philipines 9-1 7-9 9-3 9-3 in the final to lift her maiden squash title.

Kush only dropped one game in the entire event. In his quarter final he beat Man Ho Tse from Hong Kong 9-3, 9-2, 9-7, then beat 2nd seed Ka Ho Pang from Singapore 9-7, 9-5, 9-6 and in the final defeated Cheuk Hin Lo Chris from Hong Kong 1-9, 9-4, 10-9, 9-0.

Ravi Dixit also from Dhampur currently staying and training at the ICL Squash Academy in Chennai won the silver medal in the boys u17 category. Having defeated Lucas Serme from France in the semi final in straight games, Ravi did not have an answer to Danish Atlas Khan from Pakistan losing 9-0, 9-2, 9-0 in the final.

The ICL Squash Academy had a lot more to cheer about when Anwesha Reddy won the bronze medal in the girls under 17 category and Roshan Kumarakanna got the fourth place in the boys under 11 category. Aparajitha Balamurukan won her first international title along with Aparajitha Balamurukan (Gu15) & Kush Kumar (Bu13) win the Malaysian Junior Open 2008.

Ravi Dixit (Bu17) - 2nd position, Anwesha Reddy - 3rd position (Gu17), Roshan Kumarakannan (Bu11) - 4th position.

Penang Open Squash (31 May – 4 June)

After the success in the Malaysian Open in the under-15 section recently, this Chennai Church Park School student had another grand moment when she won the under-15 title in the Penang Open thereafter. Aparajitha defeated Shria Khatri 7-9, 3-9, 9-6, 9-0, 9-2 in the final. It proved a memorable finish for this 10th standard student, who trains at the ICL Academy here.

A member of the Indian team to the Asian junior championship to be held in Busan in a couple of weeks, this twin-success should augur well for Aparajitha, who will be playing in the under-15 section. Another success story from Penang was that of Kush Kumar in the under-13 category.

He won the title beating Gurshan Singh of Malaysia 9-4, 9-2, 9-7
Won the title beating Gurshan Singh of Malaysia 9-4, 9-2, 9-7
Aparajitha Balamurukan (Chennai) Winner – Girls u15
Kush Kumar (New Delhi) Winner – Boys u13
Shria Khatri (New Delhi/Maharashtra) Runner up Girls u15
Aditya Khatri (New Delhi/Maharashtra) Runner up Boys u11
Roshan Kumarakannan (Chennai) 3rd position Boys u11
Solomon Ravi (Chennai) 4th position Boys u11

Otters Open Championships (8-15 June 2008)

Ritwik and Mandy Win Otters Crowns

Mandy Kennedy of England clinched her third Otters title in a row for a hat-trick, while top seed Ritwik Bhattacharya won the men’s crown, in the Otters Open Squash Tournament at the Otters Club, Bandra on Sunday.

India No. 2 Bhattacharya ended fifth seed Vikram Malhotra’s rewarding campaign in the competition with a 9-1, 9-3, 9-3 win in a lop-sided men’s final that lasted 45 minutes.

Bhattacharya, ranked No. 58 in the world, was fitter and fresher for the occasion that mattered especially after Malhotra endured a gruelling but rewarding week in which he upset third seed and former National champion Manish Chotrani and second seed Harinderpal Singh Sandhu apart from coming through a tough boys under-19 semi-final and final.

Malhotra quite naturally ran out of steam and Bhattacharya had little trouble while cruising to victory.

Malhotra made amends for his loss in the men’s final and clinched the boys’ under-19 crown as the top seed with a thrilling 3-2 win over second seed and German Open under-17 winner Aditya Jagtap.

Tournament top seed and former England international Kennedy overcame the loss of a tight second game that stretched into extra points to prevail over second seed Dr. Deepali Parekh-Anvekar 9-7, 8-10, 9-3, 9-2 in a women’s final that had its fair share of excitement early on.
Dr. Parekh-Anvekar ran Kennedy close in the opening game before snatching the second game in dramatic fashion to set the stage for an exciting contest.

But Kennedy utilised her international experience and kept Dr. Parekh-Anvekar busy in long rallies before snatching winners in the third and fourth games to seal a comfortable victory.

It was a rewarding day for Jindal Squash Academy products as boys’ under-11 second seed Sandeep Paswan, girls’ under-15 second seed Saumya Karki and girls under-13 top seed Urwashi Joshi emerged triumphant with impressive victories.

One of the country’s top juniors Abhishek Pradhan also helped himself to a double crown after bagging the boys’ under-17 and under-15 titles.

Second seed Dev Vazirani claimed his first major crown when he upset top seed Ben Kennedy for the Mixed under-9 title.

Results as on 15th June 2008

All finals :

Men: 1-Ritwik Bhattacharya bt 5-Vikram Malhotra 9-1, 9-3, 9-3.
Women: 1-Mandy Kennedy bt 2-Dr. Deepali Parekh-Anvekar 9-7, 8-10, 9-3, 9-2.
Boys U-19 : 1-Vikram Malhotra bt 2-Aditya Jagtap 9-4, 9-0, 7-9, 7-9, 9-5.
Boys U-17 : 2-Abhishek Pradhan bt 1-Karm Kumar 3-9, 9-4, 9-5, 10-9.
Boys U-15 : 1-Abhishek Pradhan bt 3-Kush Kumar 10-8, 9-10, 9-1, 9-4.
Boys U-13 : 1-Kush Kumar bt 1-Arjun Kochar 9-0, 9-1, 9-4.
Boys U-11 : 2-Sandeep Paswan bt Ranjeet Singh 2-9, 9-6, 9-6, 9-5.
Girls U-13 : 1-Urwashi Joshi bt 7-Anadita Gupta 9-0, 9-0, 9-0.
Girls U-15 : 2-Saumya Karki bt 1-Sachika Balwani 9-6, 6-9, 9-6, 9-2.
Mixed U-9 : 2-Dev Vazirani bt 1-Ben Kennedy 4-9, 9-0, 9-0, 9-2.
Professionals: 1-Temo Gomez bt 7-Farmaan Khan 9-1, 9-7, 9-7.
Men’s Over-45: 4-Vaman Apte bt 2-B.I. Singh 9-6, 9-2, 9-2.
Men’s Over-35: 1-Manish Chotrani bt 2-Temo Gomez 9-4, 9-2, 9-4.

Asian Junior Individual, Korea 26-29 June 2008

Anaka Wins Asian Junior u15

Anaka Alankamony bagged India’s lone gold medal at the Asian Junior Squash Championship, while both Dipika Pallikal and Mahesh Mangaonkar settled for silver after losing their respective finals in the tournament which concluded in Busan, Korea. Anaka, the top seeded, beat Hong Kong’s Ho Ka Po 9-6, 9-6, 9-5 in the girls under-15 category final to clinch her eighth international title. ”Down 1-6 in the first two games, Anaka hit some brilliant hard drives and delicate drops. She was made to move to all corners by Po but prevailed in the end,” national coach Cyrus Poncha said. After winning Anaka had this to say “I want to especially thank Mr. Ramachandran and Mr. Srivatsan from the federation, my coaches - Major Sir, Cyrus Sir, Bala Sir and Hariom Sir, my dad and mum, my grandmother - Sawrnammal, my school - Church Park Sacred Heart and my racket sponsor - Mr. Altaf from Black Knight.”

However, Dipika and Mahesh had to be content with runner-up finishes. Pallikal was outplayed 1-9, 6-9, 0-9 by top seed Malaysian Low Wee Wern in the under-19 girls final, Mangaonkar went down 4-9, 4-9, 3-9 to top seed Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal in the under-15 boys event.

Boys u-15 :
Abhishek Pradhan (6th),
Vivek Dinodia (17th)
Girls u-19 :
Anwesha Reddy (8th),
Harita Omprakash (13th)
Boys u-19 :
Vikram Malhotra (3rd),
Ravi Dixit (7th),
Paramit Singh (11th)
Karan Malik (15th)

Chennai Open 2-6 July 2008

Men’s final :

Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [2] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (49min).

Men’s semi-finals :

Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [3] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 10-12, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 (84m)
Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) bt [4] Mohd Ali Reda (EGY) 10-12, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 (73m)

Women’s final :

Annie Au (HKG) bt [5] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 9-3, 10-8, 10-8 (44min)

Women’s semi-finals :

Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [3] Orla Noom (NED) 10-8, 7-9, 9-5, 9-1 (49m)
Annie Au (HKG) bt [2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 10-9, 9-1, 5-9, 10-9 (67m)

Saurav Ghosal claimed his 3rd PSA title defeating Ritwik Bhattacharya in four games. The match was an excellent display of rally finishing. Ritwik played a tight first game and this showed in his finishing the game in a quick 10 min 11-7. The second game set the tone for the rest of the match unforced errors on Ritwik’s end allowed Saurav to level the match. The next couple of games saw Saurav gliding over the court and the ‘human rubber band’ was able to run down practically every ball to take control of the third game as well.

The 4th game saw Saurav with a runaway 5-1 lead, and though Ritwik played some excellent points, he wasn’t in a position to wrest the momentum away from Saurav. The match ended tamely though, with a stroke being awarded to Saurav to retain the Chennai Open crown won last year.
Dipika searching for her 1st WISPA tour title struggled at the onset with Annie’s drop – drive game. In the 2nd Dipika squandered her 8-0 lead going down to Annie 10-8. In the 3rd Annie played aggressive and ran to a 7-2 lead, Dipika fought hard and in 1 hand was serving for the game after winning 7 points to lead 8-7. In the final twist Annie won the 3rd game 10-8. A remarkable achievement however by Dipika to get to the final and Overall a great event for Indian Squash.

15th World Junior Men Championship, Zurich 27 July – 7 August 2008

The Indian Team secured 4th position which is its best ever after their stunned higher ranked France 2-1 in the quarterfinals to reach the World Team semi finals for the 1st time ever!!! India had got off to a fine start in the team championships topping their pool. A victory against Australia in the pre-quarters and the historic victory against France in the quarterfinal ensured the team reaches the semi finals. The team Vikram Malhotra, Aditya Jagtap, Ravi Dixit & Ramit Tandon gave England a close fight to lose out narrowly in the 3/4th play off.

Jsw Karnataka State Open Squash Championship 2008

The Karnataka State Open Squash Championship 2008 was conducted from 8th to 10th August 2008 at Toranagallu, Bellary Dist. Karnataka. The venue has 2 squash courts.

Total of 150 entries were received.

Finals results :

Boys Under 11 : Roshan Kanna (TN) beat Sandeep Paswan (Mah) 9/1,9/1,9/7
Boys Under 13 : Sandeep Ramachandran (TN) beat Aditya Khatri (Mah) 10/8,9/3,9/0
Boys Under 15 : Shashi Pandey(Mah) beat Vrishab Kotian (TN) 9/6,10/8,9/6
Boys Under 17 : Prithvi Aditya (TN) beat Awdwesh Yadav (Mah) 9/3,9/1,9/3
Boys Under 19 : Laxman Joshi (Mah) beat Abhinav Sinha (Mah) 9/3,9/5,9/1
Men : Desappan (TN) beat Abhimanyu Pandey (Mah) 9/4,9/5,7/9,7/9,9/6
Men O 35 : V Laxman (TN) beat Sunil Verma (Mah) 9/5,9/1,9/5
Girls Under 11 : Aishwarya B (Mah) beat Neharika B (TN) 9/5,9/7,10/9
Girls Under 13 : Urwashi Joshi (Mah) beat Lakshya R (TN) 9/0,9/6,9/2
Girls Under 15 : Urwashi Joshi (Mah) beat Lakshya R (TN) 9/5,10/8,7/3 (Conceded)
Girls Under 17 : Rinki Soni (Mah) beat Shweta Yadav (Mah) 5/9,9/3,9/2,9/3

Indo Schottle Pune Open Squash 2008 - 14-17 August

Final Results :

Open - 1* Ritwik Bhattacharya beat 2* Vikram Malhotra 8-10 9-2 9-3 9-3
Women - 1* Saumya Karki beat Aishwarya Kulkarni 9-1 9-0 9-0
O35 - 1* Niraj Shirgaokar beat 3/4* Mohanish Sawant 9-4 9-5 9-6
O40 - 1* Mohanish Sawant beat 2* Deepak Moolani 4-9 9-0 9-6 10-8
O45 - 1* Vaman Apte beat 2* Col Bahl 9-6 9-3 9-6
O50 - 1* Vaman Apte beat Lalit Agnihotri 9-0 9-7 9-2
Pros - 1* Sanjay Pawar beat 2* Benjamin 9-0 9-5 9-0
U11 - 1* Vedant Rao beat Jui Kalgutkar 9-5 9-2 10-8
U13 - 2* Raghav Mehrotra beat Divij Kadan 9-2 9-4 8-10 9-6
U15 - 5/8* Vrishabh Kotian beat 1* Rohan Vora 9-6 9-2 9-4
U17 - 5/8* Vrishab Kotian beat 2* Pranay Merchant 9-6 3-9 7-9 9-1 9-6
U19 - 1* Vikram Malhotra beat 3/4* Mahesh Mangaonkar 9-3 9-0 9-

56th ICL National Squash Championship 2008, 19th -23rd August 2008, Secunderabad Club, Hyderabad

Final Resulst :

Men : Saurav Ghosal (TN) bt Siddarth Suchde (Mah) 11-13, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4.

Semifinals :

Saurav Ghosal bt Harrinder Pal Singh 11-8, 11-4, 14-12
Siddharth Suchde bt Ritwik Bhattacharya 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4
Women: Joshna Chinappa (TN) bt Dipika Pallikal (TN) 11-8, 11-7, 11-2.
Professionals: A. Parthiban (TN) bt B. Balamurugan (TN) 12-10, 8-11, 11-7,

Women :

Joshna Chinappa bt Anaka Alankamony 11-7, 11-6, 11-5
Dipika Pallikal bt Anwesha Reddy 11-6, 11-7, 11-8.

Professionals: A. Prathiban bt Rohit More 11-2, 11-7, 11-3
B. Bala Murugan bt Dalip Tripathi 11-7, 11-8, 11-7.

Interstate Squash Championship 2008 24th August 2008 at Secunderabad Club, Hyderabad

Final

Tamil Nadu bt Services 2-0
Harinder Pal Singh bt Vikas Jangra 11-13, 12-10, 11-2, 11-6
Saurav Ghosal bt Sandeep Jangra 11-3, 11-2, 11-7
3rd place: Delhi bt West Bengal 2-1
Suhail Kapoor bt Gaurav Narvan 11-9, 11-7, 11-4
Amjad Khan lost to Dalip Tripathi 6-11, 11-9, 7-11
Rishi Jalan bt Rishabh Mundra 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7

VI th Harish Chandra Golcha Memorial

Finals

Womens Open : Joshna Chinappa beat Surbhi Misra 11-6, 11-9, 11-4
Girls U-19 : Surbhi Misra beat Saumya Karki 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8
Girls U-15 : Saumya Karki beat Shria Khatri 11-6, 11-6, 11-2
Girls U-13 : Pankhuri Malhotra beat Adya Advani 11-3, 11-5, 11-7
Men's Open : Harinder Pal Singh beat Mohd. Asyraf 11-4, 11-9, 12-10
Boys U-19 : Vikram Malhotra beat Ravi Dixit 11-9, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9
Boys U-17 : Ravi Dixit beat Mahesh Mangaonkar 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-5
Boys U-15 : Mahesh Mangaonkar beat Karan Tharyamal 11-5, 11-7, 14-12
Boys U-13 : Kush Kumar beat Raghav Malhotra 11-6, 11-9, 11-2

Saurav reached Main Draw in 5 star PSA event Internationaux de France a $62,000 5-star PSA Tour event, the first major squash championship was held in Paris lsince 1995. Saurav Ghosal won a hard fought match 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 (70m) against South African Jesse Engelbrecht in his first round of qualifying. A straight set victory in his final qualifying round against Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (51m) set him up against former world no 1 in the main draw. Third seeded Thierry Lincou (FRA) was too good for Saurav winning 11-2, 11-5, 11-9 (35m).

National Masters Squash Championship 2008 4th to 7th September 2008, Delhi Gymkhana, New Delhi

Final Results

Over 35 - Dalip Tripathi beat Vicky Nayar {CHD} 9-1 9-4 9-6
Over 40 - Dushyant Singh Jamwal {ND} beat Sanjeev Anand {ND} 9-6 9-4 9-5 -
Over 45 - Dushyant Singh Jamwal {ND} beat O'neil Pramanik {WB} 9-1 9-1 9-0-
Over 50 - Vijay Jani {ND} beat B I Singh {ND} 9-3 9-4 7-9 10-8
Over 55 -B I Singh {ND} beat Rajiv Reddy {TN} 9-3 9-1 9-1-

Ornano International Squash Open 2008

Saurav wins PSA in France Indian national champion Saurav Ghosal scored his third successive upset in the Ornano International Open to win the inaugural $15,000 PSA Tour event in Bordeaux, France. Seeded sixth Saurav won his 4th PSA title defeating third seed Davide.

15th DDA Open Squash Tournament 2008

Siri Fort Sports Complex from 8th to 12th October 2008
Results of finals :
Men’s Open : Mohd. Asyraf Azan bt. Gaurav Nandrajog 10-9,9-7,0-9,8-10,9-1
Women’s Open : Surbhi Misra bt. Sachika Ingale 9-1,9-1,9-0
Boys Under 11 : Ranjit Singh bt. Robin Mann 9-5,9-0,2-9,9-5
Boys Under 13 : Vijay Kumar bt.Ranvijay Singh 9-3,9-3,9-4
Boys Under 15 : Karan Thaharyamal bt. Kush Kumar 9-6,9-3,9-6
Boys Under 17 : Ashray Ohri bt. Deepak Misra 9-1,9-6,6-9,9-2
Boys Under 19 : Karm Kumar bt. Parmit Singh 9-3,9-1,6-9,9-5
Girls Under 13 : Pankhuri Malhotra bt. Adya Advani 9-2,9-3,9-5
Girls Under 15 : Sai Meera bt. Pankhuri Malhotra 8-10,5-9,9-5,10-9,9-3
Girls Under 17 : Sachika Ingale bt. Sai Meera 9-0,9-1,9-0
Men’s above 35 : Mukhtiar Ali bt. Dushyant Jamwal walk-over to Ali
Veterans above 45 : Dr. B.I. Singh bt. Swagat Bam 9-0,9-4,9-5
Professionals : A. Parthiban bt. Amjad Khan 9-7,9-4,4-9,9-3

Sub-Junior / Junior National Squash Championship 2008 31st October to 4th November 2008

Results Finals :
Girls :
U-11: Adya Advani ( DEL ) bt Aishwarya Bhattacharya (MAH) 11-4,11-3,8-11,11-1
Third place: Rayna Kishanchandani (MAH) bt Jui Kalgutar (MAH) 21-19, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9.
U-13 : Pankhuri Malhotra (DEL) bt Lakshya Ragvendra (TN) 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 11-3
Third place: Heba Johnson (RAJ) bt Likhitta Dugar (TN) 11-13, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.
U-15: Anaka Alankamony (TN) bt Saumya Karki (MAH) 11-9, 11-6, 12-10
Third place : Aprajitha Balamurukan (TN) bt Shria Khatri (MAH) 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7.
U-17 : Harita Om Prakash (TN) bt Ankita Sharma (MAH) 11-6, 11-9, 11- 3
Third place: Dheeya Somaiya (MP) bt Tanvi Jain (MP) 11-7, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9.
U-19 : Dipika Pallikal (TN) bt Surbhi Misra (RAJ) 11-5, 11-5, 11-2
Third place : Anwesha Reddy (TN) bt Swati Muchhal (MP) 11-3, 11-2, 11-5.

Boys :

U-11: Roshan R.K. (TN) bt A. Rishidev (TN) 11-9, 11-2, 11-6
Third place: Ranjeet Singh (UP) bt Robin Mann ( DEL ) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.
U-13: Kush Kumar ( DEL ) bt Raghav Mehrotra (MAH) 11-5, 11-2, 11- 8
Third place: Abhimanyu Shah (MAH) bt Sandeep Ramachandran (TN) 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-6.
U-15: Mahesh Mangaonkar (MAH) bt Vivek Dinodia (WB) 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2
Third place: Vrishab Kotian (TN) bt Deepak Mishra ( DEL ) 11-7, 11-9, 11-5.
U-17: Karan Malik (TN) bt P. Abhishek (TN) 11-7, 8-11, 11-2, 11-8
Third place: Ravi Dixit (TN) bt Ramit Tandon (TN) 11-7, 11-1, 11-2.
U-19: Vikram Malhotra (MAH) bt Aditya Jagtap (MAH) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8
Third place: Paramit Singh (TN) bt J. Laxman (MAH) 12-10, 11-8,11-9

Junior Inter State Squash Championship 2008 5th to 8th November, at Chennai

Finals :
Boys : Under-19: TN bt Maharashtra 2-1
Ravi Dixit lost to Vikram Malhotra 11-6, 11-4, 11-5
Ramit Tandon bt Mahesh Mangaonkar 2-11, 3-11, 0-11
Karan Malik bt Laxman Joshi 7-11, 2-11, 11-4, 11-8, 6-11

3rd/4th place playoff: TN ‘B’ bt New Delhi 2-0
Abhishek Pradhan bt Gunraj Singh 8-11, 2-11, 8-11
Akshay Deepak bt Shakir Hussain 13-11, 6-11, 6-11, 9-11

Boys Under-15 : New Delhi bt Maharashtra 2-0
Kush Kumar bt Mahesh Mangaonkar 9-11, 7-11, 8-11
Deepak Mishra bt Rahil Fazelbhoy 12-10, 10-12, 7-11, 11-0, 2-11

3rd/4th place playoff: TN bt Maharashtra ‘B’ 2-1
Vrishab Kotian bt Anuj Bhal 11-6, 11-8, 11-8
Rishi Tandon bt Ishaan Advani 11-6, 12-10, 11-5
Arjun Kochhar bt Sandeep Ramachandran 4-11, 5-11, 8-11

Girls Under -19 : TN bt New Delhi ‘B’ 3-0.
U-15: TN bt New Delhi 2-0
Anaka Alankamony bt Sachika Ingale 11-3, 11-9, 11-4
Aparajitha Balamurukan bt Pankhuri Malhotra 11-4, 11-4, 11-1

Indian Challenger # 1, Chennai From 5th to 9th November 2008

After losing to his national rival in two previous PSA Tour event finals on home soil in India, Ritwik Bhattacharya bravely fought back from two-games-to-one down to beat Indian compatriot Saurav Ghosal, the event favourite, to make it third time lucky in the climax of the inaugural Indian Challenger No1 an event supported by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports at the ICL Squash Academy in Chennai.

Bhattacharya had hit a rich vein of form recently - only two weeks ago reaching the semi-finals of the African Open in Nigeria after recording one his best wins of the year in the quarter-finals.

The second seed from Mumbai reached the final of the $15,000 PSA Tour event in Chennai after fending off unseeded fellow countryman Harinder Pal Sandhu in the semi-finals - 19-year-old Sandhu having made it through to the last four after two sensational upsets over seeded opponents.

Confident Ghosal seemed untroubled as he reached the final without dropping a game - and looked set to repeat his victories over Bhattacharya in the Otters Open final in Mumbai in July 2006 and the Chennai Open final three months ago.

But it was Bhattacharya’s day as the 29-year-old world No57 beat Ghosal, the world No39 from Chennai, 11-9, 5-11, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10 in 65 minutes to record the eighth title of his career.

Results :

Finals :

Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 11-9, 5-11, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10.

Semifinals :

Saurav Ghosal ( Ind ) bt Chris Simpson (Eng) 11-9, 11-6, 11-6
Ritwik Bhattacharya ( Ind ) bt Harinder Sandhu ( Ind ) 11-8, 11-5, 11-7.

Quarter Finals :

Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Max Lee (HK) 11-9, 11-6, 11-7
Chris Simpson (Eng) bt Siddharth Suchde (Ind) 11-9, 11-3, 6-11, 11-2
Harinder Sandhu bt Dick Lau (HK) 11-5, 11-6, 11-2
Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Aqeel Rehman (Aut) 11-8, 11-7, 11-4.

First round :

Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Elvinn Keo (Mas) 11-7, 11-7, 11-6
Max Lee (Hkg) bt Kamran Khan (Mas) 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7
Chris Simpson (Eng) bt Choong Kam Hing (Mas) 11-8, 11-3, 11-8
Siddharth Suchde (Ind) bt Abdullah Almezayen (Kuw) 12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5
Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind) bt Muhd. Asryaf 11-8, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9
Dick Lau (Hkg) bt Naresh Kumar (Ind) 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8
Aqeel Rehman (Ind) bt Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind) 11-5, 10-12, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10
Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 10-12, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9.

The Little Masters Junior Squash Tournament - 2008

9th November November to 13th 2008 at Willingdon Sports Club, Mumbai Finals Results :

BGU9 - Aryan Parekh (Mah) bt Veer Chotrani (Mah) 10-12 8-11 11-8 11-7 11-8
BU11 - Kshitij Prasad (Mah) bt Yohann J. Surti (Mah) 11-4 11-9 11-7
BU13 - Abhimanyu Shah (Mah) bt Raghav Mehrotra (Mah) 11-9 11-9 11-3
BU15 - Raghav Mehrotra (Mah) bt Rahil Fazelbhoy (Mah) 11-6 8-11 12-14 9-11
BU17 - Mahesh Mangaonkar (Mah) bt Karm Kumar (Del) 11-8 11-9 11-5
BU19 - Vikram Malhotra (Mah) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (Mah) 11-8 11-5 11-6
GU19 - Saumya Karki (Mah) bt Shriya Khatri (Mah) 11-8 11-8 11-2
GU15 - Saumya Karki (Mah) bt Shriya Khatri (Mah) 11-8 11-8 11-2

65th C.C.I. Western India Open Squash Tournament 2008

From 17th November to 22nd November 2008

Results

Men's Open : 1-Gaurav Nandrajog ( Del ) bt 3/4-Vikas Jangra (Services) 11-4, 11-5, 11-9.
Women : 1-Surbhi Misra (Raj) bt 2-Mandy Kennedy (Mah) 11-3, 5-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7.
Boys U -19 : Karm Kumar bt 1-Mahesh D Mangaonkar (Mah) 5-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-9, 14-12.
Boys U -17 : 1-Mahesh Mangaonkar bt 2-Karm Kumar (Del) 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-6.
Boys U -15 : 2-Deepak Mishra ( Del ) bt 1-Kush Kumar ( Del ) 11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5.
Boys U -13 : 1-Kush Kumar ( Del ) bt 2-Abhimanyu Shah (Mah) 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8.
Boys U -11 : 1-Ranjeet Singh (UP) bt 2-Rajat A (Mah) 11-7, 11-7, 11-3.
Girls U -19 : 1-Saumya Karki (Mah) bt 2-Shria Khatri (Mah) 13-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-1.
Girls U -15 : 1-Saumya Karki (Mah) bt 2-Shria Khatri (Mah) 11-7, 11-1, 11-7.
Under- 9 : 1-Aryan Parekh (Mah) bt 2-Veer Chotrani (Mah) 11-7, 11-7, 12-10.
Professionals : 3/4-Amjad Khan ( Del ) bt 3/4-Sanjay Pawar (Mah) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5.
Veterans : 1-Vaman Apte (Mah) bt 5/8-Gopichand Mohite (Mah) 11-7, 15-13, 11-3.
Vintage : 2-Ravi Puri (Mah) bt Mohan Nathani (Mah) 11-9, 11-5, 11-8.

Joshna Claimed her First WISPA title:

India's squash queen Joshna Chinappa who won her first WISPA title of her career when she won the NSC Satellite No 3 event at National Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur . The first ever by an Indian.

In the final Joshna beat Low Lee Wern 11-8,11-5, 11-3. Joshna had reached two finals this year, losing Satellite events in Viet Nam and Guangdhou. In the semi-finals, Joshna beat top seed Malaysian Sharon Wee, who is ranked No 3 in Asia behind world champ Nicol David and Rebecaa Chiu. Wee had won the bronze at the Doha Asiad.

Joshna said she was grateful for the sparring she did with Saurav Ghosal and Harinder Singh at the ICL Academy in Chennai. Unlike other Indian aspirants she doesn't believe in training in Egypt. Joshna has been sponsored by the Mittal Champions Trust.

A proud father, Anjan, said from Chennai:``Joshna has been extremely sharp and focused, and was in devasting form in the final. She had made it to finals before but couldn’t close it out, which is some thing she has worked on. This win should help her significantly move up the rankings”.

Joshna Wins Second WISPA Title on the Trot

Winning is becoming a habit with Joshna Chinappa. The Indian No. 1 proved yet again that she’s in peak form with a second consecutive WISPA title at the NSC Super Satellite No. 4 squash tournament in Malaysia on Friday.

Joshna overcame Malaysian third seed Low Wee Wern 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 in the final at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, to repeat her performance of the previous week, when she had created history by becoming the first Indian to win a WISPA title.

“I’ve had two wonderful weeks here,’’ an elated Joshna told TOI. “It was all work but I’m happy that I was able to maintain my intensity during both the tournaments thanks to my improved fitness levels.’’

The top seeded Indian, given her current form, was favourite going into the final. But Wern, perhaps spurred on by the partisan local crowd, started stronger racing into a 6-1 lead in the opening game.

“I started slowly today. She (Wern) raced to a five point lead and was ahead of me for about 10 minutes of the match,’’ said Joshna. “But I caught up and managed to win the game.’’

The national champion perhaps just “managed’’ to win the first game, but in the next two the story was different. Joshna took the attack to her opponent and won with ease. “I was more consistent than Wern today and that made the difference,’’ said the 22-yearold Chennai girl. “Consistency’’ made the difference for Joshna in the title clash on Friday, but what has brought about the change in her game over the last six months? “Definitely my stint at the Pontefract Academy with coach Malcolm Willstrop helped. My fitness has improved and so have my on court poise and skills,’’ said Joshna, also giving credit to coaches Cyrus Poncha and Major Maniam.

A rise in rankings is definite when the next WISPA list is released. But, as usual, she’s not concerned. “I am more concerned about performing on court on a given day,’’ she said.

All Results :

Finals :

Joshna Chinappa beat Low Wee Wern (Mal) 11-8, 11-7, 11-6

Semi Finals :

Joshna Chinappa beat Sharon Wee (Mal) 11-9,11-9,12-14, 11-2.

Quarter Finals :

Joshna beat Chinatsu Matsui (Jap) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.

1st round :

Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Rachael Goh (MAS) 11-6, 11-4, 11-2 (10m)

Siddharth Loses in Kenya

Siddarth Suchede lost in Quarter finals of Zain Kenya Open at Parklands Sports Club, Nairobi to top seeded Stephen Coppinger of Russia in the $ 7000 PSA Tour Squash tournament. Siddharth won his first round match against Frenchmen 3-0. The in quarterfinals, Siddharta after winning the first game was 1-1 and took the lead winning the 3rd game from 9-9. However, Siddharth lost the in the 4th and 5th games tamely to the top seed in 75min.

Results :

Quarter finals :

Steve Coppinger (Rus) beat Siddarth Suchde 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2

Round one :

Siddarth Suchde beat Joan Lezaud (Fra) 11-9,

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open

Saurav once again drawn up against former World No. 1 Thierry Lincou in the first round bowed out in 34min losing 7-11, 8-11, 3-11.

Saurav Ghosal had defeated Campbell Grayson from NZL 10-12, 11-2, 11-7, 11-3 (45m) to reach the main draw of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open. Earlier Saurav defeated local Answon Kwong 11-8, 11-7, 11-8.

Emma Beddoes got the better of Dipika Pallikal in the final qualifying defeating India’s no. 1 junior 11-8, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9 (33m). Dipika won her first round defeating Victoria Lust 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (35m). 11-5,11-8.

Scottish Junior Open

Kush Kumar from Delhi comprehensively won the Scottish Junior Open 2008 to lift his maiden European title in the boys u13 category. Dominating his category, Kush won all his matches without dropping a game. Kush had an excellent 2008, winning the Malaysian Junior Open, Penang Junior Open and junior national (all boys u13) title earlier this year.

The other results at Edinburgh

Boys u13 - Yohan Pandole 3rd position
Boys u13 -Sandeep Ramachandran 5th position
Boys u15 - Deepak Misra Runner up
Boys u15 - Rahil Fazelbhoy 8th position
Girls u13 - Pankhuri Malhotra 3rd position

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