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Otters Devotie Open 2010
28 Jun - 03 Jul, Mumbai |
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03-Jul, Finals:
Double for Saumya,
Harinder wins men’s title
Second seed Harinderpal Singh Sandhu of Tamil Nadu
won the men’s title and women’s top seed Saumya Karki
of Mumbai earned a double, in the Otters Devotie Squash Open
2010, organized and hosted by Otters Club, Bandra on
Saturday.
Harinderpal overcame fourth seed Vikas Jangra of Navy 11-3,
11-5, 11-8 in a championship round that last 35 minutes.
After racing to a 2-0 advantage, Harinderpal trailed 1-4 and
4-8 in the crucial third game when he relaxed his grip.
Jangra seized the opportunity and showed signs of a comeback
with the lead but lost seven points in a row that helped
Harinderpal snatch the game and match.
Saumya Karki tamed third seed Sachika Balvani of Otters Club
3-0 for the women’s crown and added the girls’ under-17
title with a similar margin of victory over No. 3 Shri
Khatri.
Tamil Nadu boys did themselves proud as giant-killer Velavan
Senthilkumar won the under-13 title, while Vrishab Kotian
bagged the under-17 crown.
Finals:
Men: 2-Harinderpal
Singh Sandhu (TN) bt 4-Vikas Jangra (Navy)
11-3, 11-5, 11-8.
Women: 1-Saumya Karki (Hirnanandani) bt 3-Sachika
Balvani
(Otters Club) 11-4, 11-3, 11-5.
Girls U-13: Aishwarya Battacharya bt 1-Jui Kalgutkar
(Chembur Gym)
11-7, 16-14, 9-11, 11-6.
Girls U-15: 5-Konpal Patni (MP) bt 2-Aishwarya Bhattacharya
(Jindal)
6-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9.
Girls U-17: 1-Saumya Karki (Hiranandani) bt 3-Shria Khatri
(Hiranandani) 11-0, 11-9, 11-0.
Boys U-11: 2-Chaitanya Shah (Bombay Gym) bt 1-Dev Vazirani
(Otters Club) 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9.
Boys U-13: Velavan Senthilkumar (TN) bt 6-Harsh Wadhwa
(Otters Club) 11-6, 11-6, 11-6.
Boys U-15: Madhav Dhingra (Otters Club) bt Sumer Rao
(Otters Club) 11-5, 11-3, 11-8.
Boys U-17: 1-Vrishabh Kotian (TN) bt 2-Deepak Mishra (TN)
11-6, 11-4, 11-6.
Boys U-19: Mahesh Mangaonkar (Mumbai) bt Vrishab Kotian
(TN) 11-3, 11-3, 11-7.
U-9: Veer Chotrani (Otters Club) bt Advait Adik (Otters
Club) 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-5.
Professionals: 4-Parmit Singh (MP) bt 3-Sanjay Pawar (OC)
11-5, 11-4, 11-4.
Men Over 45: Waman Apte (Mumbai) bt Deepak Moolani (Pune)
11-3, 11-9, 11-9. |
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Otters Club the modern hub of Mumbai squash
There is no better hub of squash in Mumbai today than the
Otters Club.
Most of India's top notchers are away training for the
Commonwealth Games in different parts of the world. Yet
there were 700 entries and Rs 12 lakh in prize money from
Devotie, a genteleman's jewelery manufacturer and HSBC, the
worldwide bankers.
The suburban Otters Club, known for producing swimming
champions by the dozens thanks to to coaching of the late
Sandeep Divgikar and his wife Smita and later Radhakrishnan,
took over the baton from the traditional downtown clubs of
Mumbai --Cricket Club of India, Bombay Gymkhana and
Willingdon Sports Club.
Squash was begun at the club, founded by India's water polo
champ Lalu Bajaj in 1972. Among the first officials who took
interest was Aubrey Pereira. In his wake there were the
likes of Rustum Dalal, Suyog Dwivedi and the current lot of
Avinash Bhavnani, Anil Gajwani and Kondon Sabloak and Mickey
Makhija who are running the show sparing time and effort and
love for the kids.
The club has given India its national champs like Meherwan
Daruwala (1984-87), Akhil Behl,(1997) and Manish Chotrani
(1999 and 2001). Also coaches like Chandrakant Pawar,
India's most-crowned professionals winner and Cyrus Poncha
the current National coach.
Surprisingly the women have lagged behind though at junior
level there have been several champs at all age groups. Arif
Patel a champion swimmer also showed promise in squash.
One of the reasons for the junior champs not being evident
at senior level is migration to the Ivy League with nearly
30- odd boys and girls playing for US universities.
This squash drain has been inevitable as there is no future
for the sport in cricket-mad India. But things may change.
The Likes of Ritwik Bhattacharya, Saurav Ghoshal and
Siddharth Suchde have spurned the temptation to be drained away. Suchde is the one who went there and came back and is
India No 2 in the PSA rankings. With PSA events being held
regularly one can hope for a turn and Indian squash will
get back its juniors and improve their best World No 8 spot
which was gained under the leadership of Ritwik at Chennai.
And clubs like Otters would have played a major role in that
firing the imagination of their kids with events like Herald
Maritime Open won by Ramy Ashour, his biggest cheque in his
early career.
www.ottersclub.com |
02-Jul, Semi-Finals:
Sachika Balvani makes it
Otters Day Out - Ritwik beaten, Harry scrapes through
Pradeep Vijayakar reports
Mumbai: No 3 seed Sachika Balvani gave her home
Otters Club crowd plenty to shout about when beating No 2
seed Ankita Sharma in a gruelling five-setter to enter the
women's final of the Rs 12 lakh Otters Devotie Squash Open
at Bandra on Friday.
Sachika who is schooling in the US, plays in the final top
seed Saumya Karki who got a walkover as Delhi girl Sachika
Ingale suffered an accident when a rickshaw hit her,
fracturing her hand. A pity Sachika's dad Ishwin wasn't
around to see her feat as he passed away some years ago. He
had slogged hard to make Sachika and Ishaan squash players
of note.
Sachika led a clutch of Otters finalists with Dev
Vazirani (u-11), Harsh Wadhwa (u-13), Madhav
Dhingra and Sumer Rao (u-15), Veer Chotrani
and Advait Adik (u-9), Paul Ferreira and
Manish Chotrani (over-35) and professional Sanjay
Pawar promising an Otters sweep on Saturday. Veer, the
son of Manish Chotrani all but also made the u-11 final
narrowly losing the decider to Dev Vazirani after a great
effort.
The men's final won't have an Otters player though. Top seed
Ritwik Bhattacharya went crashing to Navy's Vikas Jangra
11-3, 5-11,11-9,11-9. Vikas made Ritwik go back and forth
with winners from the back court and he wilted under the
onsalught. It was Vikas' biggest win of his career. He beat
Saurav Ghoshal during his junior days.
Vikas' cousin, Sandeep, from Air Force, was on course to
upsetting No 2 seed Harinder Pal Sandhu but after
leading 2-0 he allowed his opponent to get back into the
match. The backhand kills and volleys into the nick that had
featured Jangra's early game didn't materialise at crunch
time and in the end Harinder began playing shots as Jangra
tired to lose 9-11, 7-11,11-7,11-3,11-8.
The men's winner takes Rs one lakh. The fine showing of the
Jangras is a feather in the cap of Sunil Verma who mentored
them at Jindal Academy.
No 2 seed Mahesh Mangaonkar claimed the under-19
title beating No 4 Vrishab Kotian from Tamil Nadu
11-3,11-3,11-7. The scores don't convey the closeness of the
tussle and how Kotian made his opponent fight for every
point.In the third Kotian looked like gaining the upperhand
but with Mahesh not willing to let go control of the Kotian
found himself cramped to hit winners.
The Balwani-Sharma match was exciting to watch with both
slugging it out. Sachika, hustled by some obstructions, did
well to keep her cool. Ankita's control gave way at crucial
moments though she had a measure of her opponent whenever
she kept the ball deep to her backhand corner.
Sachika had former Otters player Vishal Kapoor in her corner
while Ankita had Egyptians coaches to back her.In the end
victory went to the player who made less errors and hit
effortless winners from the back, always a hard task in this
sport.
Ankita trailed 7-9 but rallied brilliantly to draw level
until Balvani took the match away with a brilliant boast
that left Ankita stranded.
Results:
Semi-finals: Women: 3-Sachika Balvani (Otters Club) bt
2-Ankita Sharma (Jjuhu Gym) 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9;
Saumya Karki (Hiranandani) wo Sachika Ingale (Del).
Girls U-13: Aishwarya Bhattacharya (Jindal) bt 3-Nikita
Joshi (Otters Club) 11-4, 13-11, 11-8; 1-Jui Kalgutkar (Chembur
Gym) bt 5-Ashita Bengra (TN) 11-2, 11-1, 11-2.
Girls U-17: 3-Shria Khatri (Hiranandani) bt 2-Ankita Sharma
11-9, 11-8, 11-7, Saumya Karki w.o Sachika Ingalre.
Girls U-15: 5-Konpal Patni (MP) bt 1-Aishwarya Nambiar (CCI)
15-13, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7; 2-Aishwarya Bhattacharya (Jindal)
bt 3-Jui Kalgutkar (Chembur Gym) 11-4, 11-7,11-8.
Boys U-11: 2-Chaitanya Shah (Bombay Gym) bt 3-Varun Tiwari
(Delhi) 11-9, 11-7, ,11-7; 1-Dev Vazirani (Otters Club) bt
5-Veer Chotrani (Otters Club) 11-13, 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-5.
Boys U-13: 6-Harsh Wadhwa (Otters Club) bt 7-Dev Vazirani
(Otters Club) 11-8, 11-3, 11-2; Velavan Senthilkumar (TN) bt
1-Ranjit Singh (Delhi) 11-4, 6-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-7.
Boys U-15: Madhav Dhingra (Otters Club) bt 5-Rajat Sharma
(Delhi) 11-8,11-4,11-6;
Sumer Rao (Otters Club) bt Guhan Senthilkumar (TN) 12-10,
14-12, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10.
Boys U-17: 1-Vrishabh Kotian (TN) bt 4-Dhananjay Singh 11-8,
13-11, 11-5; 2-Deepak Mishra (TN) bt 3-Tushar Kothari (Raj)
7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6.
U-9: Veer Chotrani (Otters Club) bt Sankalp Anand 11-5,
11-4, 11-3; Advait Adik (Otters Club) bt Sumer Marwah 11-0,
11-4, 11-0.
Professionals: 4-Parmit Singh (MP) bt 1-Amjad Khan (Delhi)
8-11, 11-4, 11- 5, 11-6; 3-Sanjay Pawar (OC) bt 2-Rohit More
(CCI) 11-2, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11.
Over 35:Paul Ferreira (Otters) bt Avinash Bhavnani (Otters)
11-9,11-9,11-3; Manish Chotrani (Otters) w.o. Gopi Mohite
(Bombay Gym ).
Over 45: Vaman Apte (Bombay Gym) bt Gopi Mohite (Bombay Gym)
11-8,1--12,11-6,11-3; Deepak Moolani (Poona Club) bt Anant
More (CCI) 12-10,11-7,11-13,11-4. |
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Mahesh Mangaonkar gives
Harinder anxious moments
Pradeep Vijayakar reports
Mumbai: Junior Mahesh Mangaonkar, the former British
Junior u-15 champ, is making steady progress in senior
ranks. On Thursday he all but beat No 2 seed Harinder Pal
Sandhu in the men's semis of the Rs 12 lakh Otters Devotie
Squash Open 2010 at Bandra. Mahesh claimed the opening game
and after losing the next two had his moments in the fourth
which went to extra points. Fortune didn't favour the
underdog as Harry got a few lucky nicks that helped him
nudge ahead. After that Harry kept ball in play and the onus
of finishing the rallies made Mahesh make a few unforced
errors that counted in the end.
To the credit of Mangaonkar there were many in the crowd who
thought the lad could have won the tie. In the end
Harinder's experience went in his favour as he won
5-11,11-7,11-9,14-12. He takes on Sandeep Jangra who
had a walkover from Delhi lad Karm Kumar who had a nagging
headache which also caused him to give a walk over to
Mangaonkar in the u-19 semis. Karm had done well to put out
Aditya Jagtap late last night.
The other semi-final will be between top seed Ritwik
Bhattacharya and Vikas Jangra or Vikram Malhotra.
Ritwik met his old foe of four National finals between1998
and 2001, the two of them having won two titles each. The
age difference told clearly but Manish gave his all bringing
into play his once-feared strokes.
Another old-timer on court was Paul Ferreira who
played several Nationals without winning any as Adrian Ezra
and Arjan Singh came in his way. At 36 Paul showed some `zhalak'
of yore with volleys and volley drops while beating Darius
Surti 11-4,11-7,9-11,11-4.``Playing competitive squash after
ten years is no joke. With glasses on it is even more
difficult,'' said Paul who has just given up his career as a
pilot.
Vrishab Kotian played a tight game to beat Delhi's
Shakir Hussain 11-3,11-8,11-9 to make the u-19 final where
he plays Mangaonkar. Tamil Nadu siblings Velavan and
Guhan Senthilkumar also caught the eye. Unseeded Velavan
stunned fourth seed Vedant Baheti of Rajasthan in straight
games in
the boys’ under-13 quarter-finals to set the tone for an
ominous day for the favourites, as second seed Siddhant Iyer
of Jindal Squash Academy and No. 3 Yohann Surti of Bombay
Gymkhana also joined the casualty list.
Unseeded Guhan Senthilkumar, who led 2-1, shocked
boys’ under-15 second seed Harshit Mucchal of Madhya Pradesh
9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10 in a thriller that went the
distance and stretched into extra points in a nail-biting
decider that could have gone either way.
Among the girls, under-13 fifth seed Ashita Bengra of
Tamil Nadu was also forced into the decider against
formidable Anushka Nair before snatching an exciting 6-11,
11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 win to storm into the semi-finals.
In contrast, women’s top three seeds Saumya Karki,
Ankita Sharma and Sachika Balvani of Mumbai eased
into the last four with convincing wins, along with No. 5
Sachika Ingale of Delhi.
Results:
Quarter-finals: Women:
1-Saumya Karki bt Nina
Bajpai (Pune) 11-1, 11-0, 11-1; 3-Sachika Balvani (Otters
Club) bt Aishwarya Kulkarni (Hiranandani) 11-3, 11-7, 11-6;
2-Ankita Sharma (Jjuhu Gym) bt Sahna Shetty 11-2, 11-2,
11-3; 5-Sachika Ingale (Delhi) bt 4-Shria Khatri
(Hiranandani) 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5.
Girls U-13: 3-Nikita Joshi (Otters Club) bt Koel Shankar
(Khar Gym) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7; 5-Ashita Bengra (TN) bt Anushka
Nair 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5; 2-Aishwarya Battacharya
bt 7-Vridhi Joshi (MP) 11-1, 11-1, 11-5.
Girls U-17: 3-Shria Khatri (Hiranandani) bt 6-Aishwarya
Nambiar (CC) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6; 5-Sachika Ingale (Delhi) bt
4-Sachika Balvani (Otters Club) 11-6, 11-7, 11-5, 12-10;
2-Ankita Sharma bt Maanvi Chopra 11-2, 11-3, 11-1; 1-Saumya
Karki bt Namrata Purohit (Khar Gym) 11-4, 11-4, 11-1.
Girls U-15: 1-Aishwarya Nambiar (CC) bt Natasha Maheshwari
(Otters Club) 11-3, 11-1, 11-1; 5-Konpal Patni (MP) bt
Akanksha Salunkhe (Goa) 11-1, 11-9, 11-2; 2-Aishwarya
Bhattacharya (Jindal) bt Divya Gursahani (Khar Gym) 11-8,
11-4, 11-8; 3-Jui Kalgutkar (Chembur Gym) bt 6-Vridhi Doshi
(MP) 11-6, 11-2, 11-6.
Boys U-11: 3-Varun Tiwari (Delhi) bt 6-Tushar Shahani
(Otters Club) 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5; 2-Chaitanya Shah
(Bombay Gym) bt 7-Aryan Parekh (Matunga Gym) 11-8, 11-3,
10-12, 11-7; 1-Dev Vazirani (Otters Club) bt 8-Advait Adik
(Otters Club) 11-4, 11-4, 11-6.
Boys U-13: 1-Ranjit Singh (Delhi) bt Divyanshu Sharma
(Noida) 11-9, 11-6, 11-7; Velavan Senthilkumar (TN) bt
4-Vedant Baheti (Raj) 11-6, 11-7, 11-9; 6-Harsh Wadhwa
(Otters Club) bt 3-Yohann Surti (Bombay Gym) 11-9,
8-11, 11-3, 12-10; 7-Dev Vazirani (Otters Club) bt
2-Siddhant Iyer (Jindal) 4-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-0.
Boys U-15: Madhav Dhingra (Otters Club) bt Armaan Shaikh
(WSC) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4; Sumer Rao (Otters Club) bt Kunj
Rawani (NSCI) 13-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-6; 5-Rajat Sharma
(Delhi) bt Ashraf Hussain (Delhi) 11-5, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7;
Guhan Senthilkumar (TN) bt 2-Harshit Mucchal (MP) 9-11,
11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10.
Boys U-17: 3-Tushar Kothari (Raj) bt 6Aditya Advani (Delhi)
11-8, 11-6, 11-9.
Boys U-19: 8-Shakir Hussain (Delhi) bt Vardhan Ladiwala
(CCI) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8; 2-Mahesh Mangaonkar (Mah) bt
7-Tushar Kothari (Raj) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5; 4-Vrishabh Kotian
(TN) bt 5-Deepak Mishra (TN) 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7;
3-Karm Kumar (Delhi) bt Rohan Vora 11-6, 11-4, 11-4.
U-9: Veer Chotrani (Otters Club) bt Yash Dhairyavan (Khar
Gym) 11-0, 11-2, 11-2; Advait Adik bt Neel Joshi (Otters
Club) 11-7, 11-2, 11-4.
Men’s Over-35: Avinash Bhavnani (Otters Club) bt Sanjay
Goyal (Mah) 9-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-4.
Friday: 9 a.m. (Otters Devotie Squash Open, at the Otters
Club, Bandra)
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