Indian men surprise but go down to Malaysia

Indians put up a brave fight against the Malaysians. India lost the first singles when Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu lost to Mohd Nafizwan Adnan 10-12, 9-11, 11-13, but Ghosal came up with a brilliant performance to tame No ranked Modh Azlan Iskander 2-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-4. With the teams tied, the pressure was on Siddharth Suchde who faced Malaysia No.2 Ong Ben Hee. The match lasted all of 75 minutes at the end of which Hee came through 11-6, 8-11, 14-12, 4-11, 11-2.

Malaysia play Pakistan in the final, who beat Kuwait 2-0.

Asian Seniors Quarter finals

Saurav and Dipika move into the semis.

Nicol David (MAS)[1] bt Song Sun Mi (KOR)[9/16] 11-4 11-7 11-7 (24m)
Dipika Pallikal (IND)[9/16] bt Misaki Kobayashi (JPN)[9/16] 12-10 11-8 11-6 (32m)
Rebecca Chiu (HKG)[2] bt Joshna Chinappa (IND)[5/8] 11-5 11-13 11-7 11-6 (39m)
Joey Chan (HKG)[5/8] bt Delia Arnold (MAS)[3/4] 11-4 11-4 11-6 (28m)

Azlan Iskandar (MAS)[1] bt Abdulla Almezayen (KUW)[9/16] 13-11 11-7 12-10 (50m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND)[3/4] bt Farhan Mehboob (PAK)[5/8]  11-7,11-1,11-6 (35m)
Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)[3/4] bt Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)[5/8] 12-10 11-8 11-5 (35m)
Yasir Ali Butt (PAK)[5/8] bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS)[2] 10-12 11-8 11-8 11-9 (60m)

Asian seniors Day 2 men

Men’s Last 16:
Ong Beng Hee (MAS)[2] bt Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND)[9/16] 11-7 11-8 11-6 (32m)
Yasir Ali Butt (PAK)[5/8] bt Harinderpal Singh (IND)[9/16] 8-11 11-7 11-6 11-7 (38m)
Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)[5/8] bt Siddharth Suchde (IND)[9/16] 11-13 11-13 13-11 11-8 11-8 (106m)
Farhan Mehboob (PAK)[5/8] bt Ivan Yuen (MAS)[9/16] 9-11 11-6 11-8 11-8 (56m)
Abdulla Almezayen (KUW)[9/16] bt Max Lee (HKG)[5/8] 11-7 11-6 11-4 (27m)
Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)[3/4] bt Dick Lau (HKG)[9/16] 11-5 11-6 12-10 (35m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND)[3/4] bt Waqar Mehboob (PAK)[9/16] 11-9 11-5 11-5 (36m)
M. Azlan Iskandar (MAS)[1] bt Anson Kwong (HKG)[9/16] 11-2 11-4 11-2 (25m)

Doha Diary 5

Double gold for Malaysia, Nicol defeated Rebecca who had upset her at the last games , Ong retained his title.

[1]Nicol David (MAS) bt [2] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 9/0, 9/3, 9/3 (34m)
[2] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [1] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (Mas) 5/9, 9/1, 10/9, 9/5 (73m)

Doha Diary 4

Diminutive Saurav Ghosal had the crowd entertained with his delightful front game and his awesome retrieving skills. Beng Hee picked up almost all of Saurav’s attacking shots to the front and at the same time threw in a few of his. Saurav continued with the same sort of game in the third and slowly it was beginning to produce results. Beng Hee was either getting a little late to the ball or were tinning his returns. Saurav took a well deserve third. The fourth was looking good for Saurav as he raced to a 3-0 and 4-1 lead with yet again – delicate drop shots. Beng Hee decided that he should keep Saurav away from the front and went back to playing a lot more lobs as he did in the first two games. Rallies were now getting longer and Saurav’s legs getting wearier. Beng Hee finished of well against a fighting Saurav 9/1, 9/2, 6/9, 9/4

Doha Diary 3

I  am thrilled that India has won a medal for squash at the Asian Games. Four years ago Ritwik was very close to winning a medal when he had stretched Azlan to 5 games. It is unfortunate this time round my boys had to play each other. Ritwik was unlucky not to go thru,  Saurav took his chances well and reaped the reward. Credit for Saurav’s win must go to his parents, the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) who has supported him over the past few years, the management and coaches of the India Cements Squash Academy who have always stood behind him and Malcolm Willstrop who has worked very closely with Saurav for the past 18 months.

Asian Games, Doha, Qatar

Howard Harding, Media Manager, WSF: After a short break to celebrate her successful defence of the World Open Squash Championship title in Belfast on Sunday, Malaysian Nicol David must set her sights on reclaiming a major title she does not hold, at the Asian Games in Qatar in December. David and compatriot Mohd Azlan Iskandar have been named as top squash seeds in the sport’s third appearance in the quadrennial Asian Games, in Doha from 10-14 December.

New Strait Times: Malaysian prospects for the Asian Games

Malaysians twice failed to sweep two gold medals in the Asian Games since squash was introduced in 1998, but they are unlikely to be denied glory in Doha next month. Nicol David easily won Malaysia’s first squash gold in Bangkok in 1998, but she was shocked by Hong Kong’s Rebecca Chiu in Busan four years later in the final. As for the men, Kenneth Low could only manage a bronze but Ong Beng Hee, who fell in the quarter-finals in Bangkok, justified his seeding to secure the gold in 2002.

Hong Kong Squash Open 2006 First Round

[9] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Ritwik Bhattacharya (India)  11/5, 11/4, 10/12, 11/5 (36m)

Cathay Pacific Swiss Privilege Hong Kong Open

Qualifing rounds commence on the 16 and the main event is from 18 to 22 October. First round draws and updated results :

[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Wai Hang Wong (HKG)
[14] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v Mohammed Abbas (EGY)
[6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Qualifier
[16] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Qualifier
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) v Alex Gough (WAL)
[11] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) v Qualifier
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)