JSW CCI International 2017
05-10 Nov, Mumbai, India, $50k

The sun set on a historic cricket pitch and there it was, standing out, beautiful and blue, a squash court. And what is more, there was a thrill about, as it was all set for a final between two strong players, Nicolas Müller from Switzerland and India’s very own, Saurav Ghosal.

The first game began with both players going neck to neck, with Ghosal climbing the ladder only one step ahead of Müller. However, two factors allowed Ghosal to make his way to taking the first game 11-6: Müller’s multiple shots into the tin and Ghosal’s consistent use of depth and width.

The second game saw a similar pattern, but this time with Müller taking the slight lead at 5-4 midway through the game. This slight change was a direct result of Müller cutting down his mistakes and forcing the ball into the corners. However, Müller seemed to allow his frustration with the referee get to him, and went on to lose his lead. This pattern continued, and Ghosal managed to get good drops that found him at 10-7 game ball. A well set up rally that sent Müller flying the wrong way gave him the game 11-8, along with a concrete two game lead over the Swiss number one.

The third game saw two tidal waves, with the first being Ghosal speeding through the first game and taking an early yet pronounced 7-1 lead over Müller. This was owed, once again, to a plethora of tins by Müller. But lo and behold, there was that second tidal wave that brought with it some drama and excitement as, Müller used a new-found confidence to play daring shots and come very close to leveling the game score. But alas, a Swiss-themed Indian drama (don’t we love those?) it was not to be, as Ghosal finally gave the majority of the crowd what it was there to see: an Indian champion. Saurav Ghosal beat Nicolas Müller in straight sets to win the JSW Indian Squash Circuit CCI International 2017.

Saurav Ghosal:
“I’m really happy to win in India especially given that this is my biggest win in a PSA game...What is really important is that I have played some good Squash here and enjoyed it; and winning the Tournament has been the added bonus. It’s been a privilege being here. Thank you CCI, JSW and all the other associate partners for organizing this in Mumbai. Hopefully we can make it bigger and have more tournaments all over India, which will help everyone especially the juniors behind us...Thanks a lot everyone!”

Ritwik Bhattcharya:
"It is superb when an Indian wins the biggest PSA tournament in the year. We look forward to having more tournaments and more champions from India!"

Tournament Promoter Raj Arora of Ivy Sports:
" We couldn't have asked for a better finish to this fantastic event. Very grateful to JSW, CCI and of course the players for this wonderful Tournament."

 Photos: Nitesh Square/Indian Squash Circuit

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Qualifying:

Finals, 06-Nov:
Ammar Altamimi (Kuw) 3-1 Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)   11/6, 11/9, 10/12, 11/5 (35m)
Peter Creed (Wal) 3-1 Abhay Singh (Ind)                 11/8, 11/5, 6/11, 11/7 (51m)
Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind) 3-1 Carlos Cornes (Esp)    11/4, 11/4, 10/12, 11/7 (58m)
Mazen Gamal (Egy) 3-0 Alex Noakes (Eng)                       11/5, 11/5, 11/6 (40m)

Round One, 05-Nov:
Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 3-0 Ahmas Al-Mudhaf (Kuw)           11/6, 11/8, 11/5 (26m)
Ammar Altamimi (Kuw) 3-0 Sandeep Jangra (Ind)              11/8, 11/3, 12/10 (27m)
Abhay Singh (Ind) 3-0 Ben Coates (Eng)                          11/3, 11/2, 11/7 (25m)
Peter Creed (Wal) 3-0 Robert Downer (Eng)                      11/4, 11/2, 11/6 (31m)
Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind) 3-0 Ashish Keskar (Ind)               11/8, 11/6, 11/8 (44m)
Carlos Cornes (Esp) 3-2 Aditya Jagtap (Ind)   11/8, 11/9, 8/11, 10/12, 15/13 (89m)
Alex Noakes (Eng) 3-1 Aadit Zaveri (Ind)                11/8, 9/11, 12/10, 11/3 (49m)
Mazen Gamal (Egy) 3-0 Ravi Dizit (Ind)                            11/7, 11/8, 11/4 (26m)

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Match reports from Sachika Irshwin Balvani

The first game of the semi-finals saw Tandon, the underdog and crowd favourite, go down 1-4 to Swiss world number 28, Nicolas Müller. Tandon seemed to be slightly off his game from his five-game epic win over Spain’s Borja Golan in yesterday’s quarter final match, and struggled to return Müller’s good length, giving Müller loose shots and hence the ability to finish the rallies and force Tandon’s mistakes.

Tandon came back stronger in the second game, keeping the scores close in the first half of the game. Tandon hit a few good shots which worked successfully as winners, and forced a couple of mistakes from Müller. However, Müller did not lose his established depth and excellent use of the drop to keep Tandon at bay.

After a three-minute injury timeout midway through the game, Tandon returned to level the score at 7 all. But he could not keep up, and Müller took the game. In the third game, Tandon wowed the crowed with a few dying nicks, but to no avail- he seemed unable to move to the best of his ability.

On the other hand, Müller stuck to his pattern and won the match in a decisive three-game victory.

The first game of the second semi saw the Egyptian establish his dominance early in the game, and though the rallies were long, it was Mosaad who finally pulled through the second half of the game, 11-5.

But Ghosal returned the favour, leveling the match score by winning the second game 11-4, working Mosaad considerably more to get to each ball.

While this set the stage for a strong Mosaad comeback in the third game, it was Saurav who, by taking the ball earlier, managed to push Mosaad in all corners and force mistakes, earning and 7-3 lead. With both players having their fair share of fall-outs with the referees, the match went on to become more heated, but it was finally Ghosal who earned a 10-5 lead.

Though Mosaad fought to make a comeback, bringing the score up to 8-10, a final tin cost him the game and gave Ghosal the upper hand. The fourth game was destined to be the final one, as Ghosal kept Mosaad moving from corner to corner right from the start. Mosaad won the crowd’s respect at match ball, when he changed the referee’s stroke decision (which offered him a much-needed point) to a let.

Ghosal, however won the fourth game 11-8 to win the match and beat Mosaad for the first time in his career, and will go on to play Nicolas Müller in tomorrow’s final.

 Photos: Nitesh Square/Indian Squash Circuit

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Match reports from Sachika Irshwin Balvani

The first game of the semi-finals saw Tandon, the underdog and crowd favourite, go down 1-4 to Swiss world number 28, Nicolas Müller. Tandon seemed to be slightly off his game from his five-game epic win over Spain’s Borja Golan in yesterday’s quarter final match, and struggled to return Müller’s good length, giving Müller loose shots and hence the ability to finish the rallies and force Tandon’s mistakes.

Tandon came back stronger in the second game, keeping the scores close in the first half of the game. Tandon hit a few good shots which worked successfully as winners, and forced a couple of mistakes from Müller. However, Müller did not lose his established depth and excellent use of the drop to keep Tandon at bay.

After a three-minute injury timeout midway through the game, Tandon returned to level the score at 7 all. But he could not keep up, and Müller took the game. In the third game, Tandon wowed the crowed with a few dying nicks, but to no avail- he seemed unable to move to the best of his ability.

On the other hand, Müller stuck to his pattern and won the match in a decisive three-game victory.

The first game of the second semi saw the Egyptian establish his dominance early in the game, and though the rallies were long, it was Mosaad who finally pulled through the second half of the game, 11-5.

But Ghosal returned the favour, leveling the match score by winning the second game 11-4, working Mosaad considerably more to get to each ball.

While this set the stage for a strong Mosaad comeback in the third game, it was Saurav who, by taking the ball earlier, managed to push Mosaad in all corners and force mistakes, earning and 7-3 lead. With both players having their fair share of fall-outs with the referees, the match went on to become more heated, but it was finally Ghosal who earned a 10-5 lead.

Though Mosaad fought to make a comeback, bringing the score up to 8-10, a final tin cost him the game and gave Ghosal the upper hand. The fourth game was destined to be the final one, as Ghosal kept Mosaad moving from corner to corner right from the start. Mosaad won the crowd’s respect at match ball, when he changed the referee’s stroke decision (which offered him a much-needed point) to a let.

Ghosal, however won the fourth game 11-8 to win the match and beat Mosaad for the first time in his career, and will go on to play Nicolas Müller in tomorrow’s final.

 Photos: Nitesh Square/Indian Squash Circuit

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