|
|
 38th
Maharashstra State Open 2013
02-07 Sep, Bombay Gymhkana, India, $15k |
 |
07-Sep, Final:
Egyptian magic in Mumbai as Mazen pips Zahed in a 61 minute
thriller
by Raj Arora
[4] Mazen Hesham
3-2 Zahed Mohamed
11-5, 3-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 (61m)
 A
steady start as Mazen inched ahead 6-4, then on the strength
of two delectable drops he's up 8-5 before Zahed helps with
two uncharacteristic errors and Mazen has the opener 11-5
Zahed comes out all guns blazing in his second of five shirts on the
night with some immaculate length and razor drops. The consistency
is super solid as he races through Game 2, it's 11-3 to Zahed and
the capacity crowd is in for some more drama.
There's no place to move outside the court as the packed crowd adds
to the rising temperature. The players take the court with fresh
shirts. The crucial third game gets underway. It's high octane stuff
as the quality of squash scales a high . Zahed controlling it
beautifully and the young Mazen playing some gems of his own.
After taking Mazen all over the court Zahed rips a blinder on the
forehand and leads 7-4. Two beauties from Mazen followed by a lucky
shot and the game hangs in the balance. Mazen ups it a bit and
rather quickly he's reeled off another four straight points to take
a 2-1 lead. 11-7 to Mazen.
Zahed's legs have done some moving all week but the calm Egyptian
comes back with renewed vigour. He plays three from the top drawer
and is quickly in control of the fourth. 4-1 to Zahed. The crowd
wants a fifth and some enthusiastic juniors are now cheering
lustily. Mazen pulls back to 4-5 but then Zahed produces some
artistry and reaches 10-4 with a rare beauty. Mazen not happy with
the call and gets himself the first conduct warning of the week. An
unforced error and we're heading into the decider.
A fifth shirt for Zahed. His laundry is going to be busy. It's high
quality squash in this fast paced final. Zahed races to 3-1, a no
let takes him to 4-1, is this going to be another scalp for the
World No 90? A millimetre perfect drop makes it 5-2. This is
followed by a no let for Zahed who stays calm. Getting tight as
Mazen pulls back to 5-6 when they play probably the rally of the
match . This is followed up by another scorching rally and its 6-6.
Mazen plays a delightful cross drop to take the lead for the first
time in the fifth. 7-6, a delicate boast takes him to 7-5 and them
some magic, 9-6 to Mazen, Zahed produces some magic of his own 7-9.
The crowd is on tenterhooks as Zahed holds it late and executed yet
another precise drop 8-9. This is high drama now. A brutal rally
where a perilously close pick up of Zahed is called down. All three
refs confirm the call and now Mazen has matchball. And just after
the one hour mark Mazen has clinched a creditable victory. The crowd
has been served some delectable fare. The juniors have certainly had
many squash lessons all week. The Bombay Gymkhana has played host t
some outstanding talents this week.
Marvel Realtors and Ratnakar Bank have graciously supported the
event and should be back next year. |
|
  Maharashstra
State Open 2013
02-07 Sep, Bombay Gymhkana, India, $15k |
Round One
04 Sep |
Quarters
05 Sep |
Semis
06 Sep |
Final
07 Sep |
[1] Ong Beng Hee (Mas)
5-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10 (98m)
Zahed Mohamed (Egy) |
Zahed Mohamed
11/8, 11/5, 11/5 (31m)
Ravi Dixit |
Zahed Mohamed
11/9, 3/11, 11/8, 11/8
(66m)
[3] Ali Anwar Reda |
Zahed Mohamed
11-5, 3-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 (61
mins)
[4] Mazen Hesham |
Ravi Dixit (Ind)
11-5, 11-3, 11-6( 30 mins)
[Q] Deepak Mishra (Ind) |
Johan Bouquet (Fra)
11- 3, 11- 5 , 11- 9 (24m)
[Q] Hannan Tarmidi (Mas) |
Johan Bouquet
/7/11, 11/7, 11/6, 11/1 (50m)
[3] Ali Anwar Reda |
Ahmed Atef (Egy)
12-10, 11-9, 11-5 (36m)
[3] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) |
[4] Mazen Hesham (Egy)
12-10, 11-5, 11-3 (32m)
Joe Chapman (Ivb) |
[4] Mazen Hesham
12/10, 11/9, 11/8 (55m)
Harinderpal Sandhu |
[4] Mazen Hesham
11/7, 11/8, 3/11, 11/3 (50m)
Mahesh Mangaonkar |
Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind)
11-6, 14-12, 11-3 (38m)
[Q] Shehab Essam Hosny (Egy) |
Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind)
11-6, 8-11, 11-2, 11-6 (43m)
Kush Kumar (Ind) |
Mahesh Mangaonkar
14/12, 9/11, 11/8, 11/1 (77m)
[Q] Fares Dessouky |
[Q] Fares Dessouky (Egy)
10-12, 2-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8 (97m)
[2] Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) |
03 Sep,
Qualifying Finals
Fares Dessouky (Egy) 3-0
Xavier Blasco (Esp)
11-8, 11-3, 11-4 (24m)
Hannan Tarmidi (Mas)
3-2 Mohamed El Tabaa (Egy) 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 7-11,
11-7 (61m)
Shehab Essam Hosny (Egy) 3-2 Sanjay Singh (Ind)
11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5 (64m)
Deepak Mishra (Ind)
3-2 Steve London (Eng)
11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 11-5 (82m)
LL: Steve London
02 Sep, Qualifying Round One, 17.00-19.00:
finals 15.30-18.30 on 3rd
Fares Dessouky (Egy) 3-0Rishan Pandole (Ind)
11/7, 11/6, 11/3 (22m)
Xavier Blasco (Esp) 3-0 Chaitanya Shah (Ind)
11/1, 11/6, 11/8 (15m)
Mohamed El Tabaa (Egy) 3-2 Sandeep Janghra (Ind) 11/7,
6/11, 11/5, 8/11, 13/11 (50m)
Hannan Tarmidi (Mas) 3-0 Vikas Jangra (Ind)
12/10, 11/7, 11/9 (43m)
Sanjay Singh (Ind) 3-0 Abhimanu Shah (Ind)
11/4, 11/2, 11/8 (25m)
Shehab Essam Hosny (Egy) 3-0 Aryaman Adik (Ind)
11/1, 11/1, 11/1 (22m)
Deepak Mishra (Ind)
w/o
Moses Durosinmi (Egy)
Steve London (Eng)
3-0 Madhav Dhingra (Ind)
11/5, 11/9, 11/4 (40m) |
06-Sep, Semis:
All-Egyptian final in Mumbai
Zahed Mohamed 3-1 Ali
Anwar Reda
11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8 (66m)
Mazen Hesham 3-1 Mahesh Mangaonkar
11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 11-3 (50m)
 In an all Egyptian semi final the
younger and fitter Zahed Mohamed took his appointed place in
the final after an absorbing contest. There was nothing to choose
between the two in the first 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9 before Zahed reeled
off two in a row to take the opener.
It was all Reda in the second as Zahed made four unforced errors and
Reda was moving effortlessly driving deep into the corners and
controlling the play as he took the second 11-3.
A tight third game ensued with Zahed doing most of the attacking. He
was creating some beautiful points but was a bit generous with his
errors as well as Reda managed to stay close. An unforced error from
Zahed made it 7-7 but this was followed by some dominance from Zahed
as he took a crucial 2-1 lead.
The fourth was a mirror image of the first. Very close all the way
through and Zahed looked just that bit stronger in his third shirt
of the night. At 9-8 Zahed should have had a contentious stroke as
the crowd gasped. He wasn't to be denied as he got to matchball with
a stroke. A tin from Reda had sent Zahed to the final.
It was a well deserved victory of the giant killer who had
eliminated Beng Hee two nights ago. He awaits the winner of the
Mazen -Mahesh match 05-Sep, Quarters
Mahesh makes the semis
India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar in
the Semi finals with a hard fought victory against top Egyptian
One Indian and three Egyptians have advanced to the Semi Final Stage
of the Maharashtra State PSA Open 2013 being held at the Bombay
Gymkhana Club.
Match 1:
Ali Anwar Reda bt Johan Bouquet 3-1
 First match on Johan Bouquet went off to a brilliant start against
the higher seeded Reda. Johan played some neat squash with some
delicate volleys and tactically outplayed Reda to win the 1st game
comfortably. Reda started strong in the 2nd and they both traded the
first few points till Reda, who attacked better as compared to the
first game, started stretching Johan to all parts of the court.
The 3rd game was crucial and Reda pulled ahead again and won 11-6
and the 4th was comfortable as the humidity finally got to Johan.
Match 2:
Zahed Mohammed beat Ravi Dixit 3-0
Zahed had more variety and attack than his opponent and the tough
match with Beng Hee yesterday seemed to have little effect.
11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (31 Mins)
Match 3:
Mazen Hesham bt Harinderpal Sandhu 3-1
Mazen Hesham was the 3rd Egyptian into the Semi finals even though
it was by far an easy match. Both players had their chances in a
very tough and fast paced 1st game though Mazen seemed the more
experienced at crucial points.
He slowly edged out a lead towards the end of the 2nd and 3rd game
to win 3-0 in 55 mins. Just wasn’t Harinder Pal Sandhu’s day today!
Match 4:
Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Fares Dessouky 3-1
 Mahesh
the only Indian left in the tournament was to play a very special
new talent emerging out of Egypt Fares Dessouky. Fares fresh from
beating the number 2 seed yesterday and after going through the
qualifying rounds was again trading point for point in the 1st game
playing some lovely shots. Mahesh was taking the Ball early and made
Fares do some diagonals and at 10-10 won two sweet points to win the
1st game 12-10.
In the 2nd Fares came out strong and Mahesh was forced into making a
few errors due to the attack of the Egyptian who also showed a
magnificent arsenal of shots to keep the crowd at the edge of their
seat. Mahesh didn’t give in easily and picked up some unbelievable
shots on full stretch but Fares attacked better at 8-8 to win 11-9.
In Game 3, Mahesh kept the intensity up and both players seemed to
be trading points again. Fares seemed to get irritated with the refs
and also showed signs of tiring. After some brutal rally’s at 7-7
and 8-8 where both players were at their limits Fares’s seemed to
cramp/limp a bit.
Mahesh who was totally unaware carried on at the same tempo and
suddenly found himself 11-8 sitting outside the court. The 4th game
always had one winner and Mahesh was literally the last man standing
on the day. Tough match
|
|
04-Sep, Round One:
BOTH TWO SEEDS FALL!!!
ZAHED STOPS BENG HEE IN FIVE AND FARES STUNS OMAR
IN A DRAMATIC FIGHTBACK TO MAKE MUMBAI QUARTERS
The rapidly improving Fares Dessouki came through perhaps his
strongest test yet taking down 2nd seeded Omar Abdel Aziz in
a 97 minute battle that had the crowd enthral led on a warm Mumbai
evening.
Fares raced to a 4-1 lead in the first before Omar steadied it
pulling it back to 4-4. Fares kept attacking to go up 9-7 . Omar
reeled off three in a row to reach 10-9. Fares drew level but two
relatively unforced errors handed the first game to Omar after 25 mins.
The second was all Omar as he dictated the course of play and he was
now forcing many errors from his younger countryman. He won eight
points in a row to take it 11-2.
At 2-0 it seemed like Omar had weathered the initial storm and he
would now coast. But the solid Fares was not done yet. The game got
laden with traffic problems and the fluidity of Game 1 was gone. It
had become a battle of attrition as the game became intensely
physical. Fares maintained a very slender lead and was 10-7 up when
the experienced Omar pulled back to 10-10. Fares pulled off a
stunning shot to seize game ball and soon was still alive having
wrested the third.
Omar went up 4-1 in the fourth as Fares appeared to slow down just a
little. The pendulum swing again. A few unforced errors and some
more attacking shots and Fares raised his game to sensationally
level the match. At 2-2 it was delicately poised. It was neck and
neck all through as they battled like gladiators all through the
decider. 6-6, 7-7, 8-8 , the juniors in the crowd were relishing
this contest as Fares earned a stroke to go 9-8 up.
Another well
played rally took him to match ball and shortly thereafter Omar
played a ball onto himself to yield a stroke and the match. It was a
memorable win for Fares in a match that was good to watch for its
quality in the first half and its attrition in the second. Fares
10-12, 2-11, 12-10,11-6, 11-8 (97 mins)
Johan Bouquet had things firmly in control against the
Malaysian youngster Hannan Tarmidi. His fluid movement and
variety was a bit much for Tarmidi who appeared to be much slower
after his brutal five set win last evening. Johan Bouquet 11- 3, 11-
5 , 11- 9 (24 mins)
In the Battle of India's next gen of players, Mahesh Mangaonkar
who has just moved out of the junior ranks had more in the tank
compared to his younger rival Kush Kumar who has just arrived
after winning Gold at the Asian Youth Games in China and the Indian
Junior Open in Chennai. At one game all , the match promised to get
close but the more experienced Mangaonkar capitalised on his
opponent's tired legs. Mahesh 11-6, 8-11, 11-2, 11-6( 43 mins )
Ravi Dixit made very short work of his match racing to an
effortless win over state mate Deepak Mishra who seemed
sluggish after his marathon upset over Steve London last night.
Dixit was the second Indian through to the quarters. Ravi Dixit
11-5, 11-3, 11-6( 30 mins)
Fresh from his win at the Malaysian Nationals, the 33 year old
Beng Hee was in control through the first game before the stroke
making Egyptian fought back moving the top seed to the front
cornets. He was up 9-6 in the second when the Malaysian turned on
the screws playing some very tight squash . At 9-9 Beng Hee forced
another error only to have Zahed level it at 10-10.
Beng Hee
moved to 11-10 with a beauty before Zahed played two good points of
his own to lead 12-11, the calm Malaysian continued to mic it up
,12-12, a lovely overhead kill and the Egyptian had game ball. Some
relentless attacking and some brilliant retrieving on the last point
as Zahed nicked one to level it at one game all.
The third was always going to be crucial . The greater experience of
Beng Hee coupled with some very good defending and some measured
drops soon had the top seed in front after a 11-9 win in the third.
Another change of shirts for both the players as the warmer
conditions and a larger crowd were adding to the heat and intensity.
The quality of drops was a treat for the packed crowd as Zahed
fought back to lead 7-4. A deft overhead volley drop followed by
another soft drop by Beng Hee and it was 6-7, an unforced error by
Zahed made it 7-7. An uncharacteristic error by Beng Hee followed by
a rolling nick made it 8-8, then 9-9 as Zahed dropped a beauty to
reach game ball . Another tight drop and they were tied at two
apiece. After 74 minutes they were locked together.
A third shirt for Zahed as they kept the quality going. A superb
drop from Zahed had him 3-1 in front before two wonderful deceptions
from Beng Hee tied it at 3-3. Zahed kept attacking but Beng Hee kept
providing the answers, 4-4, 5-4 to the Malaysian, a contentious let,
a deft drop from Zahed 5-5, an attacking lob from Beng Hee 6-5, a
measured drop 7-5, an unforced error and now it was 8-5, some more
attacking and it was 9-5 , After they traded the next two points it
was matchball to the top seed. 10-6. Two good points from Zahed
brought it back to 8-10.
Beng Hee rolls it into the nick, there's some confusion - is it the
match. Surprisingly and exceedingly Beng Hee offers to play a let
with Zahed pleading with the ref. In a trice it's matchball for the
Egyptian and Beng Hee gets another contentious call with Zahed in
his swing. A let is played . After 98 minutes Zahed has pulled off
the biggest upset of the night. Zahed, 5-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9,
12-10
(98 mins)
Harinderpal Samdhu just back from Japan had things his own
way against the Egyptian Shehab El Hosny in Game 1 taking it
11-6, the junior fought on in a tighter second game when playing a
beauty at 9-10 to force extra points. The staid Indian kept the
consistency going along with some attacking drops and after a tough
game had taken a two zero lead winning the second 14-12
The Egyptian battled on but the Indian was on fire displaying a fine
repertoire of strokes as he rushed into a 6-1 lead. Keeping the
momentum going it was Harinderpal who became the third Indian into
the quarters winning the third 11-3. Harinderpal 11-6, 14-12, 11-3 (
38 mins) |
Sun 8th Sep
|
3rd-Sep-2013
YOUNGSTERS TO THE FORE : TWO EGYPTIANS JOIN A
MALAYSIAN AND A FIFTH INDIAN IN THE MAIN DRAW
Three of the four qualifying final round matches went the distance
at the Bombay Gymkhana this evening with very contrasting styles of
play being exhibited over the long session.
 The day began with the tournament’s top four seeds spend some time
on court with Bombay Gymkhana’s top juniors.
Ong Beng Hee took the
court with Abhimanyu and Chaitanya Shah, Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda showed
Abhilasha Bhasin and Vivaan Jaikishan a few tricks of the trade,
Yohann Poncha and Shanay Sanghavi had a blast with the friendly Omar
Abdel Aziz and Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry took the court with Riddhi
Sampat and Diya Sanghi.
The sporting pros and the eager and
enthusiastic juniors made a pretty picture. To have these world
class players in their backyard was a huge treat for these improving
juniors.
Qualifying Finals
 Fares Dessouki was at his attacking best against
Xavier Blasco Marchal from Spain. The first game was a close one
with both players matching each other before Fares stepped it up by
a notch or two, dropping with amazing precision to come through a
11-8, 11-3, 11-4 winner in convincing fashion. ( 24 mins) He then
drew countryman Omar Abdel Aziz the second seed as his Main Draw
opponent in a match that is certain to be a treat to Mumbai’s squash
lovers.
Mohammed El Tabaa started strongly against Hanan Tarmidi
of Malaysia winning the first 11-6, Tarmidi clawed his way back
largely because of his accurate drops on either side. Taking the
second 11-7. The third was a humdinger and a crucial one to win as
Tarmidi was just that little bit more consistent at the business end
of the game taking it 12-10.
The game El Tabaa battled on in the fourth to force the decider.
With both players seemingly tiring rapidly the Malaysian held his
nerve to win a close match. 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7 ( 61 mins).
The third match saw two very talented youngsters engage in a lively
encounter. The Egyptian Shehab Essam Hosny was holding the
ball exceedingly well as he raced from 5-5 to 10-5 in the first
before closing it out 11-6. Sanjay Singh fought back with
some sound play moving his younger opponent all round the court and
dropping with clinical accuracy taking the next two games 11-8 and
11-9. He clearly held the upper hand but the young Egyptian had
other ideas.
At 10-10 in the fourth, Sanjay was in sniffing distance of what
would have been a fine win but Shehab put together two really strong
points before racing away in the fifth. Shehab Hosny it was
eventually a 11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5 winner ( 64 mins).
 The last match of the day saw the Indian junior Deepak Mishra
take a two love lead against the Englishman Steve London. The
games were hard fought and London was getting increasingly agitated
with some contentious calls. He found a way to fight back and slowly
brought the match back on even keel taking the third and fourth 11-7
and 11-5.
London seemed to have had it sewn up when the Indian came back with
a second win moving his more experienced opponent all over the
court. Mishra finally came through creditably after an absorbing 82
min tussle 11-5. The final scoreline 11-9,11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 11-5.
Mishra was the fifth Indian in the Main Draw and will now play
countryman Ravi Dixit to ensure that at least one Indian will play
the quarter finals.
The players then met up at the Tournament Dinner at the Bombay
Gymkhana.
|
Sun 8th Sep
 |
02-Sep, Qualifying Round One
INDIA’S NEXT GENERATION OF PLAYERS IN THE THICK OF
THE ACTION IN MUMBAI
 The
first round of qualifying got underway at the Bombay Gymkhana this
evening. Founded in 1875, this is one of the country’s oldest
sporting institutions and a big supporter of Squash.
The opportunity given to several junior players from the club and
the city was a harbinger of things to come on the Indian Squash
front.
Two thirteen year olds, both Junior National Champions were given
the chance to compete and they came away richer with the
experience..
 Chaitanya
Shah from the Bombay Gymkhana was thrown into the deep end with
Xavier Blasco Marchal of Spain. He fought gamely whilst going
down 1-11, 6-11, 8-11 ( 25 mins). He is certain to have learnt a few
things from this encounter.
Aryaman Adik was pitted against Shehab Essam Hosny of
Egypt and was given a squash lesson. Hosny won 11-1, 11-1, 11-1 ( 22
mins).
The heartening thing to note from the games of both the Indian
juniors was that they pushed themselves to the hilt.Both were seen
watching the other matches late into the evening.
 The
top seed in the qualifying draw Fares Dessouki from Egypt
gave the crowd a fantastic display of his racket skills and
effortless movement as he eased past Rishad Pandole
11-7,11-6,11-3 ( 22 mins)
The match of the day was then played between Sandeep Jangra
of the Services and Mohammed El Tabaa. They played four
closely contested games .
At 2-2, the crowd had been treated to some really good control by
the Indian who was dropping from all over the court. El Tabaa
battled on but was soon staring down the barrel at 7-10 in the 5th.
He gritted it out to eke out a 13-11 win in the decider. Jangra was
fabulous but it wasn’t quite enough on the day.( 50 mins)
Abhimanyu Shah, just back from a 5th place at the Indian
Junior Open was next up against Sanjay Singh of Malaysia. The
graceful left hander was too strong for the Indian Junior winning
11-4, 11-2, 11-8 ( 25 mins)
Vikas Jangra from the Indian Navy started strongly against
Hannan Tarmidi of Malaysia and at 10-10 in the first allowed
things to slip out of control. Tarmidi capitalized and played
marginally better to emerge a 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 winner ( 43 mins)
 The
second seed Steve London from England gave some local kids a
lesson in a ‘effective warm up’ before taking the court with the
left handed Madhav Dhingra.
London had too much variety for the Indian junior who pushed hard to
draw level after dropping the first game. 9-9 it was in the second
before London stepped it up to win 11-5,11-9, 11-4( 40 mins)
Tomorrow’s match ups for the Qualifying Finals are :
Fares Dessouki v Xavier Blasco Marchal
Mohammed El Tabaa v Hannan Tarmidi
Sanjay Singh v Shehab Essam Hosny
Deepak Mishra v Steve London
Four Indians are in the Main Draw. Harinderpal Sandhu, Mahesh
Mangaonkar, Ravi Dixit and Kush Kumar will be on view on Wednesday.
|
Sun 8th Sep
 |
 |
Maharashtra State Open
does a makeover
The Bombay Gymkhana is one of the oldest sporting
institutions in India and has been promoting sport since 1875, and
the Maharashtra State Open has been one of the most sought
after events on the Indian calendar for almost four decades now.
The focus has always been to widen the base of young players and
attract top squash players. The country’s best players have all
played this event several times, so did Malaysian Azlan Iskandar
when he was Top 10 in the world.
This year the event has been merged into a PSA Challenger 15
event and the field looks very impressive indeed with the four
seeded players all in the top 50 in the World.
Malaysian Ong Beng Hee, ranked 22 in the world, will lead the
challenge. Omar Abdel Aziz (36), Ali Anwar Reda (42)
and Mazen Hesham (47) are the other marquee names in this
strong field.
 There
are three Indians in the Main Draw - the country’s No.2 and No. 3
players, Harinderpal Sandhu (66) and Mahesh Mangaonkar
(88), plus no.1 Indian junior Kush Kumar, ranked 317,
who has been given the Wild Card.
As of now, more than 20 International players will be seen at The
Bombay Gymkhana Courts between the 2nd and the 7th of Sept.
|
The men’s winner’s purse is likely to
be USD 2347 whilst the runner up will get USD 1605
All matches will be played on the 11 point American scoring format –
best of 5 games with a 17 inch tin : an innovation that has enhanced
the viewing pleasure significantly over the years.
The juniors are in for a treat. A few of them will get to play the
qualifying event and the rest will have a ringside view of top
squash right here in their backyard whilst playing a three star
tournament of their own.
Sponsors of the event include Marvel Realtors, Ratnakar Bank. |
|
