22-Oct, Finals:

[3] Liu Tsz-Ling (Hkg) 3-2 [4] Millie Tomlinson (Eng)
                  7/11, 6/11, 11/1, 11/8, 11/7 (68m)
[2] Mohamed Reda (Egy) 3-0 [1] Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind)
                  13/11, 11/7, 11/9 (59m)

   

LIU COMPLETES HOUDINI ACT TO DOWN TOMLINSON IN A THRILLER
Liesl Goecker reports

A cagey start by both players as they came out playing some rather defensive squash.

Millie got going slightly earlier as she built a 5-3 and then 6-4 lead on the strength of some marginally better consistency. A stroke took her to 7-4 before Liu responded with two on the trot for 6-7. Two uncharacteristic errors from Liu took Millie to 9-6. Some fine attacking play brought up game ball. Liu played a delightful back hand drop for 7-10 before Tomlinson took the first 11-7.

Liu had played a long five set match last night with her countrywoman Tong compared to Tomlinson's straight game win but this seemed like a plainly tentative start from Liu.

Tomlinson came out smartly to open a 3-0 lead in the second looking more assured. Liu finally started asserting herself to level at 3-3. Two delicate drops for Tomlinson for 5-3 before Liu played a superb overhead for 4-5.

Tomlinson was in control yet again as she came up with an assortment of shots to take the next five points to move to game ball. Liu reduced the deficit but it wasn't quite enough. Tomlinson 11-6

Finally Liu came out attacking and not surprisingly it began to reap dividends. A 4-0 lead doubled to 8-0 as Liu was showing greater resolve. The body language had changed and we finally had a match on our hands. Tomlinson got on the scoreboard finally before Liu completed the third at 11-1

A more absorbing contest followed as the rallies were more evenly contested. Tomlinson inched closer at 5-3. A no-let took her to 6-3 but Liu wasn't done. A stroke to Liu followed by the point of the match thus far that ended with Liu wrong footing Tomlinson and it was 5-6 . Liu kept the momentum going as Tomlinson once again had her nose in front at 7-6. Another couple of precise finishes from Liu had her at 8-7. She followed that with a razor sharp back hand drop for 9-7 and the crowd was looking out for the decider now. A debatable decision where the referees were called for their call on Tomlinson's pick up gave Liu game ball 10-7, at 8-10 there were some traffic problems from Tomlinson ensured four lets in a row before Liu got one that had forced the decider. Liu 11-8

A much sharper Liu took command in the decider at 5-2 and all the momentum was with her. A surprising no-let against Liu made it 3-5. Liu had an extra gear now as she accelerated to 7-4, Tomlinson responded with a couple of very consistent points for 7-7. It was getting tight now. An absolute beauty from Liu for 8-7.' It's in the inches' someone from the crowd was overheard saying. Liu inched closer with two well constructed points. A no-let for Tomlinson and the Hong Kong girl fisted the air after a fine comeback to win the title.

Millie Tomlinson: "Disappointed after going 2-0 up to lose. Liu started playing much better from the 3rd game and I started forcing the points rather than sticking to the game plan.

Liu Tsz-Ling: "I am very happy as this the biggest tournament I have ever won. I think I played very well, specially when I was 2-0 down. Even in the semifinals I was 1-2 down. I never give up and I kept telling myself to just focus on the game, point by point and I could win the match.


TWO TITLES FOR REDA IN TWO WEEKS AS HE DOWNS HARINDER IN STRAIGHT GAMES

The top two seeds lined up to take their appointed spots in the final. Harinder was on his home court but Reda has played a fair bit of squash here as well.

The tone was set straightaway with some long engaging rallies. They went stride for stride to 5-5 when Reda drew some errors from the Indian to lead 9-6 and 10-7. Harinder clawed back with his customary gritty play to take it to extra points. At 12-11 to Reda a mis hit by Reda caught the Indian out and the Egyptian blew a kiss to the sky.

The second was also a battle of attrition and both players were mixing some superb lengths with some artistry in the forecourt. At 7-5 to Reda, Harinder was awarded a stroke for 6-7, 'Why.,,,,,, implored Reda - the decision stood. Reda moved to 9-7, and this game was going to be crucial for Harinder who's been recovering from an attack of sinusitis all week. Two unforced errors from the Indian and Reda had Game 2 as well. 11-7

Harinder was up against it now as Reda marched on relentlessly to race to 5-0,

Harinder clearly was not at his best physically and it was now showing. He once again begun showing his resilient side as he won three in a row for 3-5. A fine attacking shot from Reda for hand out. The crowd egged on the local lad as another brace got him to 5-6. A superb back hand cross court from the Indian restored parity. At 6-6 this was nicely poised.

They then played the longest rally of the tournament- could easily have been forty or fifty shots, a length which was too tight by Harinder resulted in a no-let and the Induan had the lead, he applied some more pressure for 9-6 before Reda pulled one back. The next point was all Harinder as he took Reda all over but somehow managed to find the tin for an easy put away. In a hurry it was 9-9. A service return into the tin from Harinder and another unforced error and it was game and match to the Egyptian.

Mohd Reda: "I knew I had tough challenge playing against Harinder on his home court. But I have played on this courts several times so it helped me to win the final. Its great to win my 2nd tournament in 1 month on the PSA World Tour. I will definitely be back next year to play in the JSW Indian Squash Circuit".

Harinderpal Sandhu: "Disappointed to lose in the final at home. Work to be done and need to come back stronger for next year tournaments. Thanks to my coaches and all the juniors for supporting me today and all week."


 

11-4, 11-4, 11-7 (45m)

[Q] Youssef Soliman

[1] Harinderpal Sandhu

 13/11, 11/7, 11/9 (59m)

[2] Mohamed Reda

11-8, 12-10, 11-4 (35m)

[2] Mohamed Reda

​QUALIFYING  FINALS
Ravi Dixit (IND) bt Abhinav Sinha (IND) 11-1, 11-4, 11-4 28m
Youssef Solimon (EGY) bt Adhitya Raghavan (IND) 11-5, 8-11, 11-1, 11-4 27m
Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt Ranvijay Singh (IND) 11-5, 12-10, 11-7 34m
Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt Ahmed Hussein (EGY) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 26m

Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND) bt Lakshya Ragavendran (IND) W/O
Apoorva AVS Samita (IND) by JS Kritica (IND) 11-3, 11-2 rtd 14m

QUALIFYING ROUND 1
Abhinav Sinha (IND) bt Ashish Keskar (IND) 11-2, 11-2, 11-5 in 14 minutes
Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt Vikas Jangra (IND) 11-5, 13-11, 11-1 in 28 minutes
Ravi Dixit (IND) bt Abhay Singh (IND) 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 in 28 minutes
Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt Mohamed Abdelkalek (EGY) 11-9, 11-4, 12-10 in 25 minutes
Youssef Solimon (EGY) bt Vikas Mehra (IND) 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 in 19 minutes
Ranvijay Singh (IND) bt Varun Johnny (IND) 11-0, 11-2, 11-0 in 11 minutes
Adhitya Raghavan (IND) bt Sandeep Jangra (IND) 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 14-12, 20-18 in 60 min
Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND) bt Darshana Vasudevan (IND) 11-5, 11-3, 11-2 in 16 minutes

11/3, 7/11, 6/11, 11/7, 11/6

[3] Liu Tsz-Ling

7/11, 6/11, 11/1, 11/8, 11/7 (68m)

[4] Millie Tomlinson

11-6, 12-10, 11-7 (39m)

[2] Nouran El Torky

Qualifying:

20-Oct, Quarters:
Sandhu through to semis
as Tong takes out women's to seed

Top seed Harinderpal Sandhu is the last remaining Indian in contention after the quarter-finals in Chennai after he came from a game down to beat Malaysian qualifier Mohd Syafiq Kamal.

He'll face another qualifier in the semis after Egypt's Youseff Soliman continued his run with a four-game win over Kuwaiti Abdullah Almezayen.

In the bottom half of the draw and Egyptian finalist is assured after wins from Mohamed Reda and Mazen Gamal.

In the women's draw a Hong Kong finalist is sure to emerge from the top half semifinal, where Tong Tsz-Wing stunned top seed Milou van der Heijden and will meet compatriot Liu Tsz-Wing, the third seed.

In the bottom half of the draw second and fourth seeds Nouran El Torky and Millie Tomlinson progressed in contrasting fashion. England's Tomlinson eased past Lee Ka-Yi in straight games while El Torky prevailed in a close five-setter against Zulhijah Binti Azan.

19-Oct, Round One:
Sandhu strolls into quarterfinal
Liesl Goecker reports

It was a tough draw luck for Velavan Senthilkumar against former India champ and World No. 57 Harinderpal Singh Sandhu in today's Main Draw. The up-and-comer made a spirited game, but Sandhu -- always on form for a home crowd of juniors from the Indian Squash Academy, where he trains -- barely broke a sweat. Sandhu could afford to be gracious, calling for a let on the game point of the second game after refs called it in his favour. He took the replay quickly with a lovely drop, and dominated the rest of the match, winning 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 in 30 minutes.

Men's qualifiers upset 4th, 8th seeds

Youssef Soliman upset fourth-seed Mohamed Elgawarhy 3-1 in a 50-minute all-Egyptian match. Soliman must have gained a sound feel for the court during yesterday's qualifying rounds because after yielding the first game to the more experienced Elgawarhy, he shot back with three wins in quick succession to take a quarterfinal spot out from under his countryman.

Elsewhere, Mohd Syafiq Kamal  upset 8th-seed Matias Tuomi in similar fashion. Tuomi pushed Kamal into extra points in the first game, and took the second with an early run of 7-3, but from here it was Kamal's game, and he owned the play until taking the match 12-10, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4 in 37 minutes

Asian Games gold medalist flies in at 5 am, wins at 5pm

Abdullah Al Muzayen, the man best remembered by most Indian squash fans as the player to steal gold from Saurav Ghosal in the Asian Games, came, saw, and moved one step closer to conquering today. Al Muzayen flew into town at five in the morning, only to play and win a grueling 5-game match against countryman Ammar Altamimi just 12 hours later.

Altamimi did not make it easy. He pushed Al Muzayen far into extra points in the third game, which would ultimately prove the deciding game. Altamimi took the next, to level it 2-2, but couldn't hold on. Both players were drooping by the last game, and Al Muzayen showed just that much more grit and took the match 9-11, 11-6, 16-14, 4-11, 11-8 in 60 minutes.

Luck out for Indian women

Indian hopes for a woman champion of the JSW Indian Squash Circuit Chennai died today, as all Indian women lost in the first round of the tournament's Main Draw.

Sachika Ingale stood the best chance, as the tournament's 10th-seed, but faced a tough draw against 8th-seed Tong Tsz-Wing of Hong Kong. Ingale started each game strong, even taking a small lead in the third, but in typical fashion, was unable to hold it and turn it around once she fell behind. Tsz-Wing took the match 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 in 26 minutes.

The remaining Indian women, Akanksha Salunkhe, Sunayna Kuruvilla, Apoorva AVS Samita, Ashita Pranaya Bhengra, and Janet Vidhi also lost decisively in today's draw, though Kuruvilla and Bhengra managed to take one game off their opponents, Hong Kong's Liu Tsz-Ling and Lee Ka Yi respectively.

No upsets in women's tournament; top seeds pass into QF

Top-seed Milou van der Heijden sailed into tomorrow's quarterfinal after winning 3-0 against Sadia Gul. Gul struggled to find her legs in the first game, appearing slow of the T and lagging just behind van der Heijden's shots. The second saw Gul pick up her pace, send out a couple of nice kills past van der Heijden, and push her opponent into extra points. But Gul gave up her best chance at 11-11. From there, it was van der Heijden's match, 11-, 13-11, 11-8 in 25 minutes.

Elsewhere, second-seed Nouran El Torky, of Egypt, entered the quarterfinal, too, pushing past Sammer Anjum of Pakistan in three quick games. El Torky's trademark speed proved too much for Anjum, who, like her countrywoman, missed her best chance for a win late in the second game in extra points. El Torky won 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 in 24 minutes.