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06-Jul, Finals:
[1] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt [2] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind)
7/11, 11/7, 11/7, 11/6 (49m)
[4] Annie Au (Hkg) bt [5] Dipika Pallikal (Ind)
9/3, 10/8, 10/8 (44m)
Ghosal & Au claim Chennai titles
Cyrus Poncha reports
 Saurav
Ghosal claimed his 3rd PSA title defeating Ritwik Bhattacharya in
four games in the final of the ICL Chennai Open. 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 minutes 11-7.
The second game set the tone for the rest of the match as unforced
errors on Ritwik's end allowed Saurav to level. The second and third
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 fourth game saw Saurav take 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 he won last year.
Dipika Pallikal, searching for her first WISPA tour title, struggled
at the outset with Annie Au's drop - drive game. In the second
Dipika squandered an 8-0 lead, going down 10-8. In the third Annie
played an aggressive game as she ran to a 7-2
lead, but Dipika fought back strongly and in one hand was serving
for the game after winning 7 points to lead 8-7. In the final twist
Annie took the game 10-8.
A remarkable achievement however by Dipika to get to the final and
Overall a great event for Indian Squash. |
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 Chennai
Open
2008
Chennai, India, 02-06 Jul, $10k |
Round One
03-Jul |
Quarters
04-Jul |
Semis
05-Jul |
Final
06-Jul |
[1] Saurav Ghosal
(Ind)
11/5, 11/7, 13/11 (45m)
Naresh Kumar (Ind) |
[1] Saurav Ghosal
11/8, 15/13, 11/5 (48m)
[8] Rob Sutherland |
[1] Saurav Ghosal
10/12, 5/11, 11/5, 11/9, 11/7 (84m)
[3] Ryan Cuskelly |
[1] Saurav Ghosal
7/11, 11/7, 11/7,
11/6 (49m)
[2] Ritwik Bhattacharya |
[8] Rob Sutherland
(Wal)
11/4, 11/6, 11/4 (21m)
[Q] Graeme Wilson (Nzl) |
[3] Ryan Cuskelly
(Aus)
12/10, 11/4, 11/4 (34m)
Zac Alexander (Aus) |
[3] Ryan Cuskelly
11/9, 6/11, 11/9, 11/3(56m)
[5] Dick Lau |
[5] Dick Lau (Hkg)
11/7, 11/7, 11/7 (25m)
[Q] Parth Sharma (Ind) |
Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind)
12/14, 11/8, 11/1, 12/10 (45m)
[7] Max Lee (Hkg) |
[7] Max Lee
11/4, 11/3, 11/7 (25m)
[4] Ali Anwar Reda |
[4] Ali Anwar Reda
10/12, 7/11, 12/10, 11/7, 11/8 (73m)
[2] Ritwik Bhattacharya |
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James Snell (Eng)
11/9, 11/7, 11/7 (34m)
[4] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) |
[Q] Harinderpal Singh (Ind)
12/10, 9/11, 11/1, 13/11 (39m)
[6] Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak) |
[Q] Harinderpal Singh
11/8, 13/11, 11/8 (38m)
[2] Ritwik Bhattacharya |
[Q] Ravi Dixit (Ind)
12/10, 11/9, 11/1 (29m)
[2] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) |
Qualifying, 02-Jul:
Finals:
Harinderpal Singh bt A. Parthiban
11/2, 11/6, 8/11, 11/8 (36m)
Parth Sharma bt B. Balamurugan
11/6, 9/11, 11/5, 11/5 (29m)
Ravi Dixit bt Kristian Frost Olesen (Den)
12/10, 5/11, 11/4, 13/11 (39m)
Graeme Wilson (Nzl) bt Aditya Jagtap
11/9, 11/6, 11/4 (37m)
Round One:
A. Parthiban bt Paramit Singh
12/14, 9/11, 11/7, 15/13, 11/5 63m)
B. Balamurugan bt Ramit Tandon
8/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/9 (29m)
Ravi Dixit bt Karan Malik
11/4, 11/4, 7/11, 11/3 (32m)
Aditya Jagtap bt Abhishek Pradhan
11/4, 11/9, 11/6 (24m)
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 Chennai
Open 2008
Chennai, India, 01-06 Jul, $8k |
Round One
03 Jul |
Quarters
04 Jul |
Semis
05
Jul |
Final
06 Jul |
[1] Christina Mak
(Hkg)
9/2, 9/3, 9/2 (21m)
Shriya Khatri (Ind) |
[1] Christina Mak
9/7, 9/5, 9/3 (34m)
[5] Dipika Pallikal |
[5] Dipika Pallikal
10/8, 7/9, 9/5, 9/1 (49m)
[3] Orla Noom |
[5] Dipika Pallikal
9/3, 10/8, 10/8 (44m)
[4] Annie Au |
[5] Dipika Pallikal
(Ind)
9/0, 9/2, 9/0 (10m)
Swati Muchal (Ind) |
[3] Orla Noom (Ned)
9/1, 7/9, 9/3, 9/1 (24m)
Saumya Karki (Ind) |
[3] Orla Noom
3/9, 8/10, 9/5, 9/1, 9/2(42m)
[7] Anwesha Reddy |
[7] Anwesha Reddy
(Ind)
9/4, 9/4, 3/9, 9/1 (25m)
Irina Assal (Rus) |
Harita Omprakash
(Ind)
10/8, 9/5, 9/2 (25m)
[8] Surbhi Misra (Ind) |
Harita Omprakash
9/2, 9/0, 9/1 (24m)
[4] Annie Au |
[4] Annie Au
10/9, 9/1, 5/9, 10/9 (67m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa |
Anaka Alankomony
9/4, 9/0, 9/2 (18m)
[4] Annie Au (Hkg) |
Sachika Balvani (Ind)
9/4, 9/4, 9/3 (20m)
[6] Birgit Coufal (Aut) |
[6] Birgit Coufal
9/2, 9/6, 9/2 (22m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa |
Arapajitha Balamurukan
(Ind)
9/2, 9/1, 9/0 (10m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (Ind) |
04-Jul, Quarters:
Pallikal
puts out top seed
Cyrus Poncha reports
 Dipika
Pallikal played a flawless match to enter the semi finals at the
ICL Chennai Open, defeating top seed and world no. 33 Christina Mak
from Hong Kong. A close first game but from there on Dipika looked
superior and took full control of the match with her aggression.
Dipika plays Orla Noom from the Netherlands tomorrow, who had
a narrow escape against Anwesha Reddy winning 3-2. In the other semi
final Joshna Chinappa and Annie Au will do battle
after easy wins.
The men's event went according to script with all the seeds moving
ahead.
03-Jul, Round One:
Reddy & Hinderpal reach quarters
Cyrus Poncha reports
Local
girl Anwesha Reddy reaches her first quarterfinal in the
$8000 event at the ICL Chennai Open 2008.
Anwesha defeated Russian, Irian Assal in four games. Down 1-4 in the
first Anwesha started playing aggressively and use her back hand
cross court flick to great effect to go up two games. Unforced
errors from Anwesha saw Irian win the third game 9-3. Anwesha came
back strong to win the 4th game in quick time to confirm her berth
against Orla Noom.
Harita Om Prakash was the only non WISPA member to win her
match when she defeated country mate Surbhi Misra in straight games.
The other seeds had it easy with the Indian junior girls enjoying
their experience at their first WISPA event.
In the men's event, another ICL academy trainee Harinderpal Singh
ranked 143 who came through the qualifications defeated 6th seeded
Shamshul Islam Khan from Pakistan in an enthralling 4 games.
Harinder's retrieving was exceptional and troubles Shamshul with his
drops. In the final game tie breaker Harinder hit a forehand drive
into the nick and won the final point with a fore hand cross court
volley also into the nick.
Harinder plays the second seed Ritwik Bhattacharya in
tomorrow's quarterfinal. All other seeds progressed into the next
round.
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02-Jul, Qualifying:
Ravi reaches main draw
Cyrus Poncha reports
Local
trainee at the ICL Squash Academy Ravi Dixit won his two
qualifying rounds here in Chennai to reach the main draw of the
$10,000 6th ICL Chennai Chennai Open.
Ravi defeated compatriot Karan Malik in the morning and then
defeated world ranked 198 Kristian Olesen from Denmark in four
games. Ravi saved one game ball in the first to win in extra points
and did the same in the fourth game. Ravi slowed the pace and kept
good length which enabled him to drop when in front of Kristian. At
11-11 in the fourth Ravi won a stroke off Kristian's drop and won
the final point with a forehand drive to the back.
Tomorrow Ravi has been draw to play second seed Ritwik.
Harinder and Parth also made it to the main draw
defeating ICL Academy coaches Parthiban and Balamurugan
respectively. Graeme Wilson was the only foreigner to make
the main draw defeating Aditya in four games.
"The reason we have organised this tournament 25 days before the
World Juniors is so that our team get the required match practice at
this level," said National Coach, Cyrus Poncha. "Our aim has been
achieved and this experience will reap rich awards" .
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Chennai doubles up for 2008
The ICL-Chennai
Open 2008, to be organised by the Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets
Association (TNSRA) under the auspices of the Squash Rackets
Federation of India (SRFI), at the ICL academy here from July 2
to 6 will for the first time encompass both the PSA and WISPA events
under one banner. Both are $8000 events and will feature the best of
Indian talents both in the men’s and women’s sections.
The men’s field in fact has two Indians, national champion Saurav
Ghosal (ranked 53) and Ritwik Bhattacharya (ranked 58) as
the top two seeds in keeping with their world rankings. The
16-player draw has entrants from Australia, Egypt, Hong Kong,
Pakistan, Wales and England. The other Indians in the fray are
Siddharth Suchde, Gaurav Nandrajog and Naresh Kumar
(wild card). Four slots in the main draw are open to the qualifiers.
The qualifying phase also has a comprehensive line up with several
overseas players, including from Sri Lanka, Italy, Lebanon, Iran,
UAE and New Zealand. Among the Indians in this phase are the six
juniors who will be representing the country in the World junior
championship to be held in Zurich (Switzerland) during July end. The
six are Vikram Malhotra, Paramit Singh, Ravi Dixit, Karan Malik,
Ramit Tandon and Aditya Jagtap.
As always the SRFI believes in providing every opportunity for
Indian players to get international exposure and in keeping with
that are the entries of Parthiban Ayyappan, B. Balamurugan,
Harinderpal Sandhu, Parth Sharma.
The women’s event has Christina Mak of Hong Kong as the top
seed with India’s national champion Joshna Chinappa as seed
two. Like in the men’s, the stress has been to give Indian players a
major exposure, particularly the juniors, who would have returned by
then from their Asian junior event in Korea. Dipika Pallikal,
Anwesha Reddy, Harita Omprakash, Surbhi Misra, Anaka Alankamony,
Sachika Balvani, Shria Khatri, Swati Muchhal, Saumya Karki, and
Aparajitha Balamurukan are the others in the fray. There is no
qualifying draw for the women’s.
Mr. N. Ramachandran, Secretary General - SRFI, said he is
excited that the 6th edition of the PSA event has both Indians at
the top and also hopes that Joshna will be able to keep the Indian
flag flying high.
"This exposure for both the Indian boys and girls will be
brilliant," said National Coach Cyrus Poncha.
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Dipika
Pallikal's dream run continued at the ICL Chennai Open, as three
Indians reached the finals.
In
the men's event Ryan Cuskelly had defending champion and top seed
Saurav Ghosal worried in the first two games as he kept pace and
picked whatever Saurav threw at him. Down 0-2 Saurav had to work
very hard and clawed back to level the match at 2-2. The 84 min duel
saw Saurav prevail in the end with a gutsy effort from both players.