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Otters
Open 2006
08-13 August,
Mumbai, India, $10k |
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13-Aug, Final:
Draw & results
[2] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt [1] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind)
9/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/10(2-0) (75m) |
Saurav & Mandy
triumph in Otters Open
By DON MONTEIRO
MUMBAI, August 13, 2006: Second seed Saurav Ghosal
staged a dramatic recovery to shock top seed Ritwik Bhattacharya in an
absorbing 'derby' championship clash to clinch the PSA Otters Open Squash
title, at the Otters Club, Bandra on Sunday.
World No. 59 Ghosal took 75 minutes to earn his maiden PSA title while
beating arch rival and world No. 43 Bhattacharya on only the second
occasion.
In a quality contest marked by long rallies and brilliant stroke play,
both treated the jam packed Otters Club to delightful squash that had all
the ingredients of a thriller.
Bhattacharya seemed well on his way to victory after winning the opening
games in tight finishes, including surviving a scare while leading 8-5 and
allowing Ghosal to close in at 9-9 in the first.
But Ghosal ignored his much accomplished opponent's reputation to play
uninhibited squash. He chose to play the game he is accustomed to and it
paid off.
In a pulsating decider, Bhattacharya led 9-7 before enjoying two match
balls at 10-8 and 10-9, but he hit the tin on two occasions while Ghosal
earned a 'stroke' in between to surge to a crucial 11-10 advantage.
Another 'stroke' and Ghosal sealed a memorable victory, prior to his
maiden World Open he is eager to play in Cairo next month.
 "It
was an important tournament to win. It was a hard match especially
coming back from two games down.
"I was not getting my shots in the first two games, while Ritwik hit
the ball really well. The pressure is always there while playing
Ritwik. But I hung in there and tried to get my rhythm."
Saurav Ghosal |
Ghosal earned $1,282 for his effort, while
Bhattacharya settled for $877.
 "The
game I was playing was good enough. I don't think I could do
anything different. But Saurav played well.
"I had earlier lost in five games to Manish Chotrani and Siddharth
Suchde on the same court, and I guess losing to Saurav was the only
thing remaining."
Ritwik Bhattacharya |
Mandy makes it all the way
Mandy Kennedy of England made the tournament her own when she bagged the
women's crown following another shock 9-5, 9-0, 9-7 victory over second
seed Alisha Mashruwalla of Maharashtra in the Otters Open, which was
concurrently held with the PSA Open.
Making her debut in the competition at 38, Mandy, who surprised top seed
Surbhi Misra of Rajasthan in the quarter-finals and No. 5 Harita Omprakash
in the semi-finals, completed her giant-killing spree to help herself to
the winner's purse of Rs. 20,000 (approx $426), watched by her husband
Simon, and kids Ben and Megan.
"I didn't know what to expect. I
don't really play tournaments, so this was nerve-wracking.
"I beat the No. 1 and No. 5 seeds the other day and Alisha is No. 2.
So I am very happy. I played well in patches. My serve was more
effective and my drop shots were better."
Mandy Kennedy |
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Otters Finals:
Men's Open: Harinder Sandhu (Chennai) bt Vikas Jangra (Mah)
9-7, 9-6, 9-0.
Boys U-19: Vikram Malhotra (Mah) bt Parth Sharma (Chennai)
3-9, 9-2, 3-9, 9-3, 9-1.
Boys U-17: Vikram Malhotra (Mah) bt Laxman Joshi (Mah)
9-3, 9-0, 9-0.
Boys U-15: Ravi Dixit (Chennai) bt Aditya Jagtap (Mah) 10-9,
6-9, 9-10, 9-4, 9-3.
Boys U-13: Mahesh Mangaokar (Mah) bt Abhishek Pardhan (Mah)
9-6, 9-2, 9-10, 9-3.
Boys U-11: Kush Kumar (Del) bt Arjun Kochhar (Mah) 9-4, 9-4,
9-4.
Women's Open: Mandy Kennedy (England) bt Alisha Mashruwala (Mah)
9-5, 9-0, 9-7.
Girls U-17: Surbi Mishra (Raj) bt Shivangi Paranjpe (Mah)
9-7, 9-7, 9-5.
Girls U-13: Saumya Karki bt Sachika Balwani 9-7, 10-9, 9-5.
Men's Over-35: Rohit Thawani w/o Deepak Kochhar.
Men's Over-45: Vaman Apte bt Deepak Kochhar 6-9, 9-3, 4-9,
9-3, 9-3.
Professionals: B. Balamurgan (Chennai) bt Rohit More (Mah)
9-2, 9-6, 9-0. |
Kids party at Otters club
More
about Mumbai |
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12-Aug, Semis:
Draw & results
[1] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt [5] Darren Lewis (Eng)
9/11, 11/5, 11/3, 11/6 (33m)
[2] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt [3] Timothy Arnold (Mas)
11/1, 11/6, 11/3 (25m) |
Darren loses but Mandy marches on in Mumbai's glamour event
From Pradeep Vijayakar in
Mumbai
The two Britons who had cornered attention on the quarter-final day had
mixed fortunes at the Otters Club on Saturday. Fifth seed Darren Lewis
won the first game then surrendered the last three to lose to the Indian
champ Ritwik Bhattacharya in the semi-finals.
In contrast, Mandy Kennedy of England had a surprise in store for
the second day in succession when entering the women's final with a fine
8-10, 8-10, 10-8, 9-4, 9-4 win over fifth seed Harita Omprakash of Chennai
in the Otters Open, which is concurrently being held with the PSA Open.
Mandy is married to a Reliance professional working here, and she only
arrived last weekend, had entered the event for the fun of it and came
through the qualifiers.
Ritwik recovers ...
It took Ritwik 35 minutes to beat Lewis and he takes on No. 2 Sourav
Ghosal, who beat took just 25 minutes to demolish world No. 111 Arnold
11-1, 11-6, 11-3 in the other semi-final.
Lewis, ranked No. 137 in the world, got off to a dream start in the first
game when he led 9-6 before snatching a 1-0 lead. But the Indian ace found
his shots in the second and quickly got into the groove to take command.
 "Darren
played a lot better and to begin with he came out strong at the
start. He has a solid game and he played some good shots. But by the
second game I got my shots and took it from there."
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Said Lewis, "I tried attacking and played
a quick first game. But Ritwik speeded up the tempo in the second, which
put me under pressure. I tried to slow it down but he volleyed well. He
was too quick for me today."
Mandy Marches on ...
Unseeded Mandy, who shocked top seed Surbhi Misra in the quarter-finals on
Friday, reached the title round in dramatic fashion after trailing 0-2 to
Harita Omprakash and looking down the barrel at match ball in the third.
Omprakash, who, a little while earlier, had lost a tight under-17
semi-final in four games, had the match firmly in her grasp as she reached
match ball at 8-5 in the third. It seemed all over for 38-year-old Mandy
until the Indian lost her way in a sudden lapse in concentration.
Mandy seized the opportunity following an unforced error by Omprakash and
never looked back. The mother of two crept back into the match with every
point as her opponent's game began to fall apart, eventually winning the
marathon encounter after a gruelling 85 minutes.
Mandy will take on formidable No. 2 seed Alisha Mashruwala in Sunday's
final after the latter overcame third seed Shivangi Paranjpe 10-8, 4-9,
9-2, 9-1 in the other semi-final.
""Harita got a bit tense while she
enjoyed that lead and reached match ball in the third. That's what
did her in. I needed to play my game and that's what I did. I played
slower, while she was quick. I used more drops and my lobs got
better.
"I don't know Alisha's game, but I heard she is an attacking player.
I will just have to make sure I play my game."
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Mandy's win once again overshadowed men's
fifth seed Harinderpal Sandhu's shock 8-10, 9-5, 9-3, 10-9 win over top
seed Gaurav Nandrajog in an exciting semi-final that added another upset
to a long list of casualties.
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India's top two to meet again
Otters Open semi-finals:
Men's Open: Harinder Sandhu (Chennai) bt Gaurav Nandrajog
(Del) 8-10, 9-5, 9-3, 10-9.
Boys U-19: Parth Sharma bt Sandeep Jangra 4-9, 9-4, 8-10,
9-7, 9-0; Vikram Malhotra bt Naresh Kumar (Chennai) 9-7, 9-1, 6-9,
9-6.
Boys U-17: Laxman Joshi bt Girish Sawlani (Chennai) 9-5, 9-7,
10-8; Vikram Malhotra bt Cyril Kuhn (Chennai) 9-4, 9-7, 9-7.
Boys U-15: Aditya Jagtap bt Karm Kumar (Del) 9-3, 9-7, 9-1;
Ravi Dixit (Chennai) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (Mah) 9-0, 9-2, 9-0.
Boys U-13: Mahesh Mangaokar bt Aakash Borwankar 9-4, 9-4,
9-1; Abhishek Pardhan bt Karan Tharyamal 9-3, 9-3, 5-9, 5-9, 9-6.
Boys U-11: Kush Kumar (Del) bt Aditiya Katri 9-0, 9-0, 9-8;
Arjun Kochhar bt Kunj Rawani 9-2, 10-8, 10-9.
Women's Open: Alisha Mashruwala bt Shivangi Paranjpe 10-8,
4-9, 9-2, 9-1; Mandy Kennedy (England) bt Harita Omprakash (Chennai)
8-10, 8-10, 10-8, 9-4, 9-4.
Girls U-17: Shivangi Paranjpe bt Harita Omprakash (Chennai)
0-9, 9-3, 9-4, 9-4; Surbi Mishra (Raj) bt Dheeya Somaiya (MP) 9-1,
9-2, 9-1.
Girls U-13: Saumya Karki bt Namrata Purohit 9-2, 9-3, 9-1;
Sachika Balwani bt Ankita Sharma 6-9, 9-6, 9-7, 9-5.
Professionals: Rohit More bt Sanjay Pawar 5-9, 4-9, 9-3,
10-8, 9-0; B. Balamurgan (Chennai) bt Vijay Waghela 9-1, 9-2, 9-2. |
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SquashSite's Mumbai
correspondent Pradeep Vijayakar (left in beard) receiving
a crystal trophy from cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar at the Indian
sports journalism
awards in Mumbai. Next to Vijayakar is Sunil Warrier Mumbai sports
editor.
The Times won the best layout prize for a page dealing with celebrity
kids. |
11-Aug, Quarters:
Draw & results
[1] Ritwik Bhattacharya bt [Q] Siddharth Suchde
11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-3
[5] Darren Lewis bt [4] Nafiizwan Adnan
11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-10(3-1) (87m)
[3] Timothy Arnold bt [Q] Shahril Shahridan
11-6, 11-7, 11-9
[2] Saurav Ghosal bt Gaurav Nandrajog
11-7, 11-3, 11-8 |
Lewis survives late scare
to upset Nafiizwan
DON MONTEIRO reports from Mumbai
 Darren
Lewis of England survived a late scare to reach his maiden semi-final
in a One Star event following a gruelling five-game win over Mohd.
Nafiizwan Adnan of Malaysia, in the PSA Otters Open Squash Tournament
2006, at the Otters Club, Bandra on Friday.
After snatching the opening two games for a comfortable 2-0 lead in an
87-minute thriller, Lewis, ranked No. 137 in the world, looked set to wrap
it up in the third after leading 8-4. But he lost his way and allowed No.
4 seed and world No. 127 Adnan to get back into the match, as the
Malaysian forced the decider.
"I should have won the third. But it was a big match for me and I got
nervous after that lead in the third game. I think I got too cautious and
it allowed Adnan to come back," explained the fifth seed. "It was the same
in the fourth. But I was more attacking in a very close fifth game. He had
two match balls and in the end I was just happy to survive."
Lewis will take on top seed and world No. 43 Ritwik Bhattacharya
after the Indian ovecame qualifier and compatriot Siddharth Suchde in
another five-game battle.
Malaysia's world No. 111 and third seed Timothy Arnold set up the
other semi-final with No. 2 seed and world No. 59 Sourav Ghosal of
India after both fashioned easy wins.
Otters Open
(Quarter-Finals):
Boys: U-19: Sandeep Jangra bt Cyril Kuhn (Chennai) 9-1, 9-6,
9-7; Parth Sharma (Chennai) bt Manek Mathur 9-3, 9-2, 9-3; Naresh
Kumar (Chennai) bt Cyrus Vakil 9-4, 10-8, 9-6; Vikram Malhotra bt
Paramjeet Singh (Chennai) 9-0, 9-4, 9-0.
Boys: U-17: Girish Sawlani (Chennai) bt Prithvi Aditiya
(Chennai) 9-7, 9-3, 9-1; Laxman Joshi bt Ravi Dixit (Chennai) 3-9,
9-7, 4-9, 9-1, 9-6; Vikram Malhotra bt Aditya Jagtap 9-5, 9-5, 9-7;
Cyril Kuhn (Chennai) bt Paramjeet Singh (Chennai) 9-2, 9-7, 9-5.
Boys: U-15: Ravi Dixit (Chennai) bt Caran Arora 9-4, 9-0,
9-2; Aditya Jagtap bt Karan Tharyamal (Raj) 9-5, 9-2, 9-1; Mahesh
Mangaonkar bt Aadit Zaveri 9-2, 9-3, 9-4; Karm Kumar (Del) bt
Abhishek Pradhan 10-8, 9-1, 9-2.
Boys: U-13: Akash Borwankar bt Rohan Vora 9-7, 7-9, 9-1, 9-2;
Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Kush Kumar 9-1, 9-4, 9-4; Karan Tharyamal (Raj)
bt Caran Arora 1-9, 9-2, 9-5, 9-5; Abhishek Pradhan bt Deepak Mishra
6-9, 9-3, 9-1, 9-0.
Boys: U-11: Kunj Rawani bt Armaan Kothari 9-0, 9-1, 9-2; Kush
Kumar bt Yohan Pandole 9-1, 9-1, 9-2; Arjun Kochhar bt Raghav
Malhotra 9-4, 2-9, 5-9, 9-4, 10-9.
Men's Open: Rishad Pandole bt Manish Chotrani 10-8, 9-4, 9-6;
Gaurav Nandrajog (Del) bt Parthiban Ayappan (Chennai) 9-0, 9-5, 9-2;
Vikas Jangra bt Supreet Singh 9-5, 9-6, 9-7; Harinderpal Singh
Sandhu bt Parth Sharma (Chennai) 9-5, 3-9, 9-0, 9-6.
Women's Open: Alisha Mashruwalla bt Dheeya Somaiya 9-1, 9-0,
9-6; Mandy Kennedy (England) bt Surbi Mishra (Raj) 9-1, 9-6, 9-7.
Girls: U-17: QF: Harita Omprakash bt Sunita Patwa 9-1, 9-0,
9-0; Shivangi Paranjpe bt Sachika Balwani 9-1, 9-2, 9-4; Surbhi
Mishra (Raj) bt Ankita Sharma 9-0, 9-1, 9-1.
PQF: Dheeya Somaiya bt S. Swarnakatha 9-3, 8-10, 9-3, 9-4. 2nd Rd:
S. Swarnalatha bt Shaheda Madraswalla 9-1, 9-4, 9-0; Harita
Omprakash bt Anju Sharma 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Dheeya Somaiya bt Swati
Muchhal 9-1, 9-7, 9-4; Shivangi Paranjpe bt Urvashi Mishra 9-5, 9-0,
9-0;Ankita Sharma bt Rinki Soni 9-1, 9-7, 9-4; Sachika Balvani bt
Namrata Purohit 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.
Girls:U-13: 2nd Rd: Ankita Sharma bt Gayatri Adivekar 9-0,
9-0, 9-0; Sachika Balwani bt Urvashi Joshi 9-0, 9-0, 9-0.
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Mandy flies the Flag in Otters
The Union Jack was flying high as Mandy Kennedy of England
was the unlikely toast of the day when she shocked women's top seed
and India No. 4, 17-year-old Surbhi Misra of Rajasthan 3-0 to
set the ball rolling for another day of upsets, in the Otters Open,
concurrently being held with the PSA Open.
At 38, Mandy is a mother of two, but there was no sign of the aging
aunt while demolishing an opponent less than half her age 9-1, 9-6,
9-7 to storm into the semi-finals.
"I love playing squash. My husband is here in Mumbai on a transfer
and he informed me of the Otters Open. I was delighted to enter a
competition and this win is a huge bonus," revealed an excited
Mandy.
Mandy's stunning effort overshadowed unseeded Rishad Pandole's upset
10-8, 9-4, 9-6 win over second seed Manish Chotrani in a tight Men's
Open contest to reach the semi-finals.
Pandole, who comes from the first family of squash in India, is a
regular on the local circuit but always the poor cousin amongst the
elite. Today, he was Man Friday as he changed the script to score a
famous win, made sweeter by beating a former national champion and a
much accomplished opponent.
"It was a hard match where the close opening game was critical,"
explained an excited Pandole, who added, the verdict was yet to sink
in. "Anybody who won the first game would always have the
psychological edge. I was volleying a lot and cut out the mistakes
to play error-free squash. My shots deep were working well and
caused Manish a lot of problems. He either struggled to get to them
or created openings for me."
Added Pandole: "I used to play him in the under-19, before he
established himself. It's the first time I'm playing him in a formal
match at this level. Manish was slow getting to the front. The match
was a lot closer than the scores suggest. But it was exciting to
beat the number two seed."
Parth Sharma of Chennai is on a roll. After beating Sandeep Jangra
3-0 in the Men's Open late Thursday night, No. 5 seed Sharma
returned to upset fourth seed Manek Mathur 9-3, 9-2, 9-3 to enter
the boys' under-19 semi-finals.
In a close boys' under-17 contest, No. 2 seed Laxman Joshi of
Maharashtra endured a strong challenge and was taken the distance
before overcoming seventh seed Ravi Dixit of Chennai 3-9, 9-7, 4-9,
9-1, 9-6 in a thrilling quarter-final tie.
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10-Aug, Round One:
Nandrajog, Suchde,
Shahidan score upset wins
DON MONTEIRO reports
Indians
experienced a rewarding day as qualifier Siddharth Suchdde and wild
card Gaurav Nandrajog rallied brilliantly to enter the second
round, on a dramatic day of upsets in the PSA Otters Open Squash
Tournament 2006, at the Otters Club, Bandra on Thursday.
Suchde, ranked 194 in the world, set the ball rolling when he shocked
world No. 157 and eighth seed Ryan Thompson of Namibia 8-11, 11-7, 11-6,
11-2.
In an exciting first round tie that lasted 50 minutes, the Indian lost a
close opening game in which he struggled to find his rhythm. But he warmed
up in the next while enduring a strong challenge from Thompson.
 Though
the Namibian made a special effort to snatch the third game, Suchde
remained unruffled before taking a crucial lead late in the game to go 2-1
up.
The advantage did much to enhance his confidence but to Suchde's surprise
Thompson's challenge fizzled out in the crucial fourth game as the Indian
went on to fashion a famous win.
"I was apprehensive since I was playing my first PSA tournament this year.
I got off to a bad start where I was defensive in the opening game. But I
soon found my touch in the second game," explained Suchde.
Gaurav Nandrajog, ranked 246 in the world, then demolished world No. 145
and seventh seed Friedrich Scheel of Germany 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 in just 30
minutes.
It was a rewarding day for the Malaysians too, with world No. 169
Shahril Shahridan and world No. 109 Timothy Arnold joining
compatriot Mohd. Adnan in the second round.
In a match that stretched to 62 minutes, Shahridan endured a tough opening
game which took 24 minutes, before he clinched a shock win over No. 6 seed
Arthur Gaskin, of Ireland who is ranked 142 in the world.
In contrast, Arnold crushed world No. 175 Aqeel Rehman of Austria 11-6,
11-8, 11-3 in just 32 minutes.
Harinder Pal Sandhu, ranked 239 in the world, was forced into yet another
long battle before going down to the formidable Mohd. Adnan in 75
minutes.
Sandhu, who came out of a 3-2 win over Vikram Malhotra in the final
qualifying round, kept his hopes alive by clinching the third game after
trailing 0-2. But Adnan, ranked 102 in the world, relied on his experience
to take the crucial fourth game to cement his place in the second round.
Top seeds Ritwik Bhattacharya and Saurav Ghosal added to the
Indian contingent in the quarters as they both scored straight-game
victories at the end of the day's play...
Don Monteiro |
Round One:
[1] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt [Q] Parthiban Ayappan (Ind)
11-4, 11-4, 11-1
[Q] Siddarth Suchde (Ind) bt Ryan Thompson (Nam)
8-11, 11-7, 11-6,
11-2
[4] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) bt [Q] Harinderpal Singh (Ind)
11-10,
11-6, 6-11, 11-6
[5] Darren Lewis (Eng) bt
Neil Hitchens (Eng)
11-10, 11-7, 11-7
[Q] Shahril Shahidan (Mas)bt [7] Arthur Gaskin (Irl) 10-11,
11-7, 11-7, 11-7
[3] Tim Arnold (Mas) bt
Aqeel Rehman (Aut)
11-6, 11-8, 11-3
Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind) bt
Friedrich Scheel (Ger)
11-8, 11-3, 11-5 [7]
[2] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt
Nafzahiham Adnam (Mas)
11-7, 11-2, 11-3
Draw & results |
OTTERS OPEN
Playing a brilliant game and enjoying good form, Caran Arora
of the Cricket Club of India enjoyed a rewarding day in the Otters
Open, which is being played concurrently, when he stormed into the
boys' under-15 quarter-finals following a thrilling 10-8, 7-9, 9-2,
6-9, 9-6 over Ashaya Jain, who is a
year older than Arora at 13.
"I kept a tight length and used good lobs to counter Ashaya," said
Arora after the match. "I played some good volleys as well and I was
very happy with my all round game today. The win was all the more
sweet since he was a stronger player."
Later, Arora capped the day with a convincing 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 win over
Shobit Gupta in the boys' under-13 pre-quarter-finals.
Full results |
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09-Aug, Qualifying:
Three
Indians Qualify
DON MONTEIRO reports
India’s Parthiban Ayappan and
Harinder Pal Sandhu endured strong challenges before making it to
the main draw, in the PSA Otters Open Squash Tournament 2006, at the
Otters Club, Bandra on Wednesday.
In one of the fastest contests, Harinder Pal Sandhu took just 36 minutes
and five games to end compatriot Vikram Malhotra’s campaign with a 11-6,
7-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7 win, in an exciting final qualifying round match.
Sandhu used consistency and rallied brilliantly from a 1-2 deficit, to
pull off a thriller on the fast track. Malhotra, who upset world No. 245
Brian Byrne of Ireland in the opening qualifying round on Tuesday, ran
Sandhu close but committed more errors and paid the penalty.
“Vikram played very well today. In the second game he hit brilliant
winners and there were no mistakes from him. But he surprised me by
surrendering the fourth game and in the end it was my consistency that
proved decisive,” revealed Sandhu.
Parthiban, ranked No. 216 in the world, rallied from a 1-2 deficit to
overcome compatriot Naresh Kumar 11-8, 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9 in another
absorbing final qualifying round encounter.
In a tie that lasted 45 minutes, Parthiban got off to a dream start with
an early lead. But Kumar, ranked No. 247 in the world, battled hard to
clinch the next two games to surge to a surprise 2-1 lead.
As the scores suggest, it was a tight contest between quality players that
went all the way to the decider.
The match could have gone either way, but Parthiban
committed fewer mistakes and was rewarded with a berth amongst the elite
following one of the closest
contests he has endured in his career.
Malaysia’s Shahril Shahridan, ranked No. 185 in the world, ignored
the loss of the opening game against India’s Sandeep Jangra and quickly
found his rhythm before cruising to a 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 win in
another 45 minute tie.
Shahridan took a comfortable 2-1 lead after taking control. Jangra made a
late bid to keep his hopes alive in the crucial fourth game that was
close. But he paid the price for committing unforced errors.
Siddharth Suchdde of India joined the elite following an easy 11-1,
11-3, 11-8 win over compatriot Vikas Jangra in a match that lasted just 20
minutes.
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Qualifying
finals:
Shahril Shahridan (Mas) bt Sandeep Jangra (Ind)
9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9
Parthiban Ayappan (Ind) bt Naresh Kumar (Ind)
11-8, 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9
Harinder Pal Sandhu (Ind) bt Vikram Malhotra (Ind)
11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7
Siddharth Suchdde (Ind) bt
Vikas Jangra (Ind)
11-1, 11-3, 11-8.
Full draw & results |
"I lost the first game because I
used it to get the feel of the court. I played my shots and by the
second game I had settled in. The court was fast and I like it that
way. It was to my advantage because it suited my game."
"Sandeep is not a bad player, but he made too many mistakes. He
fought back well in the fourth game. But he messed up simple shots
which were certain winners. I used it to my advantage and was just
happy to play my normal game.
"I was satisfied with my performance but I will try to improve with
every match."
Shahril Shahridan |
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08-Aug, Qualifying:
Malhotra shocks fancied
Byrne of Ireland
DON MONTEIRO reports
MUMBAI, August 8, 2006: Vikram Malhotra of India got the PSA Otters
Open Squash Tournament 2006 to an explosive start when he rallied to
overcome fancied Brian Byrne of Ireland 3-1 in a thrilling opening
qualifying round, at the Otters Club, Bandra on a rainy Tuesday full of
surprise verdicts.
Malhotra didn't allow the wet weather to dampen his spirits as he ignored
the loss of the opening game to coast to a memorable 8-11, 11-4, 12-10,
11-8 win over the world No. 245.
The Indian lost a close opening game after keeping it tight at 8-all, but
he came back brilliantly in the next to square the tie.
Malhotra had a crucial 10-8 lead in the third that allowed him to come up
with a couple beautiful winners to snatch the game for a 2-1 lead. But his
troubles were far from over, as Byrne played steady in the crucial fourth.
Again Malhotra enjoyed a two-point lead late in the game before sealing
the win with a nick.
In other ties in the PSA Open that went all the way to the wire,
Sandeep Jangra recovered from the loss of the first two games to
surprise Otters lad Supreet Singh, while Naresh Kumar rallied to
beat Parth Sharma in similar fashion and Harinder Pal Sandhu
battled hard to beat Shakti Singh.
In contrast, Vikas Jangra shunted out Yasin Amjad of Pakistan with
an easy 11-2, 11-4, 11-5 win.
The Otters Open is also well under way, with action in the boys U19, U17,
U15 and U11 categories - full results |
Qualifying round
one:
Vikram Malhotra (Ind) bt
Brian Byrne (Irl)
8-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-8
Naresh Kumar (Ind) bt
Parth Sharma (Ind)
9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8
Sandeep Jangra (Ind) bt
Supreet Singh (Ind)
3-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8
Harinder Pal Sandhu (Ind) bt Shakti Singh (Ind)
11-1, 10-12, 11-2, 7-11, 13-11
Vikas Jangra (Ind) bt Yasin Amjad (Pak) 11-2, 11-4, 11-5
Full draw & results |
 "I
knew Brian was a good player but I went into the match determined to
win. I had nothing to lose. It's not that he played badly. Instead
he was fast and steady. I think the pep talk by my coach Cyrus
Poncha inspired me after losing the opener.
"Also, my recent training in Chennai for the World Juniors
that was held in New Zealand came in handy today. It was a good
match to win. I hope I progress further."
Vikram Malhotra |
|
08-Aug-06:
Top
seed Jenson
out of Otters
MUMBAI, August 7, 2006: World No. 35 and top seed Dan Jenson of Australia
on Monday pulled out of the PSA Otters Open Squash Tournament 2006,
following an injury.
Jenson,
a former world No. 4, was the highest ranked player in the competition.
India No. 1 and world No. 43 Ritwik Bhattacharya is now the top
seed, while India number two Sourav Ghosal is seeded second. Ryan
Thomson of Namibia is now the No. 8 seed in the revised draw.
The US$10,000 PSA tournament is being held concurrently with the Otters
Open Squash.
Meanwhile, in the closest contest of the Otters Open that got under way on
Monday, Pranay Motta went down fighting to Shashi Pandey 9-7, 0-9, 1-9,
9-4, 3-9 in the boys' under-13 first round of the qualifiers.
In another close tie, Rahul Shah overcame Shane Dhondy 10-8, 9-7, 9-2 in
the second round.
More
about Mumbai |
Otters Club on Christmas Eve
Strong Entry
for Otters
The Otters Open, which has attracted 500 entries, will
feature India's leading players Manish Chotrani, Supreet Singh,
Surbhi Misra, Manek Mathur, Aditya Jagtap, Vikram Malhotra, Alisha
Mashruwala and Sandeep and Vikas Jangra.
The men's winner in the Otters Open will receive Rs. 50,000 ($1075),
while the runners-up will earn Rs. 25,000. The women's winner will
earn Rs. 20,000 and the runners-up Rs. 10,000. |
|
Otters
Open 2006
08-13 August,
Mumbai, India, $10k |
Round One
Aug
10 |
Quarters
Aug 11 |
Semis
Jul 12 |
Final
Jul 13 |
[1] Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind)
11-4, 11-4, 11-1
[Q] Parthiban Ayappan (Ind) |
Ritwik Bhattacharya
11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-3
Siddarth Suchde |
Ritwik Bhattacharya
9-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (33m)
Darren Lewis |
Ritwik Bhattacharya
9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-10(2-0)
(75m)
Saurav Ghosal |
Ryan Thompson (Nam)
8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-2
[Q] Siddarth Suchde (Ind) |
[4] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
11-10(2-0), 11-6, 6-11, 11-6
[Q] Harinderpal Singh (Ind) |
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan
11-5, 11-6, 9-11,
9-11, 11-10(3-1) (87m)
Darren Lewis
|
[5] Darren Lewis (Eng)
11-10(3-1), 11-7, 11-7
Neil Hitchens (Eng) |
[Q] Shahril
Shahidan (Mas)
10-11(4-6), 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
[7] Arthur Gaskin (Irl) |
Shahril Shahidan
11-6, 11-7, 11-9
Tim Arnold |
Tim Arnold
11-1, 11-6, 11-3 (25m)
Saurav Ghosal |
Aqeel Rehman (Aut)
11-6, 11-8, 11-3
[3] Tim Arnold (Mas) |
Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind)
11-8, 11-3, 11-5
[7] Friedrich Scheel
(Ger) |
Gaurav Nandrajog
11-7, 11-3, 11-8
Saurav Ghosal |
Nafzahiham Adnam (Mas)
11-7, 11-2, 11-3
[2] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) |
** [1] Dan Jenson w/d injured
PSA Qualifying
(08-09 Aug):
Qualifying finals:
Shahril Shahidan (Mas) bt Sandeep Jangra (Ind)
9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9
Parbithan Ayappan (Ind) bt Naresh Kumar (Ind)
11-8, 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9
Harinderpal Singh (Ind) bt Vikram Malhotra (Ind)
11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7
Siddarth Suchde (Ind) bt Vikas Jangra (Ind)
11-1, 11-3, 11-8
Round One:
Sandeep Jangra (Ind) bt Supreet Singh (Ind)
3-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8
Vikram Malhotra (Ind) bt Brian Byrne (Irl)
8-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-8
Naresh Kumar (Ind) bt Parth Sharma (Ind)
9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8
Harinderpal Singh (Ind) bt Shakti Singh (Ind) 11-1,
10-12, 11-2, 7-11, 13-11
Vikas Jangra (Ind) bt Yasin Amjad (Pak)
11-2, 11-4, 11-5
|
Otters Open:
10-Aug:
Boys: U-17:
Cyril Kuhn (Chennai) bt Javed Mohd. 9-1, 9-0, 9-1; Aditya Jagtap
bt Karm Kumar (Del) 9-0, 4-9, 9-2, 9-6; Parmjeet Singh bt Varun
Prakash 9-7, 9-3, 9-6.
Boys: U-15: Aadit Zaveri bt Samir Mistry 7-9, 9-2, 9-3, 9-0;
Abhishek Pradhan bt Akash Borwankar 9-7, 9-7, 9-0; Ravi Dixit
(Chennai) bt Nilin Singh 9-1, 9-0, 9-0; Caran Arora bt Ashaya Jain
10-8, 7-9, 9-2, 6-9, 9-6.
Boys: U-13: Akash Borwankar bt Naman J. 9-3, 9-1, 9-0; Karan
Tharayamal bt
Rahul Shah 9-0, 9-1, 9-0; Deepak Mishra bt Shashi Pandey 9-2, 9-1,
9-2; Caran Arora bt Shobit Gupta 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Abhishek Pradhan bt
Kunj Rawani 9-0, 9-0, 9-2; Kush Kumar bt Ishaan Advani 9-3, 9-1,
9-3.
Boys: U-11: Kunj Rawani bt Ravinder Dhote 9-0, 9-0, 9-1;
Akhilesh Yadav bt Arjun Kochar 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Kush Kumar bt Aditya
Singhi 9-1, 9-1, 9-1; Devchand Rai bt Sumer Rao 9-0, 9-5, 9-0; Yohan
Pandole bt Anushul Goyal 9-1, 9-0, 9-2; Armaan Kothari bt Mohit
Yadav 9-3, 9-0, 9-3.
Women (1st Rd): Avani Shetty bt Kayan Motshaw 9-0, 9-1, 9-2;
Madhura Paranjpe bt A. Shetty 9-2, 9-2, 9-5; Surbhi Misra bt S.
Swarnalatta 9-0, 9-3, 9-4; Alisha Mashruwala bt Swati Muchhal 9-4,
9-1, 9-3; Dheeya Somaiya bt Sunita Patwa 9-0, 9-2, 9-2; Shivangi
Paranjpe bt Kiran Mirpin 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.
Girls: U-17: S. Swarnalatta bt Anisha Malhotra 9-0, 9-2, 9-2;
Anju Sharma bt Surbhi Kuwelkar 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Yashna Shetty bt
Avanti Adivarekar 9-2, 9-3, 9-0; Sunita Patwa bt Bahar Dhawan 9-5,
9-5, 9-1.
Girls: U-13: Ankita Sharma bt Bahar Dhawan 9-0, 9-0, 9-0;
Sachika Balwani bt
Anju Sharma 9-1, 9-5, 9-1; Saumya Karki bt Jui Kalgutkar 9-0, 9-0,
9-1; Namrata Purohit bt Anica C. 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Rohan Vora bt Rahil
Fazelbhoy 9-7, 9-0, 9-2.
09-Aug:
Boys: U-19: 2nd Rd: Abhinav Sinha bt Angad Marwah 9-0, 9-5, 9-7;
Manek Matur bt Shankar Shantanu (Del) 9-1, 9-2, 9-0; Parth Sharma
(Chennai) bt Sanmeet Anand 9-0, 9-0, 9-3; Jay Bhagat bt Raghav Bahl
9-2, 9-6, 9-2; Cyril Kuhn (Chennai) bt Rohan Bhatia 9-2, 9-0, 9-0;
Jay Dalal bt Karm Kumar (Del) 10-8, 9-0, 9-1; Pramjeet Singh bt
Javed Mohd. 9-0, 9-6, 9-4; Harshit Jain (Del) bt Anup Sharma (Mah)
9-2, 0-9, 8-10, 9-4, 9-2;Varun Prakash (Del) bt Karan Muttha 9-7,
9-5, 10-8.
Boys: U-17: 3rd Rd: Vikram Malhotra bt Sameer Mistry 9-1,
9-0, 9-0. 2nd Rd: Javed Mohd. bt Rohan Bhatia 9-0, 9-3, 9-2; Prithvi
Aditiya bt Ajan Jayant 9-0, 9-6, 9-2; Varun Parkash bt Jay Dalal
9-1, 4-9, 3-9, 8-10; Aadit Zaveri bt Waqar Pathan 9-3, 9-5, 9-2;
Cyril Kuhn bt Aditiya Gupta 9-1, 9-4, 9-0; Akshay Dujedwala bt
Rishikesh 7-9, 9-7, 9-6, 9-1; Pramjeet Singh bt Rohan Zaveri 9-1,
9-0, 9-4; Girish Sawlani bt Adesh Bansali 9-1, 9-0, 9-0; Laxman
Joshi bt Abhinav Sinha 9-2, 9-4,
6-9, 9-5; Aditiya Jagtap bt Ashaya Jain 9-0, 9-2, 9-0; Anup Sharma
bt Mohit Advani 9-0, 9-5, 9-1.
Boys: U-15: 3rd Rd: Mahesh Mangaokar bt Rohan Vora 10-8, 9-1,
9-0; Karm Kumar (Del) bt Adesh Bansali 9-4, 9-0, 9-2. 2nd Rd: Karm
Kumar (Del) bt Deepesh
Bowrade 9-1, 9-1, 9-0; Karan Tharmyal bt Deepak Mishra 9-6, 10-8,
9-1;Aditiya Jagtap bt Jaganat Kutty 9-0, 9-0, 9-1; Caran Arora bt
Ajan Jayant 9-2, 9-2,10-8;
Deepak Mishra bt Yash Bansali 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Ravi Dixit (Chennai) bt
Rahul Shah
9-0, 9-0, 9-2.
Professionals: 2nd Rd: Dashrat Tambe bt Rajesh Sonavane 6-9,
9-2, 9-2,9-2; Santosh More bt Adesh Gamre 9-4, 9-0,6-9, 9-2; Vijay
Wahgela bt Gopi Mohit 9-5, 9-3, 9-1; Rohit More bt Yogesh Sonavane
9-3, 9-5, 9-1; Sanjay Pawar bt Manish Chavan 5-9, 9-2, 9-0, 9-3; B.
Balamurgan (Chennai) bt Ramesh Singh 9-0, 9-2,
9-2; Anant More bt Rehman Sayed 9-3, 8-10, 4-9, 3-9.
08-Aug:
Boys U-19 (1st
Rd): Jay Bhagat (Mah) bt Virendra Pawar (Mah) 9-1, 9-2, 9-5;
Pramjeet Singh (Mah) bt Waqar Pathan 9-1, 9-2, 9-5.
Boys U-11: 3rd Rd: Aditiya Khatri bt Nikhil Mishra
9-2, 9-3, 9-1.
2nd Rd: Aditiya Khatri bt Aashay Kesdiwal 9-0, 9-1, 9-0;
Ravindra Dhote bt Vedant
Rao 9-0, 9-5, 9-1; Devchand Rai bt Karan Kochhar 10-8, 9-1, 9-4;
Arjun
Kochhar bt Armaan Sheikh 9-1, 9-0, 9-3; Akhilesh Yadav bt Haresh
Kapadia
(Mah) 9-3, 9-3, 9-3; Nikhil Mishra bt Rajat Agrawal 9-3, 9-2, 9-6;
Kunj
Rawani bt Bhavik Thakkar 9-0, 9-0, 9-1; Yohan Pandole bt Vinod
Sheron 9-1,
9-0, 9-1; Zain Motiwala bt Anshul Goyal 9-1, 9-1, 9-0.
Boys U-15: 2nd Rd: Rohan Vora (Mah) bt Gaurav V. Singh
(Mah) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Pranay Motta (Mah) bt Abhishek Pradhan (Mah)
9-2, 9-0,
9-2.
1st Rd: Ravi Dixit (Chennai) bt Aditiya Kochhar (Mah) 9-0,
9-2, 9-0; Ashaya
Jain (Mah) bt Prithvi Aditiya (Chennai) 9-0, 5-9, 9-2, 9-3; Aadit
Zaveri bt Sharan
(Mah) 9-2, 9-0, 9-0; Ajan Jayant (Mah) bt Adit Patel (Mah) 9-1, 9-1,
9-0; Abhishek Pradhan (Mah) bt Akash Kutty (Mah) 9-3, 9-0, 9-0;
Deepak Mishra (Mah) bt Awdesh Yadav (Mah) 9-2, 9-1, 9-0; Akash
Borwankar bt Soomar Sharma (Mah) 9-0, 9-2, 9-2; Mahesh Mangaokar
(Mah) bt Shahab Bhanji 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Karm Kumar (Del) bt Shashi
Pandey (Mah) 9-0, 9-4, 9-0; Pranay Motta (Mah) bt Deep Moradia (Mah)
9-4, 9-0, 9-1.
Boys U-17: 2nd Rd: Karm Kumar (Del) bt Vivek Dhun (Mah) 9-0,
9-0, 9-2. 1st Rd: Girish Sawlani (Chennai) bt Sachin Singh (Mah)
9-0, 9-0, 9-0.
07-Aug:
Boys U-13: 2nd Rd: Urishab Kottan (Mah) bt Akshay Ahuja 9-1,
9-1, 9-0; Rohan Vora bt Vinod Soam (Mah) 9-0, 9-0, 9-2; Rahul Shah (Mah)
bt Shane Dhondy 10-8, 9-7, 9-2; Caran Arora (Mah) bt Akhilesh Yadhav
9-1, 9-0, 9-1; Naman J. bt Aditiya Singhi (Mah) 9-1, 9-2, 9-0;
Aakash Borwankar bt Nikhil Rajani (Mah) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0;
1st Rd: Awdesh Yadav (Mah) bt Sharan Mottani 9-1, 9-1, 9-1; Nikhil
Rajani (Mah) bt Soomar Nabbel 9-0, 9-4, 10-8, 8-1, 9-7; Aakash
Borwankar (Mah) bt Armaan 9-0, 9-1, 9-0; Rahil Fazalboy (Mah) 6.
Zeus Bangopadhy 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Kush Kumar bt Aditiya Kochar (Del)
9-5, 9-3, 9-0; Karan Tharymnal (Raj) bt Karan Kochar (Mah)
9-2, 9-1, 9-0; Shashi Pandey (Mah) bt Pranay Motta (Mah) 7-9, 9-0,
9-1, 4-9, 9-3; Kunj Rawani bt Dattaraj Nadkarni (Mah) 9-1, 9-5, 9-0;
Ishaan Advani (Mah) bt Abhishek Bhutta 9-6, 9-0, 9-2; Shane Dhondy
bt Ravinder Dhiria (Mah) 9-6, 9-3,
9-6; J. Jaganath (Mah) bt Nishikant Kapre 9-1, 9-1, 9-6; Viraj
Nadkarni bt Tamay Katheth (Mah) 9-0, 9-0, 9-4; Deepak Mishra bt
Jarred Numes (Mah) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Gaurav Desadler (Mah) bt Vinod
Sheron 9-1, 9-1, 9-0; Abhishek Bhutta (Mah) bt Bhavik Thakkar 9-6,
9-6, 9-3; Caran Arora bt Vrishab 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.
Boys U-11: 2nd Rd: Mohit Yadav bt Vinod Soam (Mah) 9-6, 9-5,
9-3; Kush Kumar
bt Viraj Nadkani 9-4, 9-3, 9-1. 1st Rd: Arman Kothri bt Aditiya
Kamat 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Nikhil Mishra bt Yohan Surti 9-1, 9-0, 9-2;
Viraj Nadkani bt Ben Kenndey 9-0, 9-0,
9-1; Devchand Rai bt Sandeep Paswan 9-3, 9-1, 9-3.
|
04-Aug-06:
World
Stars join 500+ for Otters Open
MUMBAI, August 4, 2006: The prestigious PSA Otters Open Squash Tournament
2006, organised and hosted by the OTTERS CLUB, Bandra will be held from
August 8 to 13.
Leading
players from around the world and India will feature in the tournament,
now a PSA One Star tournament, to be held in Mumbai.
The US$10,000 PSA tournament will be held concurrently with the Otters
Open Squash that will feature the cream of India's talent in various
categories.
Dan Jenson of Australia, ranked No. 35 in the world, is the highest
ranked player in the competition and is the top seed in the PSA
tournament.
Jenson leads a strong field of overseas players in the main draw that
includes the formidable Timothy Arnold (world No. 111) and Mohd.
Adnan (world No. 127), both of Malaysia, Darren Lewis (world
No. 138) and Neil Hitchens (world No. 178) of England and
Friedrich Scheel (world No. 147) of Germany.
The Indian challenge will be led by India No. 1 and world No. 43 Ritwik
Bhattacharya, India No. 2 and world No. 59 Sourav Ghosal and
wild card Gaurav Nandrajog.
"It’s a good tournament and it is the second best in the country after the
Chennai tournament," said Ritwik.
"Some of the foreign players’ participation has brought more fame for the
tournament, and this will certainly bring India to the international
standards."
Among the qualifiers from India are Supreet Singh of Otters Club,
Siddharth Suchde and Harinder Pal Sandhu, while a Pakistan trio includes
Yasin Amjad, Ali Raza and Mamoon ur Rashid.
The winner of the PSA tournament will receive US$ 1,282, while the
runners-up will earn US$ 877.
|
Otters Club on Christmas Eve
Strong Entry
for Otters
The Otters Open, which has attracted 500 entries, will
feature India's leading players Manish Chotrani, Supreet Singh,
Surbhi Misra, Manek Mathur, Aditya Jagtap, Vikram Malhotra, Alisha
Mashruwala and Sandeep and Vikas Jangra.
The men's winner in the Otters Open will receive Rs. 50,000 ($1075),
while the runners-up will earn Rs. 25,000. The women's winner will
earn Rs. 20,000 and the runners-up Rs. 10,000. |
Kids party at the club
More
about Mumbai
|
|
