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10-Oct, Semis:
Noom & Yuen take
Chennai titles
Dutchwoman Orla Noom overcame home favourite Joshna Chinappa in
straight games to claim the WISPA Challenger No:2 title at the
Indian Squash Academy centre court here this evening.
Later, the PSA Challenger No:4 final also turned out to be an upset
when Ivan Yuen (world ranked 94) of Malaysia ousted Mark Kracsak
(Ranked 42) of Hungary to win his first PSA title.
 Yuen,
who had claimed his Asian Junior title at the same venue, ran away
with the first two games without much ado. The Malaysian displayed
variety in his game coming up with delectable drop shots and
volleys, besides carrying stronger
forehand drives.
In the third, Kracsak managed to lead 7-2 but Yuen steadily scored
to bridge the gap and caught up at 8-7. Here, Kracsak yielded a
'stroke' and then looked up to the referee on some of the calls.
Since then, Kracjsak never came back in to the game perhaps being
upset on the calls.
In the women's final, Chinappa was in two minds in her approach
shots throughout the match but was brilliant at times, especially in
the third game. The Indian lost to a large extent because of her own
mistakes, looking casual at times.
In the first game, the Dutch was classy with some delectable drops
and her ability to mix the pace helped her win the game. Noom had
her strategy work out well enough in preventing Chinappa to play
upfront and the Indian was most often glued behind the boxes,
struggling to get a foothold in the match.
Having lost the first two games fairly comfortably, Chinappa looked
to be coming back in to the match in the third game. Trailing 3-6,
she managed to level at at 9-all, but ultimately couldn't prevent
Noom from taking the game on extra points.
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"I was charged up to win the title
before taking to the court but I do not know why I was nervous
today. I could not play my shots for various reasons and actually, I
could not get my rhythm well in time.
"I now concentrate on my next events. After a week's rest, I am
planning to move over to New York for competitions."
Earlier Reports
This series of tournaments is sponsored by the Ministry of Youth
Affairs and Sports. The prizes were given by the SRFI Secretary
General, Mr. Srivatsan Subramaniam. |
 Indian
Challenger #4 2009
05-10 Oct, Chennai, $10k |
Round One
07 Oct |
Quarters
08 Oct |
Semis
09 Oct |
Final
0 Oct |
[1] Chris Simpson (Eng)
11-7, 13-11, 13-11 (45m)
Kristian Frost Olesen (Den) |
[1] Chris Simpson
11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-2 (70m)
[6] Ivan Yuen |
[6] Ivan Yuen
10-12, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8
[5] Muhd Asyraf Azan |
[6] Ivan Yuen
11-9, 11-9,
11-9 (45m)
[2] Mark Krajcsak |
[6] Ivan Yuen (Mas)
11-9, 11-9, 11-7 (30m)
Elvinn Keo (Mas) |
[4] Matthew Karwalski (Aus)
8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (45m)
[Q] Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) |
[4] Matthew Karwalski
11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10 (60m)
[5] Muhd Asyraf Azan |
[5] Muhd Asyraf Azan (Mas)
12-10, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 (99m)
[Q] Kamran Khan (Pak) |
[Q] Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind)
11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9 (39m)
[7] Mazen Gamal (Egy) |
[7] Mazen Gamal
11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (22m)
[3] Mathieu Castagnet |
[3] Mathieu Castagnet
12-10, 15-13, 10-12, 11-8 (83m)
[2] Mark Krajcsak |
Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind)
7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 (88m)
[3] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) |
[Q] Naresh Kumar (Ind)
11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7 (30m)
[8] Shamsul Islam Khan (Pak) |
[8] Shamsul Islam Khan
11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-1 (32m)
[2] Mark Krajcsak |
Andrew Wagih (Egy)
6-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (40m)
[2] Mark Krajcsak (Hun) |
Qualifying:
06 Oct, Finals:
Kamran Khan (Mas) bt Lucas
Serme (Fra)
11-8, 11-7, 11-4 (36m)
Naresh Kumar (Ind) bt Vikas Jangra (Ind)
6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 (40m)
Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind) bt Ravi Dixit (Ind)
11-8, 12-10, 11-6 (30m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt Lucas Vauzella (Fra)
11-4, 11-9, 11-9 (28m)
05 Oct, Round One:
Kamran Khan(Mas) bt Sandeep
Jangra (Ind)
11-6,11-8,9-11,11-5 (38m)
Lucas Serme (Fra) bt Vrishab Kotian (Ind)
11-4,11-3,11-6 (25m)
Naresh kumar (Ind) bt Kush Kumar (Ind)
11-5,11-4,11-7 (18m)
Vikas Jangra (Ind) bt Abhishek Pradhan (Ind)
8-11,11-8,11-8,11-6 (35m)
Ravi Dixit (Ind) bt Deepak Mishra (Ind)
11-5,11-4,11-6 (23m)
Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind) bt Parthiban .A (Ind)
11-7,11-5,12-10 (22m)
Lucas Vauzella (Fra) bt Akshay Deepak (Ind)
11-7,11-3,11-2( 22m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt B. Balamurugan (Ind)
10-12,11-3,11-7,11-7(33m)
|
 Indian
Challenger #4 2009
05-10 Oct, Chennai, $8k |
Round One
07 Oct |
Quarters
08 Oct |
Semis
09 Oct |
Final
10 Oct |
[1] Sharon Wee (Mas)
11-6, 11-8, 11-4 (23m)
Carmen Lee (Hkg) |
[1] Sharon Wee
11-7, 11-6, 11-3 (22m)
Anwesha Reddy |
[1] Sharon Wee
11-6, 11-9, 11-7 (28m)
[3] Orla Noom |
[3] Orla Noom
11-8, 11-4,
12-10 (35m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa |
[7] Lucie Fialova (Cze)
11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11,11-5 (40m)
Anwesha Reddy (Ind) |
[3] Orla Noom (Ned)
11-1,11-6, 11-2 (14m)
[Q] Aparajitha Balamurukan (Ind) |
[3] Orla Noom
11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4 (36m)
[5] Siti Munirah Jusoh |
[5] Siti Munirah Jusoh (Mas)
11-9, 11-5, 13-11 (26m)
Milou Van Der Heijden (Ned) |
Jenna Gates (Eng)
11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (22m)
[6] Dipika Pallikal (Ind) |
[6] Dipika Pallikal
11-2, 11-8, 11-4 (17m)
[4] Elise Ng |
[6] Dipika Pallikal
11-8, 11-7, 11-8
[2] Joshna Chinappa |
[Q] Anaka Alankamony (Ind)
7-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8 (43m)
[4] Elise Ng (Hkg) |
Laura Pomportes (Fra)
11-7, 11-5, 11-9 (22m)
[8] Pushppa Devi (Mas) |
Laura Pomportes
11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (25m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa |
Coline Aumard (Fra)
11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (19m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (Ind) |
Qualifying:
Anaka Alankamony (ind) bt Shria Khatri (Ind) 11-4, 11-2, 11-3
Aparajitha Balamurukan (Ind) bt Zephanie Curgenven (Eng) 11-8, 5-11,
11-7, 4-11, 11-7 (32m)
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09-Oct, Semis:
Noom & Yuen make
Chennai finals
Orla Noom of the Netherlands brought about her best squash to
quell the challenge of top seeded Sharon Wee of Malaysia to set up a
title clash against local favourite, Joshna Chinappa of India
in WISPA Challenger No:2 here at the Indian Squash Academy.
In the first semi final, third seeded Noom (ranked 43) scalped top
seeded Sharon Wee (ranked 29) of Malaysia at 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 in 28
minutes. After winning the first without much ado after leading
10-4, Noom, a southpaw, faced stiff resistance from Wee in the
second.
The rivals were matching each other in a fast paced game but Noom,
sports management and economics graduate from the Johan Cruyff
University managed to lead 10-8 before clinching the game. In the
third, Wee was inconsistent and suddenly lost her rhythm from 7-7
and Noom had no difficulty in claiming four points in a row for the
match.
In the second semi final, second seed and ranked 35 in WISPA,
Chinappa put paid to the aspirations of her compatriot Dipika
Pallikal (seed-6 rank 54) in a methodical manner, displaying greater
amount of technical prowess in her game. Chinappa won at 11-8, 11-7,
11-8.
In the PSA Challenger No:4 semi final matches, Ivan Yuen
(sixth seed) for the second running scalped a higher seeded player.
After defeating top seeded Chris Simpson of England yesterday, Yuen
maintained his tempo at great measure to get the better of his
compatriot, Muhd Asraf Azan (fifth seed) 10-12,
11-5, 12-10, 11-8. After losing the first game on extra points
(10-12) Yuen was able to score points at will in the second but it
was not the case in the third as Azan found his rhythm but yet
again, the vanquished went in to the slumber in the fourth. The
whole match was replete of rallies and one such occasion the rivals
traded 66 shots.
During the match Azan was found guilty on number of occasions for
his levels of tolerance and earned the ire of referee, K.S.Srikanth
of India, an Asian Regional Referee, who was seen asking the player
to continue the game but Azan kept arguing on referee’s calls.
In the second game, Azan was recipient of a conduct warning for
‘dissent’ and in the fourth game Yuen was serving 4-6 and took the
point to 5-6. At this point, Azan was pulled up for using four
letter-words. Referee Srikanth, this time, awarded a conduct penalty
‘stroke’ for verbal abuse.
Later in the second semi finals, Mark Krajcsak (seed-2) of
Hungary and Mathieu Castagnet (Seed-3) of France were at their wits
best in the fast paced encounter. Neither of them was giving away
easily and the match was prolonged longer than expected. Rallies
were aplenty and the success rate in this was equal but Mark, who
had his match video-taped keeping the camera on a tripod behind the
referee, managed to dish out better than Mathieu for a well earned
win at 12-10, 15-13, 10-12, 11-8 win in 83 minutes.
As for the two Indian in their semi-final, Playing in India after a
gap of over two years, Chinappa taught a few lessons to Pallikal in
her short stay of 25 minutes at the court. Exhibiting variety in her
armour and showing tremendous amount of improvement on her shot
selections, Chinappa did her racquet talking for winning over
Pallikal at 11-8, 11-7, 11-8. Pallikal was richer by about
USD.684.00 (around Rs.34,000) and gained 140 ranking points being
losing semi finalist.
Chinappa, heading towards winning her fourth WISPA title, first in
her home country, was at her best almost through the match. Chinappa,
who generally plays in championships abroad, displayed her wares in
great measure excelling with finding the corners most often for
winners and her delicately executed drop shots also, helped her to
win points as most of them fell short of Pallikal.
Though Chinappa was rather casual in approach at times, Pallikal,
who loves and encouraged by being able to play shots rarely had any
chance to take her senior rival in to rallies. In fact, Chinappa was
not under any pressure at all but she displayed the hunger to finish
off for points in the fourth ball after serving. For this, she
either unimaginably swift in finding the corners or stepped out to
play drop shots at will.
At least on three occasions, Chinappa turned around to see as to
where Dipika was before playing her shot from being close to the
glass wall. This was the felicity that Chinappa enjoyed throughout
the match tells her abilities over Pallikal today. Incidentally,
this was Chinappa’s second win over Pallikal in WISPA event and
earlier she had scored over Pallikal at 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 in Vietnam
Open in 2008.
An elated Chinappa gave full credit to Pallikal for her rise in
standards.
“I had prepared for the match mentally because Dipika has been
playing well in the circuit. In fact, she had defeated higher ranked
players with whom I had struggled. Today also, Dipika played well
but I did not give her any opportunity to play shots, which is her
strong point. I needed to go for winners early enough before being
dragged on rallies, which I was able to succeeded”, Chinappa said.
“I have shown improvement in my game having been in the circuit for
couple of years but I need to improve upon my fitness for winning
more WISPA events. My aim is to reach top 20 and then look forward
to go further up in WISPA”, Chinappa said her on goal.
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Earlier Reports
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08-Oct, Quarters:
Indian Finalist assured in
Chennai
An Indian is assured of an entry to the final of the WISPA
Challenger No:2 as Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal
are to figure in the semi final tomorrow after they have won their
respective matches with great ease this evening at the Indian Squash
Academy here.
The other semi final will be between top seeded Sharon Wee of
Malaysia, who had disposed of India’s unseeded Anwesha Reddy at
11-7, 11-6, 11-3 in 22 minutes and Orla Noom (3rd seed) of
the Netherlands, who dropped the third game before winning over
fifth seeded Siti Munirah Jusoh of Malaysia at 11-9, 11-4, 8-11,
11-4 in 36 minutes.
With the exit of three Indians in the men’s section yesterday
itself, the PSA Challenger No:4 quarterfinals today witnessed top
seed and world ranked 29, Chris Simpson of England scalped by sixth
seeded Ivan Yuen (ranked 94) of Malaysia.
Yuen, who treats Chennai as his best hunting ground having won the
Asian Junior Championship here this year, had variety in his armour.
After the rivals were level 2-2 game wise, Yuen brought all his
resources in to play for winning the decider and the match at 11-8,
11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-2 in 70 minutes of duel.
In the semi finals, Yuen plays his compatriot, Muhd Asyraf Azan
(5th seed), while Mathieu Castagnet (3rd seed) of France take
on second seeded Mark Krajcsak of Hungary, who disposed off
Shamsul Islam Khan of Pakistan 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-1 in 32 minutes.
Azan of Malaysia came from behind to win over an inconsistent
Matthew Karwarski of Australia at 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10 in
60 minutes, while Castagnet beat Mazan Gamal of Egypt, who is
afflicted with stomach disorder, at 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (22 mins).
Second seeded Chinappa was speaking with her raquet with her
immaculate mixture of pace and delicate drop shots both from the “T”
and close to the wall. Her French rival Laura Pomportes was quite
often remained a spectator as Chinappa translated her game for a
straight forward win at 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 in 25 minutes.
Pallikal was nonetheless different to her senior country mate in her
clinically achieved straight games victory over Elise Ng of Hong
Kong. Surprisingly, Pallikal’s shot selections were utterly perfect
as she led 9-1 in the first before taking the game conceding one
more point. Encouraged by her touching the required rhythm Pallikal
maintained further in the next two games too. In the second and
third games, Pallikal had about five points lead and won the match
at a short time of 17 minutes at 11-2, 11-8, 11-4.
However, Anwesha was too patchy today. Though she faced a well
experienced and a player of repute at world rank 29, Anwesha did
come up with some exhilarating shots but mid-way the three games the
Indian was seem to be experimenting few things. In fact, Anwesha
failed miserably with easy drops and hit the tin most often to yield
points. Sharon Wee was straining herself especially when Anwesha was
threatening to take points of rallies.
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07-Oct, Round One:
Mixed fortunes for Indians in
Chennai
Riding on his noteworthy performance in Denmark World Championship
last week, Indian wild card, Harinder Pal Sandhu lost the match from
jaws of victory to highly ranked third seeded Mathieu Castagnet
of France, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 in the first round main
draw event of the PSA Challenger No:4 here at the Indian Squash
Academy today.
Gaurav nandrajog and Naresh Kumar, the qualifiers bowed out of the
championship losing to seventh seeded Mazen Gamal of Egypt
and Pakistani Shamsul Islam Khan (8th seed) respectively.
Winning the first two games with elan, Sandhu started committing lot
of unforced errors in giving away negative points the third and
fourth games. In the decider, Sandhu was trailing 1-4 and 5-7 but
seemed to have touched his rhythm in leveling the score at 7-all and
then the rivals were going neck to neck. In fact Sandhu saved one
match point and then messed up his chances by once hitting the top
of the tin and then drove on the tin to give away the match.
In women's section, the five players including Joshna Chinappa,
Dipika Pallikal and Anwesha Reddy from India were
cynosure of all eyes and Anaka Alankamony one of the losers amongst
them was at her best despite going down to an experienced Elise Ng
of Hong Kong, who is ranked four and has a WISPA rating of 46.
15-year-old Anaka, who last month recorded a WISPA title win here,
showed brilliant resilience and her court coverage was methodical
but effective. Anaka led 2-1 game wise and was leading 8-5 in the
fourth. Perhaps, playing against a rival nearly double her age, who
had by then recovered well had Anaka on the receiving end. The
Indian could not any more succeed trying to push Elise on her weaker
back hand.
In the fourth game, Elise shifted gears and slowed down the pace and
then could win mostly on rally points. However, it was not at all
easy for Elise as the rivals were slugging it out and worked harder
than being flashy. Elise also cashed in when Anaka became impatient
and most often muffed with her finishing shots.
The unseeded Reddy put paid to the aspirations of seventh
seeded Lucie Fialova of Czech Republic with a hard earned victory at
11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11,11-5 in 40 minutes. While all the other seeds
took their appointed places in the last eight of WISPA event, the
top eight progressed to the quarterfinals in PSA Challenger,
Chinappa and Dipika not coming across much resistance from their
respective rivals
The other loser Indian, Aparajitha Balamurugan, a qualifier lost out
to third seeded Orla Noom of the Netherlands, who is WISPA ranked
43. Noom short work of the Indian in winning the match 11-1, 11-6,
11-2 in 14 minutes.
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06-Oct, Qualifying Finals:
Four Indians qualify in Chennai
Gaurav Nandrajog and Naresh Kumar, India's fourth and
fifth ranked players made the main draw of the PSA Indian Challenger
No:4, while Anaka Alankamony and Aparajitha Balamurukan
qualified for the WISPA Challenger No:2 winning their respective
final round qualifying events here at the Indian Squash Academy this
evening.
Gaurav required 30 minutes to get past his compatriot Ravi Dixit
11-8, 12-10, 11-6 while Naresh dropped the first game against Vikas
Jangra before winning at 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 in 40 mins. Gaurav
plays seventh seeded Mazen Gamal of Egypt, while Naresh takes on
Pakistani Shamsul Islam Khan (8th seed) in their respective first
round main draw matches tomorrow.
In the women's qualifying, Anaka was not stretched at all by
country-mate, Shria Kothari 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 in a short stay of 17
minutes but Aparajitha was made to work harder for her victory by a
fighting Zephanie Curgenven from England. Aparajitha won at 11-8,
5-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7 in 32 minutes.
Aparajitha seemed to have lost control in the second game after
winning the first with quite a few winners. Since then, she was
patchy in between but touched her peak at the required hour in the
final game. The rivals were on level terms 2-2 game wise and in the
final game, the Indian was trailing 5-7 but touched her rhythm and
started playing close to the wall and then went on to win six points
in a row for the game and the match.
In their main draw first round matches, Aparajitha crosses third
ranked Orla Noom of the Netherlands, who is 43rd ranked in WISPA,
while Anaka fights fourth ranked Elise Ng of Hong Kong, who is 46th
ranked in the world.
In the other men's qualifying match, top seeded Kamran Khan
of Malaysia, PSA ranked 126, defeated Lucas Serme (Fra) 11-8, 11-7,
11-4 in 36 minutes. Kamran was in his elements and came up with
deceptive cross court drop shots to win couple of points in all
through the match and won almost all rally points, while Serme was
nippy and moving around the court showing agility but lacked
patience in showing urgency for finishing for points.
In another match, Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad did not strain
much before ousting Lucas Vauzelle of France 11-4, 11-9, 11-9 in 28
minutes.
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Indians aim for more domestic success
Winning the PSA and WISPA titles for the first time in last month’s
events, Indian players are geared up and raring to go for honours in
the PSA Indian Challenger No: 4 and WISPA Indian Challenger No:2
commencing in Chennai at the Indian Squash Academy from Oct 5 to 10,
2009. This event is supported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sport in preparation for the Commonwealth Games 2010.
Compared to the events held from September 7 to 12, 2009, the coming
events are higher rated and the winners will accrue more ranking
points and prize money.
Going by the present scenario, especially during this year, Indians
have generally risen to higher levels both in their rankings and
standard of play bringing credit to the Indian Squash Academy in
Chennai . The Squash Rackets Federation of India has decided to
hold two more PSA and WISPA events in the next two months. These
championships starting from the ones that were held here during this
year has helped the Indian players to get vital ranking points in
their respective sections.
In keeping with this goal of providing opportunity for the up and
coming Indian stars, the SRFI is well on course towards achieving
its goal.
The field in both PSA and WISPA are strong and cream of middle level
players in the world would be seen in action besides some of the
Indian juniors, who made their debut in last month events.
Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu and Anaka Alankamony won the
titles in PSA and WISPA events last month. Anaka also created
history not only winning her maiden title but became the youngest
player ever to win a WISPA title.
In the WISPA qualifying event to be held on October 6, 2009, Anaka,
Aparajitha Balamurukan and Zephanie Curgenven of England have been
given a bye, while India’s Shria Khatri and Harita Omprakash will
fight for the fourth slot in to the main draw.
As for the Indian interest in the coming events, Siddharth Suchde
withdrawing from the event due to injury has left Harinder Pal Singh
Sandhu a lone Indian as a wild card in the main draw of the coming
USD 10,000 event, while second seed Joshna Chinappa and sixth
seed Dipika Pallikal will be keeping the Indian flag flying
high in the WISPA event, which offers a prize fund of USD 8,000.
Top seed, Sharon Wee (world ranked 29) leads the pack of
three Malaysian seeds in the main draw and Orla Noom (seed-3
ranked 43) of the Netherlands, Elise Ng (Hong Kong-seed
4-rank 46) are some of the prominent stars to vie for honours.
The draws for the coming events has thrown up stiffer competitions.
Chinappa ranked 35 in the world and Pallikal (54) drawn in the
bottom half would be meeting each other in the semi finals, if they
win their first two matches. If these two Indians play to their
potentials one of them could be in the finals.
In the first round, Chinappa plays unseeded Coline Aumard of France
and Pallikal take on Jenna Gates of England in their first round
matches. Chinappa’s career graph this season has been fluctuating
but starting from 37 in January this year, she had reached rank 33
in august but slipped two slots to 35 now, which speaks about her
consistency, though losing some points in June to August this year.
In fact, the other seeded players have not been as consistent as
Chinappa this season.
Having secured three WISPA titles so far Chinappa, an ISA trainee,
would be eyeing to win a WISPA event at her home town. Chinappa does
not look to be troubled until she makes the semi finals.
The men’s section is loaded with possibilities as Sandhu, another
ISA trainee, who is in a good nick particularly after winning his
maiden title in the PSA last month beating compatriot Suchde in the
final. Sandhu had also brought off some scintillating wins over
higher seeded players in the just concluded World Championship in
Denmark.
England’s Chris Simpson, ranked 38, has been given the pride
of place in the seeding for PSA event and Shamsul Islam of
Pakistan, seeded eight is ranked 105.
A number of Indian players besides overseas stars would be seen
fighting for the four berths in the qualifying round to be held on
October 5, 2009.
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