Category: Squash

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu moved to semi-final in Malaysia Squash Tour

Kuala Lumpur: India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu, who is the top seed has moved into the semi-final of the Malaysia Squash Tour, a PSA event which got underway here on Wednesday.

Harinder won both his matches in the day. He beat wild card entrant Ong Sai Hung of Malaysia in the first round 11-2, 11-3, 11-4 and later in the day in the quarter final defeated his country-mate Ramit Tandon, seeded seven, in three close games 12-10, 12-10, 11-8.

In the women’s section, the lone Indian Sachika Ingale, seeded three, went down in the first round to a Malaysian Wen Li Lai. The Malaysian won 11-9, 11-6, 11-3

by Abhishek Shukla

Vikram knocks out first seed in HKFC International Squash tournament

Hong Kong: India’s Vikram Malhotra was the hero on the opening day of the main draw competitions in the HKFC International Squash tournament, a major PSA world tour event here on Wednesday.

Coming into the main draw after going through two rounds of qualifying matches this US-based Indian knocked out the top seed Zahed Mohamed of Egypt in a sensational first round match. Zahed is a world ranked 20 player, over 40 rungs above the Indian but that did not matter as Vikram playing by far his best squash in recent times, grabbed the first game over extra points, took the next one relatively easily. A fight back by the Egyptian queered the pitch before Vikram finished it off in style 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8. The match lasted 46 minutes. However for the other qualifier, Mahesh Mangonkar things did not go his way. He lost in the first round to the third seed Omar Mosaad of Egypt. The Egyptiahn won 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6.

In the women’s section, the two leading ladies of India Joshna Chinappa , seeded three and Dipika Pallikal Karthik , seeded six had smooth sailing. Joshna defeated qualifier Li Sum Yin of Hong Kong 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 while Dipika accounted for another qualifier Tang Yan Yi,also of Hong Kong, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9.

by Abhishek Shukla

Joshna beats Dipika in China Open squash

Shanghai: When two stars meet there has to a sparkle in the contest. This is what the organisers of the just concluded senior national championship in New Delhi had looked forward too seeing the healthy rivalry of Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik, the top two women players of the country.

However citing an ankle strain and keen to give that area a rest before the tough international season ahead, Dipika withdrew and a squash feast was denied to the aficionados of the sport in the capital. But what was missed in New Delhi was served soonafter in distant Shanghai in the China Open, a PSA World tour major event in the final round of the qualifying phase!

Good friends but great rivals the two found themselves face to face on Wednesday, thanks to the draw, and expectedly the meeting must have produced a rousing contest if the scoreline was anything to suggest. The match went five games and like in the Mumbai National in 2016 where Dipika outdid Joshna here too she started off well, grabbing the first game but Joshna bounced back to take the next two. Dipika made it four games all to queer the pitch but finally it was Joshna who won 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8. At the last meeting of the two too in the Asian Championship in Chennai in April, it was Joshna who had prevailed, coming back from a game down in a scintillating five-game contest to pick not only her maiden Asian title but also become the first Indian to win the senior Asian title.

Joshna, fresh from her success in the national now moves into the main draw as a qualifier where the world’s top 10 ranked  players are in the fray. Saurav Ghosal is the other Indian who has moved into the men’s main draw, via the qualifying phase.

by Abhishek Shukla

India finished with 10 medals in the Asian junior squash

Amman (Jordan): India’s medals tally swelled by an additional silver and a bronze in the Asian junior individual squash championship which concluded here on Saturday. India thus returned with three silver and seven bronze medals.

India had already won two silver with the final match involving Tushar Shahani in the U-17 boys’s section still to end. The Mumbai lad went down to the top seed Siow Yee Xian of Malaysia in straight games 11-7, 11-4, 11-7. The loss meant, Tushar settled for a silver.

The girls had won the six bronze medals as reported earlier and the seventh was earned by another semi-final loser Paarth Ambani in the U-13 boys’ section. Yuvraj Wadhwani had beaten him in the semi-final.

by Abhishek Shukla

India wins 2 Silver and 6 Bronze in Asian junior Individual squash championship

Amman (Jordan): India had a clutch of two silver and six bronze medals in the Asian junior Individual squash championship which is ending here on Saturday. One more Indian Tushar Shahani is still in the fray, playing the U-17 final and it could be one more silver or gold in the total tally so far of 8 medals.

Earlier, Neel Joshi (U-15) and Yuvraj Wadhwani (U-13) ended runner up in their respective section to win a silver medal each. The bronze medals came from the girls who all lost in the semi-finals.

Late last nighti the semi-final results it must be said went as per seedings with the higher seeded boys Tushar, Neel and Yuvraj, all seeded two, making it to the title round. Neel had the most impressive outing with a straight game win over his Iranian opponent Danial Gharooni. But the girls, all lower seeded, failed to spring any surprise. Still mention has to be made of ¾ seed Sunayna Kuruvilla (U-19) and unseeded Yoshna Singh. Sunayna was twice in lead but failed to capitalise against Japan’s top seed Satomi Watanabe while Yoshna came back from two games down before losing to Malaysia’s number two seed Kiroshanna Manoharan.

The results: final: Boys: final: U-15: Muhammad Amir Amirul Bin Azhar (1) (Mal) bt Neel Joshi 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9; U-13: Joachim Chuah Han Wen (1) bt Yuvraj Wadhwani 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (semi-final) U-17: Tushar Shahani (2) bt To Wai Lok(5/8)(HK) 10-12, 5-11, 11-7, 11-6,11-7; U-15: Neel Joshi (2) bt Danial Gharooni (¾) (Irn) 12-10, 11-6, 11-4; U-13: Yuvraj Wadhwani (2) bt Paarth Ambani (5/8) 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 12-14, 12-10

Girls: semi-final: U-19: Satomi Watanabe (1) (Jpn) bt Sunayna Kuruvilla (¾) 9-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8; Ho Ka Wing (2) (HK) bt Ashita Pranaya Bhengra (5/8) 8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-3; U-17: Lui Hiu Lam (1)(HK) bt Navmi Sharma (5/8) 11-7, 11-5, 11-0; U-15: Jessica Keng (1) (Mal) bt Ananya Dabke (3/4) 11-8, 11-1, 11-1; Kiroshanna Manoharan (2)(Mal) bt Yoshna Singh 11-1, 11-4, 11-13, 5-11, 11-8; U-13: Aira Azman (1)(Mal) bt Yuvna Gupta (¾) 11-7, 11-3, 11-2.

by Abhishek Shukla

Several Indian Juniors qualifies for semifinal in Asian junior individual squash championship

Amman (Jordan): With a clutch of players in the semi-final, India’s hopes of a good show rose in the ongoing Asian junior individual squash championship here on Friday.

In the boys’ section, Tushar Shahani (U-17), Neel Joshi (U-15), Yuvraj Wadhwani and Parth Ambani (both U-13) are in the last four as are Sunayna Kuruvilla and Ashita Pranaya Bhengra (both U-19) besides Navmi Sharma (U-17), Yoshna Singh, Ananya Dabke (both U-15) and Yuvna Gupta (U-13) in the girls.

Nonetheless the one big disappointment for India came with the exit of second seed Abhay Singh in the boys’ U-19 section in the quarterfinal, losing to Pakistan’s Mansoor Zaman, the 5/8 seed in five games. The Indian had led by twogames before slipping. The Pakistan player won 8-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-9. Among the others mention has to be made of Yoshna Singh, the only unseeded among the lot to reach the semi-final. The highly promising girl made short work of a higher ranked Hong Kong player and there is hope of more from her.

The results:

 

Quarterfinals:

Boys: U-13:

Parth Ambani (5/8) bt Usman Nadeem (3/4) (Pak) 5-11, 2-11, 13-11,11-9, 11-6;

Yuvraj Wadhwani (2) bt Lo Chun Yu Kelvin (5/8) (HK) 11-5, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6;

Boys U-15:

Neel Joshi (2) bt Navneeth Prabhu (5/8) 11-7, 11-7, 11-3;

Boys U-17:

Tushar Shahani (2) bt Wong King Yeung (5/8) (HK) 11-5, 11-6, 11-9;

Girls: U-19:

Sunayna Kuruvilla (¾) bt Nur Alia Izzati Binti MuAnis (5/8) (Mal) 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 13-11;

Ashita Bhengra (5/8) bt Ho Wa King (2) (HK) 11-6, 11-3, 11-5;

Girls U-17:

Navmi Sharma (5/8) bt Sanya Vats (¾) 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9;

Girls U-15:
Ananya Dabke (¾) btWu Renee Wing (5/8) (HK) 12-10, 11-6, 11-4;

Yoshna Singh bt Wong Po Yui Kirstie (3/4) (HK) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6;

Girls U-13:

Yuvna Gupta (¾) bt V S C Sinaly (SL) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3.

by Abhishek Shukla

Joshna and Dipika won bronze medal

Manchester: It was a day of disappointments for India in the WSF-World doubles squash championship here on Friday. The lone hope of Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik doing something ended in failure in doubles semi-final when they flattered to deceive against Jenny Duncalf and Alison Waters.

The English duo won 6-11, 11-6, 11-8. After winning the first game, the Indian pair, the second seed looked good to do more. But the brief interval before the second game commenced proved a big game-changer for the host pair. Both Jenny and Alison tightened their defence and varied the strokes to catch the Indians on the wrong foot mostly in the forecourt. The Indians though matched in the rallies failed to make progress and went down fighting till the last.

The loss notwithstanding Joshna and Dipika, as the semi-final loser get the bronze medal.

Joshna and Dipika had earlier come back from a game down to beat the lower seeded Canadians Samantha Cornett and Nikole Todd 10-11, 11-6, 11-8 last night and that ensured that India will return with one medal atleast.

However the happy tidings remained limited when things began to turn awry today with the pairs Saurav Ghosal/ Dipika and Vikram Malhotra/ Joshna Chinappa crashing out one after the other in the two quarterfinals held concurrently on side by side courts. The pity was that both these pairs had the chance of emerging winners but lost out in the final stretch of the extended contests. The second seed Saurav and Dipika were pitted against the top seed Paul Coll and Joelle King (something that should have come in the final in keeping with the seedings but the New Zealand pair had finished the next best in the league phase and thus this unexpected early meeting). The contest was close from start and turned closer as it warmed up. After the pairs had traded a game each the Indians had edged ahead in the decider before slipping at the business end. Coll and King won 11-7, 10-11, 11-9.

Similar was the fate of Joshna and Vikram against the Australians David Palmer and Rachael Grinham. The Indians bagged the first game and gave fair indication of being on song. But as the match wore on, the points ran close. The Australian pair inched ahead in the battle of rallies and as luck would have it Joshna and Vikram gave in. Palmer and Grinham won 8-11, 11-9, 11-9.

by Abhishek Shukla

India’s mixed pairs in world doubles championship quarters

Manchester: With a clean slate each, both the Indian pairs Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Vikram Malhotra and Joshna Chinappa topped their respective groups and moved in style into the quarterfinal of the mixed doubles competition of the WSF-World doubles squash championship here on Thursday.

Second seed Saurav and Dipika who had two matches today overwhelmed the Wales pair of Peter Creed and Tesny Evans in their last match in Group B while Vikram and Joshna who qualified last night itself after their third straight win in Group C completed their engagement with a hard fought win over the Australian pair of Cameron Pilley and Donna Urquhart.

Meanwhile the men’s pair of Vikram and Mahesh Mangaonkar fell in their last Group match to finish at the table bottom. They will now play for the placings matches from nine down.

The results:

Men: Group A: Adnan and Yuen (Mal) bt Vikram Malhotra and Mahesh Mangaonkar 11-8, 10-11, 11-8

Mixed doubles: Group B: Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik bt Bennett and vd Heijden (Neth) 11-4, 11-4; bt Delierre and Cornett (Can) 11-5, 11-5; bt Peter Creed and Tesny Evans (Wales) 11-8, 11-6 (Group C: Vikram Malhotra and Joshna Chinappa bt Andres Herrera and Catalina Pelaez (Col) 11-7, 11-4; bt Cameron Pilley and Donna Urquhart (Aus) 7-11, 11-7, 11-7.

by Abhishek Shukla

Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal wins in first round World Doubles squash championship

Manchester: Second seed Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik made a flying start to their campaign with an easy 11-4, 11-5 win over the Colombian pair of Pelaez and Tovar in a Group B league here on Tuesday in the WSF-World Doubles squash championship.

The Indian pair, the second seed, needed just 14 minutes to complete their opening fixture in this three-team Group on a winning note.

Later Joshna teaming up with Vikram Malhotra in the mixed doubles won the first match in Group C against Leiper and Hallama of Scotland rather comfortably at 11-5, 11-6.

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder pal Sandhu improved his ranking

Chennai: Harinder Pal Sandhu earned the reward for his recent performances_ two PSA title wins in July by jumping 12 rungs to be at 65 as per the August rankings issued by the Squash’s professional body, PSA today.

Currently among Indian male playersd, he is ranked third behind Saurav Ghosal (27) and Vikram Malhotra (63), both of whom remained where they were last month. Mahesh Mangaonkar dropped a place to 67.

However Joshna Chinappa remains the highest ranked Indian at 14. Her position has remained unchanged as was Dipika Pallikal Karthik’s (22). As for the rest, Sachika Ingale was at 84, Akanksha Saluankhe 129 and Sunayna Kuruvilla 156.

by Abhishek Shukla

India finished 6th overall in the girls team event of the world junior squash

Tauranga (New Zealand): India finished 6th overall in the girls team event of the 2017 WSF-World junior squash championship here on Saturday.

In the final placings match for the 5-6 positions, India went down to USA 1-2.Once again it was Sunayna Kuruvilla who rose to the occasion by winning her singles match after Akanksha Salunkhe had lost hers. In the deciding third match of the tie, Aishwarya Bhattacharya did not prove a match for Elle Ruggerio.

In the 2015 edition held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, India had ended up in the 8th place.

Results: for 5-6 place: USA bt India 2-1 (Marina Stefanoni bt Akanksha Salunkhe 11-2, 11-9, 11-4; Grace Doyle lost to Sunayna Kuruvilla 11-7, 3-11, 7-11, 7-11; Elle Ruggerio bt Aishwarya Bhyattacharya 11-7, 11-5, 11-8)

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian team announced for the World Doubles Squash Championship

Chennai: Harinder Pal Sandhu’s last minute health issue has forced him out of the Indian team for the WSF – World doubles squash championship scheduled in Manchester (England) from August 1 to 5.

The man in touch after his recent spectacular performances in the PSA circuit, Harinder had looked forward to this event and begun preparations in right earnest. But a painful inner tooth problem that turned up suddenly proved to be an issue which required emergency medical attention. Though the problem was surgically solved, the pain and swelling were still to subdue and the man himself has not been able to get on to the court for practice. “We waited till the last minute before deciding to keep him out,” said national Coach Cyrus Poncha, who is travelling with the side and who had also overlooked the preparatory camp in the Indian Squash Academy. The camp will have its final session tomorrow before the team embarks for England on Saturday morning.

The other members of the team  Saurav Ghosal, Vikram Malhotra, Mahesh Mangaonkar, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik have been going through intense practice sessions with top juniors Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh as also Academy coach Balamurugan joining in to assist in the sparring. As per the plan, India will field two pairs for the mixed doubles, Saurav – Dipika and Vikram -Joshna. The other combinations are Mahesh and Vikram (men’s event), Joshna-Dipika (womens). Harinder was originally to pair Mahesh in the men’s doubles.

Expressing happines otherwise with the way the camp had gone with each player sweating it out, Poncha said the competition in Manchester would be tough. “England, Australia and New Zealand pairs are strong forces but we are aiming for medal positions,” he said. At Darwin, Australia last year, the highlights were Saurav and Dipika winning the silver and Harinder and Joshna winning the bronze, both in mixed doubles while Joshna and Dipika taking the bronze in the women’s doubles.

by Abhishek Shukla

India went down to HongKong in the quarterfinal in WSF World junior squash championship

India lose to Hong Kong

Tauranga (New Zealand): Poor Sunayna Kuruvilla’s heroics went in vain as Hong Kong, seeded four to India’s six, ensured victory, even if by a 2-1 margin in the quarterfinal of the girls team event in the WSF World junior squash championship here on Thursday.

Sunayna, the national junior champion, had made the first appearance as the number two player of the team, in keeping with the day’s order of play (2-1-3) and played her heart out in stopping Chan Sin Yuk in four games. The Indian had lost the first game but showing good touch in drives and drops from there she worked her way up to win the next three games. The 31 minute-tussle ended with Sunayna emerging 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 victor. The 1-0 advantage drifted away soonafter with neither Akanksha Salunkhe able to do much nor Aishwarya Bhattacharya next producing anything better. Akansha lost to Lui Hiu Lam 5-11, 2-11, 4-11 and Aishwarya went down to Ka Wing Ho 8-11, 5-11, 7-11.

India will now play for the the 5-8 placings matches.

by Abhishek Shukla

India entered the quarterfinal of the girls team event in the World junior squash

Tauranga (New Zealand) : India finished runner up in Pool C and thereby qualified for the quarterfinal stage in the girls’ team event here on Wednesdayin the WSF-World junior squash championship. India will play the Pool D winner Hong Kong in the quarterfinal on Thursday.

In its last pool league match, India defeated lower ranked France 2-1 to get the second place behind England. The margin could have been 3-0 but Akanksha Salunkhe playing the French girl Fanny Segers in the inconsequential third match of the tie had to retire midway with muscular pain in her legs. As Coach Surbi Misra said Akanksha had begun confidently and went two games up when suddenly she developed pain. “In great pain, she went down in the third game and at that point we decided she will not be able to continue,” Misra said.

Earlier, Misra said Sunayna Kuruvilla had given a good start with a fluent win over Maelle Fuhrer in 17 minutes. Ashita Bhengra was the next to make appearance. This Chennai girl faltered first, lost the first game but regained confidence to win the next three against Chloe Mourier to give the winning margin.

The results: India bt France 2-1 (Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Maell Fuhrer 11-5, 11-6, 11-2; Ashita Bhengra bt Chloe Mourier 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-8; Akanksha Salunkhe lost to Fanny Segers 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, retd)

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian girls had a mixed day in World junior squash championship

Tauranga (New Zealand): India began well in Pool C with a 3-0 win over South Africa but later in the day went down to higher ranked England 0-3 for mixed fortune on the opening day of the girls’ team event competition in the WSF-World junior squash championship here on Tuesday.

This is a four-team Pool with France being the fourth team. India at the end of two matches is placed two in the Pool with a match against lower ranked France to go. Two teams from this Pool qualify for the knock-out phase.

The results: Pool C: India bt South Africa 3-0 (Akanksha Salunkhe bt Faith Panashe Sithole 11-6, 15-13, 11-4; Aishwarya Bhattacharya bt Helena Coetzee 11-7, 11-5, 11-7; Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Jenifer Preece 11-5, 11-5, 11-5); India lost to England 0-3 (Akanksha Salunkhe lost to Lucy Turmel 1-11, 5-11, 5-11; Aishwarya Bhattacharya lost to Jasmine Hutton 4-11, 5-11, 4-11; Sunayna Kuruvilla lost to Elise Lazarus 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 8-11)

by Abhishek Shukla

Neel Joshi and Ananya Dabke wins U15 titles in Dutch junior Open squash

Amsterdam: India’s bunch of juniors made some impact in the just concluded Dutch junior Open squash with Neel Joshi and Ananya Dabke winning the respective U-15 boys’ and girls’ titles.

Both top talent in their age, Neel, who was the top seed defeated England’s Alhassana Khalil 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 in the final while Ananya who was seeded 9/12 beat the second seed Serena Daniel of USA 11-7, 11-4, 12-10 for the title. The Mumbai girl had earlier beaten the top seed Chukwu Chinyere of Hungary in semi-final.

Vikas Mehra (U-19) and Arnaav Sareen (U-15) made third place finishes while Rutva Samant (U-13), Kanhav Nanavati (U-15) were placed fourth in their respective age categories.

In all 16 players (11 boys and 5 girls) had taken part in this prestigious European event for juniors.

by Abhishek Shukla

Abhay Singh marches into quarterfinals of World junior squash championship

Tauranga(New Zealand): India’s Abhay Singh continued to march ahead in the ongoing WSF-World junior squash championship being held here. The top junior, seeded 5/8 made it to the quarterfinal on Friday after a battling 3-1 win over Egyptian 9/16 seeded Mohamed Elshamy in the fourth round. Abhay won 10-12, 11-7, 13-11,11-8.

However the other surviving Indian, Adhiya Raghavan went down fighting to another Egyptian 5/8 seeded Aly Hussein in five games, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-3.

Abhay had an initial scare but regained touch before long. He had a tough time in the third game as the Egyptian fought point for point. Though the Indian reached the game-ball point first, Elshamy fought back to equalise at 10-10. It was close there but Abhay managed to wriggle out and the fourth game became lot easier to close out.

by Abhishek Shukla

Abhay and Adhitya remain in race in WSF-World junior squash championship

Tauranga (New Zealand): The top two junior boys, Abhay Singh and Adhitya Raghavan, both seeded 5/8 kept their seedings intact by progressing to the fourth round on Thursday in the individual compeititions phase of the WSF-World junior squash championship being held here.

Abhay was a picture of steadiness as he outclassed his US opponent Harrison Gill. The American did make a game bid in the later part of the contest, even extended the Indian in the third game but that seemed just an aberration. Similar was the effort of Adhitya who downed a Korean In Woo Lee in four games. However Yash Fadte’s enterprise ended at thehands of Egypt’s ¾ seed Manwan Tarek. In the the girls’ section all the three _ 13/16 seed Akanksha Salunkhe, Sunayna Kuruvilla and Aishwarya Bhattacharya _fell by the wayside. But Aishwarya received commendation for the fight she showed against the ¾ seeded Egyptian Nada Abbas. The Indian looked good to cause an upset as she clawed back from a game down to post a 2-1 lead and ready for more. But there the complexion changed dramatically in favour of Nada.

Boys: (third round): Abhay Singh (5/8) bt Harrison Gill (USA) 11-6, 11-3, 14-12; Manwan Tarek (¾) (Egy) bt Yash Fadte 11-5, 11-4, 11-6; Adhitya Raghavan (5/8) bt In Woo Lee (Kor) 11-5, 11-6, 4-11, 11-9

Girls: Nada Abbas( ¾ )(Egypt) bt Aishwarya Bhattacharya 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-3; Jana Shiha (Egy) bt Akanksha Salunkhe (13/16) 11-6, 11-8, 11-4; Aifa Azman (13/16) (Mal) bt Sunyna Kuruvilla 11-4, 11-6, 11-6

by Abhishek Shukla

Mixed day for Indians at WSF World junior individual squash championship

Tauranga (New Zealand): Indians experienced mixed luck on the opening day of the WSF World junior individual squash championship which got underway here on Wednesday.

Of the 12 boys and girls who had entered the field, three boys and as many girls remained in the draw at the end of two rounds of competition.

All the boys and three girls had a bye in the first round. The three who played the first round were Chennai girls Ashita Bhengra and Samita Sivakumar and both cleared that with a touch of confidence.. However the third girl, Sanya Vats fell to a US opponent even if after a brief fight.

However in the second round there was a mixture of good and bad. Adhitya Raghavan and Abhay Singh, both seeded 5/8 came through with ease as also Yash Fadte who downed a Pakistani opponent in four games. But Aryaman Adik, Tushar Shahani and Veer Chotrani made quiet exits. In the girls section, Akanksha Salunkhe (seeded 13/16), Sunayna Kuruvilla and Aishwarya Bhattacharya breezed through into the third round where Ashita and Samita failed.

The results:

Boys:IInd round: Adhitya Raghavan (5/8) bt Mathew Lucente (NZ) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5; Aryaman Adik lost to Ronald Palomino (Col) 6-11, 7-11, 3-11; Yash Fadte bt Abdul Malik Imran (Pak) 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7; Hafiz Zhafri (Mal) bt Tushar Shahani 11-3, 11-9, 11-8; Abbas Zeb (Pak) bt Veer Chotrani 11-8, 11-7, 11-5; Abhay Singh (5/8) bt Gabe Yam (NZ) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9

Girls : IInd round: Aishwarya Bhattacharya bt Hyoju Seo (Kor) 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4; Akanksha Salunkhe (13/16) bt Lauriene Maingot (Fra); 11-5, 11-2, 13-11; Ashita Bhengra lost to Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 2-11. 1-11, 3-11; Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Chloe Mourier (Fra) 11-5, 11-2,15-13; Samita Sivakumar lost to Zoe Foo Yuk Han (Mal) (9/12) 15-13, 4-11, 6-11, 6-11; (Ist round): Ashita Bhengra bt Emma Lundy (Irl)11-4, 11-5, 11-7; Samita Sivakumar bt Eva Nistler (Ger) 11-3, 11-5, 12-10; Sanya Vats lost to Elisabeth Ross (USA) 10-12, 13-15, 5-11.

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu won the Victorian Open Squash for his fourth PSA title in a row

Melbourne: There was no stopping Harinder Pal Sandhu as the Indian ace annexed the Victorian Open title here on Sunday for his fourth PSA title in a row since May. Overall the Indian has in a short time swelled his kitty to nine titles, the highest by an Indian male player in the professional circuit beating Ritwik Bhattacharya’s mark of eight earlier.

In the final, the third seeded Harinder beat the top seed Rex Hedrick of Australia, a player who is several rungs above the Indian in world rankings, 12-14, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7. Except for the first game which went close and in the Australian’s favour, Harinder was at his best thereafter as he combined power and precision to wear down the local favourite in 77 minutes. This has been an amazing 17-match unbeaten streak for the Indian starting with the Malaysian Tour success in early May. The Makati Open in Philippines and the South Australian Open victory followed before this latest success.

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu stormed into the final of the Victorian Open Squash

Melbourne: A winner of a PSA title a week back, India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu is at the doorsteps of another success having reached the final of the Victorian Open, a PSA world tour event here on Saturday. In the semi-final he defeated the second seed Piedro Schweertman of Netherlands 11-5, 11-8, 11-8

The third seed Harinder, who has been in good touch has not dropped a game enroute to the final where he will now meet the top seed Rex Hedrick of Australia. As in the earlier matches, fluency marked the Indian’s show as he took just 35 minutes to complete the task for a passage to the title-round. He had in comparison beaten Piedro with a degree of difficulty in the previous tournament in Adelaide at the semi-final stage.

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu continues to impress, reaches semis in Victoria Open

Melbourne: India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu continues to make waves. The in-form Indian inched his way into the semi-final of the Victoria Open, a PSA World Tour event here on Friday with another superb display of all round abilities.

In the last eight the fourth seed Harinder defeated Australian Rhys Dowling, seventh seed, in straight games 11-4, 11-8, 11-5. Incidentally he had defeated the same Australian with a similar felicity only a week back in the South Australian Open final.

In the last four tomorrow, Harinder will play the second seed Piedro Schweertman of Netherlands.

by Abhishek Shukla

India will take part in the WSF-World junior squash in New Zealand

Chennai: India is sending a 12-player team (boys and girls) for the WSF- World junior squash championship to be held in Tauranga city in New Zealand from July 19 to 29. The Indian team is leaving on Sunday.

The Championship this year will witness individual competition for boys and girls followed by the team event for girls only. At the last championship held in Bielska-Biala, Poland, Pakistan had won the boys’ title and Eain Yow Nq of Malaysia was the individual boys winner. The girls winner was Egypt’s Nouran Gohar. From India’s point of view, Velavan Senthilkumar’s quarterfinal finish was the highlight. He also helped India finish 6th overall in the team event. India’s best in the junior championship has been a third place finish by the girls in 2009 in Chennai.

This time the preparation for this mega event turned a little high end with SRFI deciding to send ten members of the side to Egypt for a two-week specialised training. Accordingly six boys _Abhay Singh, Aditya Raghavan, Aryaman Adik, Tushar Shahani, Veer Chotrani, Yash Fadte (all boys), Akanksha Salunkhe, Sunayna Kuruvilla, Aishwarya Bhattacharya and Ashita Pranaya Bhengra (all girls who play both team and individuals) were the benificiaries. “Truly enriching and intensive training,” formed the reaction from Abhay and Sunayna, the two leading figures in the team. Two other girls, Samita Shekar and Sanya Vats are also members of the Indian side to play only in the individual competitions.

A feature of this side, said National Coach Cyrus Poncha was that there were three players _ Tushar, Veer and Yash_ who were still U-17 players and showed the pluck and skill to get selected to the next higher-age category. “The significance is the reflection of the depth of talent and also the fact that these three players will still be around for the next edition of the Championship scheduled in Chennai next year,” said Poncha.

The officials who will be with the team are Coaches Achraf El Karargui, Deepak Mishra and Ms Surbhi Misra.

by Abhishek Shukla

Neel Joshi wins prestigious Cologne Junior Squash Cup 2017

Cologne: Bright young Indian talent, Neel Joshi showed sensational touch in the U-15 category by winning the title in the prestigious Cologne Junior Cup 2017 which concluded here on Monday. The Maharashtra boy defeated the top seed Marek Panacek of Czech republic 9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3.

In a draw of 128, Joshi was placed in the bottom half with seeding of 33/64. After a bye in the first round , he downed seed 9/16 Karim Farrag of Czech in straight games 11-2, 11-6, 11-4. Another fluent 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 win over Baptiste Bouin of France brought into the fourth round. Joshi’s good touch was clear as he grew in strength to beat Miguel Mathis of Switzerland 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 for a quarterfinal berth. An impressive 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 effort over Auggie Bhavsar, the 17/32 seed from USA saw him sail into the semi-final. His next victim was the ¾ seed Thimi Christiaens (Belgium) to whom be conceded one game but won 11-2, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5 to storm into the title-round.

In all 18 Indians had taken part in this important German event where some of the best talents from the world over participated. Aside from Joshi, the other highlights of the Indian show was the runner up finish of three othere _Rutva Samant in the U-13 boys section, Yuvna Gupta in the girls section and Aishwarya Khubchandani in the U-15 girls section. Yuvna, who was the top seed had fluent wins enroute until the final where against Lojayn Gohary of Egypt she faltered. The Egyptian won 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7. Rutva looked confident right through before in a fighting final, Egyptian Abdallah Amr overcame him 8-11, 14-12, 13-11, 14-12. As for Aishwarya, the Maharashtra girl lived on fight with the semi-final effort over Orla Young (Scotland) going five games. In the final, Aishwarya lost to a US girl Serena Daniel after being two games up. The american won 14-16, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8.

Final standings of others: Boys: U-13: Jaiveer Dhillon (33 rd place) ; U-15: Kanhav Nanavati (17th ), Shreemann (34th), Arnav Sareen(34th ); U-17: Rahul Baiha (5th), Saksham Choudhary (33rd), Inderjit Singh (34th), Raunak Advani (39th), Araash Mehta (43rd); U-19: Aryan Parekh( 18th), Vikas Mehra (19th).

Girls: U-15: Yoshna Singh (5th); Ananya Dabke (9th); U-17: Jannia Singh (17th).

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu enters Samifinal in South Australian Open

Adelaide: Third seed Harinder Pal Sandhu warmed up to another fluent display to beat Korea’s Ko Youngjo, the fifth seed, to enter the semi-final of the South Australian Open, a PSA World Tour event here on Thursday.

The former Indian national champion needed just 28 minutes to complete his task with scores of 11-3, 11-3, 11-9. Harinder now gets ready to meet the top seed Piedro Schweertman of Netherlands in the last four.