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CCI International
2019
08-12 Jan, Mumba, India, $77k |
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12-Jan, Final:
[1] Tarek Momen (Egy) 3-2
[4] Fares Dessouky (Egy)
11/7, 7/11, 12/10, 10/12, 11/7 (80m)
Momen wins all-Egyptian final
in Mumbai
Top seed Tarek Momen prevailed in a five game all-Egyptian
final against Fares Dessouky in Mumbai to become the 2019 CCI
International Champion.
Sachika Balvani reports
There is only one winner. In any sport, but especially in our
individual sport,
where only two people get into a glass box, closed off from the
world, and battle it out against each other. Almost always,
there is also one favourite.
But today? Perhaps not. In its own way, the weighing scale was
perfectly balanced: Tarek Momen on one side, and Fares Dessouky
on the other.
Fourteen months. That’s how long it has been since Fares
Dessouky has been
out of action on the PSA World Tour. He had nothing to lose. At
24 years old, he stood calm and composed, happy to have earned
his place in the final here at the Cricket Club of India in
Mumbai. Comebacks are difficult, but Dessouky had made it look
easy so far in this tournament. He looked like he hadn’t been on
bed rest, like he hadn’t had to work his way back onto court,
one tiny and frustrating step at a time.
Momen, on the other hand, had showed that his superior
experience was his best friend this past week. He had dealt with
underdog after underdog, one tenacious and determined player
after the other. Youssef Ibrahim, Iker Pajares, Ramit Tandon… as
rising players, they had thrown their absolute best at him. But
Momen had absorbed the pressure, won the big points, and come
through each match.
So as the sun set and the court lit up, the
crowd was restless. Going by the cheers, the audience was well
balanced too, as some were for Momen and some were for Dessouky.
So who would the winner be? The underdog and former World Number
8, or the current World Number 4?
The first game began with Momen looking just a little more
comfortable than Dessouky. He took the first game, 11-7, and
came out of the court looking more determined than ever. In
contrast, Dessouky looked cooler than ever. It seemed to have
worked, because he came onto the second game and racked up a
lead. Momen caught up as the game hit the halfway mark, but in
vain. Dessouky returned the favour with a 7-11 win for himself.
The third game: arguably the most crucial of them all. The crowd
knew it and the players knew it. They fought each other and it
was only in the tiebreak that Momen managed to get back his lead
in the match as he bagged the third game, 12-10.
But Dessouky wasn’t going anywhere. He attacked
at the right moments and in the right places. He used his
composure and fed off the crowd’s enthusiasm. The game went to
another tie-break, and this time it was Dessouky who won the two
winning points to level the match at two games all.
And in the fifth, Momen showed what makes him the player he is.
It was the slightest of differences that set him, The Viper,
apart from Dessouky. He had found his edge and didn’t give into
any frustration, which he channeled into his game instead. They
leveled at 7-7, but Momen was unrelenting. His power on the
ball, his stamina, his unmatched ability to recover to the T
with lightning speed… he kept it all going till the end. He took
the game and the match, winning his 6 th PSA World Tour Title
here in Mumbai.
Photos by Nitesh Square
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Match Replays
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  CCI
International 2019
08-12 Jan, Mumba, India, $77k |
Round One
08 Jan |
Round Two
09 Jan |
Quarters
10 Jan |
Semis
11 Jan |
Final
12 Jan |
Peter Creed (Wal) *
11/8, 11/13, 11/8, 11/6 (47m)
Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) |
[1] Tarek Momen (Egy)
12/14, 11/8, 11/9, 11/8 (58m)
Youssef Ibrahim |
[1] Tarek Momen
11/8, 11/9, 8/11, 11/7 (65m)
Iker Pajares |
[1] Tarek Momen
11/7, 11/7, 11/7 (39m)
Ramit Tandon |
[1] Tarek Momen
11/7, 7/11, 12/10, 10/12, 11/7 (80m)
[4] Fares Dessouky |
Edmon Lopez (Esp) *
11/7, 11/3, 11/4 (43m)
Iker Pajares (Esp) |
[7] Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
11/6, 7/11, 11/9, 11/7 (66m)
Iker Pajares |
Joshua Masters (Eng) *
11/9, 11/6, 11/8 (36m)
Ramit Tandon (Ind) |
[8] Tom Richards (Eng)
11/7, 11/1, 11/2 (27m)
Ramit Tandon |
Ramit Tandon
w/o injury
[3] Saurav Ghosal |
Mohamed Reda (Egy) *
8/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/9 (55m)
Dimitri Steinmann (Sui) |
[3] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
11/1, 7/11, 11/3, 11/6 (43m)
Mohamed Reda |
Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind)
w/o
Ben Coleman (Eng) * |
Ben Coleman
11/7, 11/5, 11/6 (34m)
[4] Fares Dessouky (Egy) |
[4] Fares Dessouky
11/3, 11/1, 11/5 (26m)
Karim El Hammamy |
[4] Fares Dessouky
11/8, 11/9, 8/11, 11/4 (49m)
[5] James Willstrop |
[wc] Aditya Jagtap (Ind)
8/11, 10/12, 11/7, 13/11, 11/7 (84m)
Karim El Hammamy (Egy) * |
Karim El Hammamy
11/8, 7/11, 11/5, 7/11, 11/5 (87m)
[6] Omar Mosaad (Egy) |
Mazen Gamal (Egy)
9/11, 11/9, 11/4, 11/7 (45m)
Vikram Malhotra (Egy) * |
Vikram Malhotra
11/9, 11/9, 11/5 (27m)
[5] James Willstrop (Eng) |
[5] James Willstrop
11/3, 18/16, 8/11, 11/9 (67m)
Mahesh Mangaonkar |
Baptiste Masotti (Fra)
9/11, 6/11, 11/3, 11/4, 11/8 (55m)
Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind) * |
Mahesh Mangaonkar
11/9, 14/12, 12/10 (43m)
[2] Marwan ElShorbagy (Egy) |
* = 9/16 seed += followon
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12-Jan, Final:
[1] Tarek Momen (Egy) 3-2
[4] Fares Dessouky (Egy)
11/7, 7/11, 12/10, 10/12, 11/7 (80m)
11-Jan, Semis
All Egyptian final in Mumbai
The 2019 CCI Champion will be an
Egyptian, after wins from top seed Tarek Momen and 2016 champion
Fares Dessouky.
Momen ended Indian interest with a straight games win over Ramit
Tandon while Dessouky continued his impressive return to action
with a four game win over James Willstrop.
Photos by Nitesh Square
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Live Scores
Live Streaming |
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10-Jan, Quarters
Semis decides as Ghosal goes out with injury
India's Saurav Ghosal, the #3 seed and defending champion, was
forced to withdraw due to a calf injury today, which meant that
compatriot Ramit Tandon went straight through to the
semis.
There he'll face top seed Tarek Momen, who came
through a tough four-game encounter with unseeded Spaniard Ikjer
Pajares.
There will be Egyptian interest in both semis after Fares
Dessouky, the fourth seed, eased past Karim El Hammamy in
under half an hour - Hammamy survived 80+ minute matched in the
previous two rounds - setting up a semi-final against James
Willstrop, who ended home interest in the bottom half of the
draw with a four game win over yesterday's upset hero Mahesh
Mangaonkar.
Photos by Nitesh Square |
Live Scores
Live Streaming |
10-Jan, Quarters
Ghosal out with injury
India's Saurav Ghosal, the #3 seed and defending champion, has
been forced to withdraw due to a calf injury. Ramit Tandon goes
through to the semis.
09-Jan, Round Two:
Seeds suffer in Mumbai as Indian trio advance
Round two of the CCI International in Mumbai saw a number of
seeding upsets, with Marwan ElShorbagy the biggest victim
as the second seed lost out in three close games to India's
recently crowned national champion Mahesh Mangaonkar.
Further Indian success saw third seeded Saurav Ghosal
through to the quarters as he beat Mohamed Reda in four games
and Ramit Tandon produced a second successive seeding
upset in beating Tom Richards in straight games. They meet in
the quarters.
James Willstrop denied an Indian clean sweep as the fifth
seeded Englishman beat Vikram Malhotra in three, and he faces
Mangaonkar for a place in the semis.
There were upset wins for Spain's Iker Pajares and Egyptian
Karim El Hammamy, beating compatriot Omar Mosaad in five
long games.
Hammamy faces more Egyptian opposition after fourth seed
Fares Dessouky marked jhis return after an extended injury
layoff with victory over Ben Coleman, while Pajares meets top
seed Tarek Momen, who came from a game down to end the
run of fellow Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim.
Photos by Nitesh Square |
Live Scores
Live Streaming |
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08-Jan, Round One:
Indian Trio advance in Mumbai
It was a good day for the hosts in Mumbai as Indian trio
Ramit Tandon, Vikram Malhotra and Mahesh Mangaonkar advanced
to round two.
Tandon upset the seedings to oust England's Josh Masters in
three while Mangaonkar came from two games down to get past
Frenchman Baptiste Masotti and Malhotra recovered from a game
down against Egypt's Mazen Gamal.
Elsewhere in-form Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim beat 9/16 seed Peter
Creed in four and Spain's Iker Pajares beat seeded compatriot
Edmon Lopez in straight games.
Four Indians will feature in round two as third seed Saurav
Ghosal joins the fray against Egypt's Mohamed Reda.
Photos by Nitesh Square |
Live Scores
Live Streaming |
CCI back in Mumbai
The Indian
Squash Circuit is back starting tomorrow as it presents the CCI
International JSW Indian Squash Circuit 2019 at the prestigious
Cricket Club of India (East Lawns), Mumbai, from 8th - 12th Jan
for a US $70,000 purse.
Some of
the top ranking players will be seen in action in the floodlit
arena of the all-glass court – world #4 and #5 Tarek Momen and Marwan Elshorbagy will lead the Egyptian
challenge while James Willstrop, Nicholas Mueller and Tom Richards will be
the other international players to watch out for.
The Indian challenge will be led by Saurav Ghosal. Vikram Malhotra, Mahesh Mangaonkar, Ramit Tandon, Harinder Pal Sandhu and Aditya Jagtap among others.
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