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BBC SportMen: 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.
Pro: A. Prathiban bt Rohit More 11-2, 11-7, 11-3; B. Bala Murugan bt Dalip Tripathi 11-7, 11-8, 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.
Gaurav Nandrajog defeated Harinder Pal Singh to collect his third title on the trot in the TNSRA closed circuit squash event. Having won the fourth and fifth circuits earlier, Gaurav, a trainee at the ICL Academy, as is Harinder won in four games (11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7) to take the sixth and final event in this circuit. Barring those brief mid-contest moments game where from a 9-9 position he won the second game before dropping the third, Gaurav never needed to fight hard and needed just 48 minutes to earn the victory.
Gaurav Nandrajog picked up his second title in a row when he edged Harinder Pal Singh in five gruelling games on Saturday in the TNSRA closed circuit squash tournament.Gaurav won 5-11, 11-10 (2-0), 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (6-4), 11-9, the match lasting 73 minutes. It was a tight contest and not until the final point was played was the victor clear. Harinder twice faltered at the threshold. First time he was on game ball in the second game. Then he spurned a ‘match ball’ moment in the fourth game. Gaurav showed his fighting qualities and steely nerves to claw back. The final game was also close but Gaurav was able to ensure victory. The sixth circuit in this TNSRA series will be played next week.
Semifinals: Harinder bt A. Parthiban 11-6, 11-7, 11-8; Gaurav bt Naresh Kumar 10-11 (1-3), 9-11, 11-2, 11-2, 11-10 (3-1).
This Harry wants to stop pottering around, now that his tricks have started to click. Chandigarh boy Harinder Pal Singh has no spells or charms to boast of, but the 18-year-old squash player currently figuring in India’s Top 5, and riding on a string of appearances in various finals on the national circuit, insists he’ll make do with his armoury of short-kills and high pace on the courts.Harinder made the recent finals at Otters Club in the city, taking a game off the immensely talented Siddharth Suchde before losing advantage and the title to his senior pro. But, nearing graduation from his own Hogwarts – the state-of-the-art ICL academy at Chennai, this teen from Chandigarh is aiming at bigger success in PSAs. A move down south five years ago from his laidback life in Punjab, is paying its first dividends with Harinder reaching a semifinal of a PSA event in Malaysia recently.
“It’s been a good year, though I’ve fallen ill frequently. But I got a few good results in the Junior Nationals and even in the men’s category at the senior nationals,” said Harinder, when in Mumbai for the Otters event. An aggressive player – with superior fitness – Harinder is known for his high-paced game. “Though I can improve my game, when opponents alter their pace,” he admits.
“He has notched some good wins when playing the international events,” said coach Cyrus Poncha, who has watched the Sardar develop from a diffident youngster to an assured performer on the courts. “He needs a good mixture between aggression and defense,” Poncha added. “My goal is to be in Top 100 as quickly as possible,” Harinder concluded.
ICL Academy’s Harinderpal Singh Sandhu avenged his defeat of Sunday at the 1st SPA Classic (a national event) when he defeated country mate Siddharth Suchde in a thrilling 5 set encounter. Exceptional retrieving from both players was the order of the day with Harinder coming from 4-7 down in the fifth with 3 amazing forehand kills from behind to win his first match against Siddharth.
An erratic Naresh made it into the Quarterfinals defeating qualifier Hitham Ashoush also in 5 games. Egyptians, Omar Tarek and Mohd Sayed created the upsets of the day defeating Jonas Laursen and Parth Sharma respectively. Top seeded Ritwik playing his first match in a few months convincingly defeated Gaurav is straight games.
[1] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) bt Gaurav Nandrajog (IND) 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (28m)
[Q] Mohd Sayed Mahmoud Aly (EGY) bt [7] Parth Sharma (IND) 11-3, 11-8, 3-11, 9-11, 11-7(40m)
[3] Dick Lau (HKG) bt Karim AGA Samy (EGY) 11- 6 , 11- 8 , 11- 6 ( 32m)
Omar Tarek Mahm Aly (EGY) bt [8] Jonas Laursen (DEN) 11- 4 , 11- 9, 11- 7 (20m)
[5] Naresh Kumar (IND) bt [Q] Hitham Ashoush (EGY) 11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-2 (43m)
[4] Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt Siddharth Suchde (IND) 11-2, 4-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-9 (51m)
[6] Parthiban Ayappan (IND) bt [Q] Akshay Deepak (IND) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (12m)
[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) bt [Q] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 11- 6, 11- 5, 11- 10(3 -1) ( 30m)
Men: Siddharth Suchde (Mum) bt Harinderpal Singh (Che) 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6
Professionals: B. Balamurugan (Che) bt Sachin Jadhav 11-7, 11-7, 11-4
Ritwik Bhattacharya has been given the pride of place in seedings for the fifth ICL Chennai Open PSA Squash tournament to be held in Channai from Aug 15 to 18.
Four qualifiers, along with 12 players would make the main draw of 16 and the cut off range from 61 to 273 with Parth, Harinder, Gaurav, Siddharth, Parthiban and Naresh directly seeded in the main draw. Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda (ranked 61), Dick Lau (HK-118), Jonas Laursen (Den-206), Omar Tarek Mahm Aly (Egy-249) and Karim A.G.A.Samy (Egy-273) would provide foreign flavour to the tournament.
Men’s (semifinals): Siddharth Suchde (Mum) bt Parth Sharma (Che) 11-6, 11-6, 11-1; Harinderpal Singh (Che) bt Gaurav Nandrajog (Del) 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8.
Professionals (semifinals): B. Balamurugan (Che) bt Rohit More 11-1, 11-6, 13-15, 11-5; Sachin Jadhav bt Sanjay Pawar 17-15, 11-9, 11-9.
The winners at the Chennai Nationals had at some point of time been, or continue to be part of the India Cements Academy. This is a tribute to the Academy’s systematic and scientific training. Ten years can be a short period in history. But for Indian squash much has happened during this time ever since the India Cements Limited Academy was established in Chennai in the late 1990s.
With the setting up of the Academy, one big dream of squash lovers was fulfilled then; now, like any businessman appreciating the returns on his huge investments, N. Ramachandran, the Executive Director of India Cements and Secretary-General of the Sq uash Rackets Federation of India, is a contented man. Especially after seeing the results of the National Championship and the National Doubles Championship, which concluded in Chennai recently. Tamil Nadu swept all the five titles at stake. And what is more, each of the winners had at some point of time been or continues to be part of the Academy. What more can the advocates of systematic and scientific training ask for? Tamil Nadu’s success has been overwhelming and its domination has been envied by others.
It is not that all the trainees at the India Cements Academy belong to Tamil Nadu. Some of them come from Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and the shifting of their base has not posed a problem, for their schooling and board and lodge were easily worked out. Ultimately, the refrain is if Saurav Ghosal can come over from Kolkata and become a big success in Chennai, then the others too can do so. All this goes to show what can be achieved with organised training. The success of the India Cements Academy should pave the way for more such facilities in other parts of the country such as Ajmer, Indore, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, where squash talent traditionally surfaces. With squash getting increasingly accepted at the international level — it is one of the events in the Asian Games and in the next decade or so should enter the Olympics — the sport is bound to evoke greater interest.
Already the Government of India has responded positively to the recent achievements of the nation’s squash players, like Saurav Ghosal winning the bronze medal at the Doha Asian Games, by bringing the sport into the priority list. As a result, squash would command more government funds for players’ training and their foreign trips. However, Ramachandran is not particularly enamoured by this. ‘The Government funds are fine but we will always find our own resources,’ is his motto. He believes, the lesser the procedural hassles — the Government matters are always that — the better it is for both the officials and players to plan well ahead. And surely the SRFI supremo is looking ahead to India making a mark in squash at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.
What inspires Ramachandran are the performances of Saurav Ghosal, who won his third National title, and Joshna Chinappa, who claimed her seventh title, and her firth in succession. Both the players also have decent world rankings — Saurav is ranked No. 42, while Joshna is 39. Besides, the bright potential of some of the young brigade cannot be discounted, especially Siddarth Suchde, a diligent player fresh from Harvard who is keen to hone his skills.
In the final of the Nationals, Suchde was laid low by Ghosal, but his performance clearly showed that he has the fire in his belly. The way Parth Sharma and Naresh Kumar, both under 20 years, have matured as a doubles pair is another big gain for Indian squash. The duo shocked Ghosal and Harinder Pal Singh for the title. Maj. S. Maniam, the Consultant Coach of SRFI, said at the valedictory function of the Nationals, “It is a good happening. We know we have an established and strong pair ready for the big challenge.” he said.
Joshna remains India’s best bet on the distaff side. She intends training under Malcolm Willstrop, who also coaches Saurav, and the chances are that she will go up in her rankings. Dipika Pallikal, who finished next best to Joshna, is trained by Mohamed Essam Hafizan of Egypt, a former top-30 player. Dipika is still in school and so has age on her side. Playing against a tough rival like Joshna keeps her motivated. A notch or two behind Dipika are Anwesha Reddy, Harita Omprakash, Anaka, Aparajitha, all in school but keen trainees and ready to excel. The Chennai Nationals will also be remembered for Balamurugan’s exploits. The man, who was adopted by the Academy and who rose to become a Level II coach, went on to win his tenth title (professional category) in a row.
Naresh Kumar and Parth Sharma ousted the fancied Saurav Ghosal-Harinder Pal Sandhu combine (all TN) 10-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 in the final of the National Doubles Squash Championship. In the 3rd/4th place playoff, Vikram Malhotra and Niraj Shirgaokar (MAH) beat Vikas Jangra and Capt Shakti Singh (SSB) 7-11, 11-9, 11-10, 1-11, 11-9 in a close match.
Tamil Nadu `A` beat Tamil Nadu `B` 2-0 to win the men’s team event. Services lost to Delhi `A` 1-2 in the 3rd/4th place playoff. Tamil Nadu A beat Tamil Nadu B to also win the women’s team title
