29-Oct, Finals:

[1] Dipika Pallikal (Ind) 3-0 [2] Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn)
                             11/6, 11/2, 11/8 (35m)
 [2] Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind) 3-0 [1] Karim Ali Fathi (Egy)
                             11-8, 11-3, 11-6 (42m)

Happy Local Crowd in Chennai
Match reports by Liesl Goecker, Circuit Director

A roaring crowd cheered on home favorites and ultimately tournament champions Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Sandhu today during the final leg of the JSW Indian Squash Challenger Circuit. The final, hosted by the Indian Squash Association, took place on the ISA's dramatic all-glass centre court, giving hundreds of juniors in town for India's national competition, a close-up look at top-notch squash.

Harinder Pal Sandhu took his third circuit title today with a 3-0 win against top seed Karim Ali Fathi. Both set a furious pace from the start, and each game saw lightening exchanges and brilliant play by both. But Sandhu zeroed in on Fathi's weakness early on and sent drop after drop into the corners to take the lead. Fathi couldn't find an edge against Sandhu, and briefly held the lead in the third game, but couldn't hold on. Sandhu took the match 11-8, 11-3, 11-6 in 42 min.

Sandhu:
"It feels really great. I'm very relieved after for weeks coming to a good end. I felt a slight pressure playing at home. I know he likes to play fast. I just wanted to weather the storm. He wasn't moving quickly to the corners. I used that to my advantage."

Dipika Pallikal took her second circuit title of the year in today's final against Misaki Kobayashi (JPN). Pallikal set a fast pace and kept up the pressure to elicit errors from Kobayashi, who was too eager for a winning shot. Kobayashi kept up better in the third game, going point for point in the first half. But Pallikal never provided an opening and took the match in the straight sets 11-6, 11-2, 11-8.

Pallikal:
"It was a good win for me. This is my second title of the year and to play in front of family and friends is always nice. I'm happy with my squash this week and hope to carry on form to Monte Carlo next week."

And so ends the JSW Indian Squash Challenger Circuit, India's first professional squash circuit, a month of 108 players competing in four tournaments across three cities. the event has been a coupe for the development of Indian squash.

"This circuit is one of our key sponsorships," said Gopul Hosur, Vice President of Corporate Relations for the JSW Group and the tournament's chief guest. "We've found the response has been tremendous. In years to come, we hope to keep increasing our promotion of squash."
 

Photos by Nitesh Square

11-7, 11-6, 15-13 (60m)

[5] Ravi Dixit

11-8, 11-3, 11-6
(42m)

[2] Harinderpal Sandhu

11-7, 11-4, 11-4 (27m)

[2] Harinderpal Sandhu

Qualifying Finals:

Abhinav Sinha (Ind) 3-0 Vikas Mehra (Ind)                        11-6, 11-7, 11-8  (24m)
Vijay Meena (Ind) 3-0 Ashish Keskar (Ind)                       11-5, 11-4, 11-9   (27m)
Adhitya Raghavan (Ind) 3-1 Ranvijay Singh (Ind)  12-14, 11-9, 12-10, 13-11 (53m)
Deepak Mishra (Ind) 3-2 Sandeep Jangra (Ind) 7-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-5 (57m)

Qualifying Round One:
Adhitya Raghavan 3-2 Sandeep Ramachandran  10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-8 53m
Ranvijay Singh 3-0 Karan Rathore                                      11-8, 11-6, 11-7  20m

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11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5 (42m)

[3] Siyoli Waters

11-6, 11-2,
11-8 (35m)

 [2] Misaki Kobayashi

11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (28m)

 [2] Misaki Kobayashi

Qualifying:
 
Sunayan Kuruvilla (Ind) w/o Neharikaa Balamurukan (Ind)
Lakshya Ragavendran (Ind) 3-0 Apoorva AVS Samita (Ind)  11-1, 11-4, 11-1 (13m)

Top seeds through to finals in Chennai
Match reports by Liesl Goecker, Circuit Director

Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) v Ravi Dixit (IND)

Tournament top seed Karim Ali Fathi was the first man into tomorrow’s final after a 60-minute, three-game match with Ravi Dixit.

Dixit, at home on the courts of the Indian Squash Academy where he trains, showed off some elevated play.

While Fathi kept speeding up the game, Dixit returned almost everything sent at him at his own pace, for some marathon rallies.

Dixit kept up his momentum from yesterday, working his drops again, one of which in the third game even Fathi stopped to applaud. In the last game, Dixit sent it into extra points, but couldn’t close on three game balls. In the end, Fathi’s precision and speed took the game and match 15-13.

Fathi: “He put in a good fight. I played him two months ago in Malaysia and he only played well in the first game. But today he put up a good fight and obviously the crowd was behind him. It was a good match.”

Dixit: “Unfortunately I could’ve taken the third game, I had three game balls, but he’s an experienced player. I think today I played one of my best games. It was 3-0, but I’m really happy with that.”


Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) v Hossam Nasser (EGY)

Harinder Pal Sandhu took control of his semifinal match versus Hossam Nasser from the start.

It was a study in contrasting styles. Nasser played well, but tried to slow down the game whenever in control of the ball. He couldn’t quite keep up with the pace set by Sandhu, who drew out the rallies in front of cheering spectators at the Indian Squash Academy.

In the end, Sandhu outplayed Nasser, winning in an uncharacteristic three straight games and ensuring a spot in his third circuit final in front of an excited home crowd.

Sandhu: “Yesterday he had a long match against Kush [Kumar]. So I wanted to keep it long because I don’t think he was feeling well physically. I wanted to keep it back and move him around. It worked out quite well.”


Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) v Birgit Coufal (AUT)

Misaki Kobayashi shot out in front in today’s semifinal against Birgit Coufal with a 7-1 lead in the first game and didn’t look back. Coufal, who seemed tired in her fourth tournament of the circuit, never quite found her legs. Kobayashi kept up a pace that had Coufal running all over the court.

Kobayashi kept up the pressure into the third game, where she took an initial lead 9-1. Coufal kept her cool and managed to claw back some points with a couple of lovely shots in the third game, but it wasn’t enough. Kobayashi closed out the game and match 11-5.

Kobayashi: “I’m happy to win in three. I knew she was going to slow me down. But I’m happy I did what I had to do. I just put in enough effort to beat her in three. I’m just happy to be in the final.”

Coufal: “It felt like I couldn’t do anything against her. I wasn’t accurate enough, always a little late. I just wish I could’ve made it a little bit longer.”


Dipika Pallikal (IND) v Siyoli Waters (RSA)

At the end of a day all about speed, Dipika Pallikal also used pace against Siyoli Waters to enter her second circuit final.

Pallikal got off to a better start, taking the first game 11-4 while Waters found her rhythm after some unforced errors.

But Waters came back strong in the second game, going point for point with Pallikal into extra points, when two lovely shots by Waters sent the game her way 12-10.

Pallikal sped up play in the third and fourth games, and Waters began to have trouble. Pallikal sent Waters all over the court, putting the ball just out of her reach.

In front of an ecstatic home crowd at the Indian Squash Academy, Pallikal scored a shot at the title in tomorrow’s final.

Pallikal: “I felt I played better than yesterday. I got my lengths a bit deeper, which is a big plus in any game. Siyoli is a really good, really fair player. It could’ve been tougher. I’m just happy to be in the finals.”
 

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Photos by Nitesh Square

27-Oct, Quarter-Finals:
Three Indians through to Chennai Semis

Home players Dipika Pallikal, Harinderpal Samdhu and Ravi Dixit will carry home hopes into the semi-finals of the fourth leg of the JSW Indian Challenger series at the National Squash Academy in Chennai.

Match reports by Liesl Goecker, Circuit Director

Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) v Hannan Tarmidi (MAS)

Top seed Karim Ali Fathi faced an unexpected battle from Hannan Tarmidi in today’s quarterfinal. Tarmidi kept up well with the bigger, faster Fathi in the first two games, though both went to Fathi 11-9, 11-9.

But in the third game, Fathi sped up play and Tarmidi fell behind, giving Fathi the opening he needed to break away and win the game and match 11-6.

Karim Ali Fathi: “He’s a good player. I was surprised, to be honest. I was trying to play fast because he likes to play slow. It was just little margins, a tin here, a tin there. It was a tough match. I’m glad I got through.”

Hannan Tarmidi: “This circuit is quite good. It’s the best tournament I’ve ever played. I played one of my best matches today. It was hard to play Fathi; he’s quite fit and fast. It was a good experience for me.”

Ravi Dixit (IND) v Kevin Moran (SCO)

Ravi Dixit created the upset of the day as he unseated Kevin Moran to take a place in tomorrow’s semifinal. Dixit took his game to the next level, keeping Moran on the run and retrieving everything Moran sent at him. Moran pushed his short game, but Dixit used the counterdrop especially effectively and was able to neutralize most of Moran’s attacks, taking the grueling match 3-2.

Hossam Nasser (EGY) v Kush Kumar (IND)

It was anyone’s match for most of the quarterfinal between Hossam Nasser and Kush Kumar. The two battled through three matches quite evenly, with Kumar up 2-1.

Late in the fourth, it looked to be Kumar’s match as he served 10-8, but Nasser kept his cool and kept up the pressure to elicit an error from Kumar to take the game into a decider. Nasser, with very gifted hands, seemed fully in control of the fifth game, though Kumar, a fighter till the end, did not make it easy. But two lovely shots in a row from Nasser sent the game and match his way 11-9.

Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) v Satomi Watanabe (JPN)

The first match of today’s quarterfinal was an all-Japan match up, pitting second seed Misaki Kobayashi against Satomi Watanabe, an up-and-coming 15-year-old in her first-ever WSA tournament. Kobayashi calmly dominated the match from the start, sending Watanabe all over the court.

Watanabe showed good speed, and made some excellent retrievals, especially in the second game when she took five points off of Kobayashi. But the more experienced Kobayashi closed out each game decisively, taking the match 11-3, 11-5, 11-2.

Misaki Kobayashi: “It’s a shame to play another Japanese girl in the second round. I think it was a good match. She’s only 15, so she’ll have more. This was my first tournament after the Asian Games. I was training hard for this. I’m just trying to do my best.”

Birgit Coufal (AUT) 3-2 Cheyna Tucker (RSA)

Birgit Coufal: “It was a tough match. I think we’re both tired from playing four tournaments back to back. It probably could’ve gone to either of us. I’m just happy I won it.”

Siyoli Waters (RSA) v Sivasangari Subramanian (MAS)

Siyoli Waters had her hands full in today’s quarterfinal against Sivasangari Subramanian. The under-15 British Junior champ showed her skill and steel, going point for point with Waters and forcing her into extra points in the first and third games, which saw some beautiful rallies between the two. But in the end, experience paid off, and Waters was able to close out the match 12-10, 11-8, 12-10.

Siyoli Waters: “I’ve played Sivasangari before. I knew coming into it she’s a very, very skillful junior and quite strong. And that’s what she did. She started well and I had to work very hard to impose my game on her. It’s lucky it went 3-0. I really just had to grind and work hard to close out the game and match.”

Dipika Pallikal (IND) v Lakshya Ragavendran (IND)

Dipika Pallikal took some time to find her legs in her quarterfinal match against Lakshya Ragavendran, a scrappy 18-year-old in her second WSA tournament.

Ragavendran pressed the advantage, and with some lovely shots, managed to steal the second game from the tournament’s top seed, 11-9. But Pallikal settled into her game and controlled the play for the third and fourth, winning them handily 11-2, 11-3.

Ragavendran: “I had a very good exposure. It’s the first time I played her. I felt happy I could at least fight to my expectations.”
 

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Indian Challenger Circuit Launch

#1 Jaipur | #2 Mumbai | #3 Mumbai | #4 Chennai