DELHI & NORTH INDIA TOP 8 SQUASH LEAGUE -  2011
12 to 15^th August  at  Kendriya  Vidalaya  R K Puram  , New Delhi               

SQUASH MEN’S  U-21 CATEGORY  PREMIERS IN DELHI

The trainees and players of the Kendriya Vidayala Sector 8 , RK Puram  Squash Academy  won 7 of the 10 Titles and 35  of the  68 ranking positions contested. They also acquired 23 of the top 4 positions out of the 39 contested . The Noida Stadium players also excelled in the junior boys categories but due a lack of senior boys and fewer girls they had to forgo those positions. They won 3 Titles and 11 ranking positions with 7 of them in the top 4. A healthy competition between the academies with an amalgamated ranking is promoting squash and encouraging talent . The proximity of both academies to Delhi/UP and Haryana are tapping talent from all 3 states to hone a pool of talent to compete against Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the only states which pose the main challenge to the Delhi NCR players.

The advent of the Men U-21 category for the 2^nd time in India after its premiere in Mumbai a month ago was a stupendous success. The pressure of the college syllabus had made it nearly impossible for this category to compete with the Men’s circuit professionals and thus travelling for the concurrently hosted Poona Open to play in one category only seemed like an expensive proposition with no financial returns and thus this new age group fulfilled this gap.

The final of this new category was at 75 minutes the longest and most exciting match of the tournament . The first two games were won by Karm with relative ease as Rishi made too many uncharacteristic unforced errors despite being interspersed by some superb rallies. In the third Rishi was more focused and aggressive  while Karm  tried to tire Rishi with too many weak boasts which were put away easily and at 8 all Karm made unforced errors to lose the set. The 4^th set followed the same pattern and Karm made more errors and sent Rishi in front by weak drops and boasts amid long tiring rallies . Karm again made  the errors at 8 all and lost the 4^th set. In the 5^th set  Rishi took a slight  lead  as  Karm’s strategy  to move Rishi all over the court without going for the finish was not successful. One long  grueling rally which Rishi won despite being stretched to all the four corners seemed to be the turning point as after  that a tired Rishi  started  diving and slipping  and finally going for misconceived winners which ended in the tin. A nail biting match with all the drama reminiscent of the ongoing CSA  Rochester (Karm) versus Cornell(Rishi)  intercollegiate rivalry  was extended  to the Indian shores.

The other landmark  was a 5 set encounter between the eight year old child progeny Megha Bhatia who had already won the U-11 by a 3-1 margin and now taking on the double her size 12 year old Ananiya Rustogi for the U-13 title. Megha is probably the most focused , determined and technically correct player in her age category. Like Geoff Hunt and Nicol David she holds her racket up and volleys the ball. Her other weapons besides speed are the high straight drives , deft drops , lobs and an uncanny knack of making her opponents move to all corners of the court. In the very closely fought 5 setter Megha only lost  11-7 in the 5^th due to Ananiya’s ability to hit the ball much harder but the future belongs to this  incredibly talented tiny tot.

The U-19 final which was played a few days earlier due to some prior commitments between Uttkarsh Kumar of St Stephans (winner DU trials) and Abhijit Mallik  was a high quality match played at incredible speed and with both players wrong footing  and moving each other every inch of the court. Uttkarsh finally won 3 – 1 in the 4^th due to his superior fitness.

Harshit who had no competition in the Girls U-15 decided to compete with the boys and reached the finals without losing a set. But here she faced  the wily Robin Maan whom she had beaten the last weekend in the preliminary ranking matches. Harshit  was passive and listless while  Robin took the initiatives and was more consistent this time, winning  11-7, 9-11, 11–4, 11–9.

The boys U - 17 final was a washout as Divij (unwell) gave a walkover to Ranvijay Singh (NST). The U-13 final was a one sided affair as Robin Maan defeated his  valiant younger academy  mate  Yash Bhargava 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 .  

The U-11 final was a very tame affair as Sankalp Anand of KVSA toyed with Gautam Nagpal coinciding only 9 points in 3 sets.

The girls U-19/17 combined final was also disrupted as Tanvi Khanna was suffering from a stomach ailment  and thus Janet Vidhi got a second chance to upset top seed Harshit Kaur. But Harshit’ clinical performance by   putting  up the pace and finishing the short balls with kills or drops ended any possibility of a comeback by Janet and the former won 11-5, 11–3, 11–7.

The U-15 final  was one sided and devoid of any long  or  enthralling rallies  and Isha Srivastava  won against   Amaya Kothari 11 – 1 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 8 without much effort.

The U-11 final between the sensational find Megha and talented but temperamental Maitreyi lost its charm due to unnecessary arguments between a parent and the referee  resulting in Megha winning 10-12, 11–6, 11–9, 11–0 as Maitreyi tanked the last set without a fight.

This flexi round robin tournament was a huge success as there were hardly any walkovers as a substitute player of the same standard was available for the ladder matches resulting in mostly evenly contested encounters,  and thus evolving a fair system of seeding. The gist of this league is that it is an ongoing process and players who could not compete due to other commitments can every weekend challenge the players they perceive they can beat.

The prizes were given by Misha Grewal, the ex 5 times National Champion, WISPA 27 and Arjuna Awardee and the new KV principal Mr. Sunil Shrivastava  

 

CATEGORY	WINNERS	RUNNERS - UP	3RD PLACE	4TH PLACE	TOTAL
MEN U - 21	8,000  Karm K	Dunlop R + 1000	4,000 Ashray	3,000 Abhijit	16,000 + Prize
BOYS U - 19	7,000 Uttkarsh	4,000 Abhijit	3,000 Ranvijay	2,000  Diwij	16,000
BOYS U - 17	7,000  Ranvijay	Muscle M  Diwij K	2,500 Abhishek	Head R  Ashraf	9,500 + Prize
BOYS U – 15 (First 8 )	7,000    Robin M	5,000  Harshit K	3,000   Yash B	2,000 Romerio	17,000
BOYS U – 15 (5 to 8 )	5th  PLACE	6th  PLACE	7th PLACE	8th  PLACE
PRIZES	Head TS  Harsh J	Head TS Adhiraj	Head TS  Vedant	ISP T – Shirt  Vishrut	Prizes
BOYS U - 13	5,000    Robin M	3,000  Yash B	2,000 Sambhav	1000 Anuraag	11,000
BOYS U - 11	Head BCPK + 1,000	D Eyewear Gautam	1,000  Tejas	Himanshu	2,000 + Prizes
GIRLS U -19 / 17	7,000  Harshit	5,000 Tanvi	4,000  Janet	3,000 Diya	19,000
GIRLS U -15	Head BCPK + 1,000	3,000 Amaya K			4,000 + Prize
GIRLS U -13 (First4 Combined)	3,000  Ananaya R	2,000  Megha	1000   Maitreyi	500 Ananaya K	6,500
GIRLS U -11	Head BCPK Megha	1,500   Maitreyi			1,500
TOTAL					1,02,500

GIFTS
5 HEAD  BACKPACKS	1 HEAD SQUASH RACKET		4 HEAD T – SHIRTS L
1 BOX MUSCLE FLUID	1 DUNLOP SQUASH RACKET		1 ISP  T - SHIRTS
SPECIAL PRIZES	Best Player Kendriya Vidyalaya	Most Improved Player		Patient/Fairplay	Most Enthusiastic Player
	Shaurya    Head TS	Abhay Mehta		M Ashraf	Neel Soni
SPECIAL PRIZES	Head T-Shirt	Head BCPK		Head Racket	Head BCPK
Some of the Prize money or Gifts may be subject to change due to unavoidable circumstances
Certificates  of Merit  and Participation will be given late later

ALL RESULTS

Finals:

Mens U-21 Finals: 
Karm Kumar bt Rishi Jalan 11- 3, 11 – 5, 8 – 11, 8 – 11, 11 – 8  
Semi Finals : 
Karm Kumar ( Rochester ) bt  Uttkarsh Kumar 11 – 3 , 12 -10 , 11 – 7
Rishi Jalan bt Ashray Ohri  12 – 10 , 11- 7 , 11 – 7

Boys U – 19 
Uttkarsh Kumar (STP)  bt Abhijit Mallik 12 – 10 , 13 – 11 , 3 – 11,  11 - 6  
Round Robin  - Ranvijay bt  Arjun Minocha  11 – 4 , 11 – 8 , 11 – 7 
3^rd position  :
Ranvijay   Singh w/o Divij Kadan (unwell)  

Semi Finals :
Divij Kadan bt Arjun Minocha 11 – 1 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 3 

Boys U – 17    
Ranvijay   Singh w/o Divij Kadan (unwell)                                          

Boys U – 15:  
Robin Mann bt Harshit Kaur 11-7, 9 -11, 11 – 4, 11 – 9

Boys U – 13:  
Robin Mann bt Yash Bhargav  11- 6 , 11 – 7 , 11 - 6

Boys U – 11: 
Sankalp Anand bt  Gautam Nagpal 11 – 5 , 11 – 2 , 11 - 2

Girls U-19/17:   
Harshit Kaur w/o Tanvi Khanna)  (unwell) 

Semifinals:
Harshit Kaur bt   Diya Kumar  11 – 9 , 11 – 3 , 11 – 8   
Tanvi Khanna bt  Janet Vidhi  11 – 9 , 7 – 11 , 8 – 11 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 6  

Substitute Finals : 
Harshit Kaur bt Janet Vidhi  11- 5 , 11- 3  , 11 – 7

Girls  U-15:
Isha Srivastava  bt   Amaya Kothari 11 – 1 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 8                          

Girls U-13 : 
Ananiya Rustogi bt Megha Bhatia  12 – 10 , 7-11 , 11 – 7 , 10 – 12 , 11 - 7

Girls  U-11 :
Megha Bhatia bt Maitreyi Srivastava 12 – 10 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 0 

 RESULTS -  DELHI & NORTH INDIA TOP 8 SQUASH LEAGUE -  2011

(Flexi round robbin to determine exact rank positioning)

MEN  U – 21  TOP 8

4/8/11  - Ashrey Ohri (Hansraj C) bt Uttkarsh Kumar (St Stephans)  8 – 11 , 13 -11 , 6 – 11 , 11 – 8 , 11 – 2
6/8/11 - Ashrey Ohri  bt Ashaya Jain  11 – 6 , 11 – 6 , 11 - 4  
7/8/11 – Ishan Ghosh (Stephans )  bt Ashaya Jain 11 – 9 , 9 – 11 , 11 - 4  , 6 – 11 , 11 – 5 
12/8/11 – Ashrey Ohri bt Abhijit Mallik (Sanskriti) 9 – 11 , 11 – 5 , 11 – 5 , 11 – 7 
13 /8/11  - Adhiraj Mehra bt Sheeban      11 – 6 , 11 – 4 , 12 – 10 
13 /8/11  - Arjun Minocha bt Adhiraj Mehra  11 – 7 , 12 – 10 , 12 – 10                          
13 /8/11  - Abhijit Mallik bt  Ashaya Jain  11 – 4 , 11 – 8 , 11 - 8  
12/8/11 –Semi Finals  Karm Kumar (Rochester) bt  Uttkarsh Kumar 11 – 3 , 12 -10 , 11 – 7
13 /8/11 – Semi Finals -  Rishi Jalan bt Ashray Ohri  12 – 10 , 11- 7 , 11 – 7 
15/8/11 – FINALS – Karm Kumar bt Rishi Jalan 11- 3 , 11 – 5 , 8 – 11 , 8 – 11 , 11 – 8

BOYS     U –  19  TOP 8
9/8/11 – Mayank Sharma (DPS)  bt Kartika Rustogi (Venkatashwara C) 
13 /8/11 - Divij Kadan bt Arjun Minocha 11 – 1 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 3
13 /8/11 - Ranvijay bt Devrath Jalan 12 – 10 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 6  
13/8/11 -  Abhijit Mallik   bt   Divij Kadan  11 – 6 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 3 
14 /8/11 - Ranvijay bt  Arjun Minocha  11 – 4 , 11 – 8 , 11 – 7 
15/8/11 -   3^rd position  –Ranvijay   Singh w/o Divij Kadan (unwell)                                           
FINAL  -  Uttkarsh Kumar (STP)  bt Abhijit Mallik    12 – 10 , 13 – 11 , 3 – 11 , 11 - 6 

BOYS   U –  17  TOP 16
12/8/11 – Shrey Satpathy (KV) bt Arnav Vohra (DPS ) 11 – 6 , 8 – 11 , 6 – 11 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 6   
12/8/11 – Abhishek Kumar ( Modern VV) ) bt   Shaurya Sharma (KV) 11 – 4 , 11 – 8 , 11 - 4
13 /8/11 -  Ranvijay bt  Ashraf Hussain 7 – 11 , 11- 8 12 – 10 ,11 – 6 
13 /8/11 – Aryaman Rustogi bt Arnav Vohra 11 – 6 , 10 -12 , 12 – 10 , 7 – 11 , 11 – 6 
13/8/11 -  Janet Vidhi  bt   Shaurya Sharma  11 – 9 , 9 – 11 , 7-11 , 11 – 9 , 12 -10                        
13/8/11 -  Shaurya Sharma  bt  Shrey Satpathy 11 – 9 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 3
13/8/11 - Romario Pavan bt  Shrey Satpathy 11- 7 , 7 – 11 , 11 – 9 , 11 - 7   
14/8/11 – Abhishek Kumar  bt Ashraf Hussain 5-11 , 11 – 4 , 3 – 11 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 8                         
14/8/11 – Harsh Jain bt Aryaman Rustogi   11 – 8 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 8 
15/8/11 – Semi Finals Ranvijay   Singh bt    Abhishek Kumar     11 – 2 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 0                          
Finals -  15/8/11 –Ranvijay   Singh w/o Divij Kadan (unwell)                                            

BOYS   U –  15  TOP 16
7/8/11 – Utsav Dhingra bt Anubhav Sawra    10 – 12 , 11 – 4 , 12 – 10 , 11 – 2 , 11 – 8
13/8/11 – Harshit Kaur bt Niclaus John (Pathways)     11 – 2 , 11 – 2 , 11 - 3
13/8/11- Robin Maan bt Romario Pavan   11 – 8 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 6                                      
13/8/11- Adhiraj Mathur bt Utsav Dhingra 11 – 8 , 12 – 10 , 11 – 6                                         
13/8/11 – Vishrut Kohli (Ahlcon) bt Vedant Aggarwal (Pathways)  10 – 12 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 9 , 12 – 10 
13/8/11 – Rehan Luthra(Vasant Valley) bt Rohil Bagga   12 – 10 , 13- 11 , 9 – 11 , 6 – 11 , 13 – 11
13/8/11 – Rohil Bagga (Sanskriti) bt Anant Kapoor (St Colombus)   11 – 7 , 13 – 11 , 11 – 9 
14/8/11 – Yash Bhargava bt Romario Pavan   11-9, 9-11, 11-5 , 2-11 , 11 – 8
14/8/11 – Sambhav Anand bt Rohil Bagga   11 – 7 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 13 , 11 – 7
14/8/11 – Jai Minocha bt Siddharth Singhania  11 – 9 ,  12 -  14, 11 – 6 , 8 – 11 , 11 - 7
14/8/11 – Utsav Dhingra bt Siddharth Singhania   11 -5 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 6 
14/8/11 -  Anuraag Jain bt  Jai Minocha   11- 5 , 11 – 2 , 11 – 4
14/8/11 - Adhiraj Mathur bt Vishrut Kohli 11 – 6 , 4 – 11 , 11 – 2                                           
14/8/11 -  Niclaus John bt Anant Kapoor    11 – 3 , 11 – 7 , 11 – 6 
14/8/11 -  Anubhav Sawra bt Rehan Luthra  10-12 , 11 -7 , 6-11 , 12 – 10 , 11 – 4 
14/8/11 - Adhiraj Mathur bt Vedant Aggarwal  8 – 11 , 11 -9 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 7
14/8/11 - Utsav Dhingra bt Jai Minocha   11- 4 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 2
15/8/11 – Harsh Jain bt Adhiraj Mathur  11 – 2 , 11 – 5 , 11 – 9 
BOYS FINAL – Robin Mann bt Harshit Kaur   11-7, 9 -11, 11 – 4, 11 – 9                                               

BOYS   U –  13  TOP  
11/8/11 – Sankalp Anand (DPS)  bt Siddharth Singhania   3 – 11 , 11 – 8 , 11 – 9 , 8 – 11 , 11 -6     
12/8/11 – Siddharth Singhania bt Akhil Mittal ( Vasant Valley ) 13 -  11 , 11 – 7 , 11 – 3                                  
13/8/11 -   Anuraag Jain (Alchon )bt Siddharth Singhania 11 – 3 , 11 – 5 , 11 - 7                                
13/8/11 – Sambhav Anand (DPS)  bt  Anuraag Jain 11 – 2 , 6 – 11 , 11 – 9 , 6 – 11 , 11 – 5
3^RD PLACE   14/8/11 – Yash Bhargava bt Sambhav Anand 11 – 7 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 6
14/8/11 -  Anuraag Jain bt Sankalp Anand 11 – 7 , 11 - 5 , 11 – 3 
BOYS FINAL – Robin Mann bt Yash Bhargav  11- 6 , 11 – 7 , 11 - 6  

BOYS   U –  11  TOP 6
13/8/11 – Gautam Nagpal bt Neel Soni  11 – 6 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 7 
13/8/11– Sankalp Anand bt Tejas Chawla 11 – 3 , 11 – 5
13/8/11– Tejas Chawla  bt Neel Soni 11-8 , 11 – 5 , 11 - 6
14/8/11 – Gautam Nagpal bt  Tejas Chawla  11 – 4 , 11 – 9 , 9 - 11 , 11 – 9  , 14 - 12                         
14/8/11 – Gautam Nagpal bt   Himanshu Minocha 8 – 11, 11 – 4 , 11 – 9 , 13 – 11
14/8/11– Tejas Chawla  bt   Mayank Sachdev 11 – 8 , 11 – 7 , 11 - 4                  
14/8/11 – Gautam Nagpal bt   Neel Soni  11 – 6 , 11 – 7 , 11 – 7
14/8/11 – Gautam Nagpal bt   Mayank Sachdeva  11 – 8 , 11 – 3 , 7 – 11 , 11 – 4
14/8/11– Sankalp Anand bt Himanshu Minocha  11- 6 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 3
14/8/11– Mayank Sachdeva bt Neel Soni  11- 7 , 11 – 8 , 11 – 7 
14/8/11– Himanshu Minocha  bt Tejas Chawla  11 – 7 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 5 
15/8/11 – 3/4^th place  Tejas Chawla bt Himanshu Minocha  11 – 5, 11- 9 , 14 – 16 , 11 – 4 
15/8/11 – Semi Finals Gautam Nagpal bt Himanshu Minocha   9-11 , 11 – 5 , 11 – 4 , 8 – 11 , 11 – 8 
15/8/11 – Gautam Nagpal bt Tejas Chawla  11 – 4 , 11 – 9 , 9 - 11 , 14 - 12
15/8/11 – FINAL  Sankalp Anand bt  Gautam Nagpal   11 – 5 , 11 – 2 , 11 - 2

GIRLS   U –  17/ 19  TOP 4
7/8/11 – Harshit Kaur bt Janet Vidhi  11- 6 , 9 – 11 , 11 – 7 , 12 – 10
13/8/11 -  Janet Vidhi  bt Diya Kumar 10 – 12 , 14 – 12 , 5 – 11 , 11 – 5 , 11 – 6  
14/8/11 -  Harshit Kaur bt   Diya Kumar 11 – 9 , 11 – 3 , 11 – 8    
14/8/11 -  Tanvi Khanna bt  Janet Vidhi 11 – 9 , 7 – 11 , 8 – 11 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 6                        
15/8/11 – Harshit Kaur bt Janet Vidhi  11- 5 , 11- 3  , 11 – 7  

GIRLS   U –  15 TOP 4
7/8/11 – Malvika Singh (PTW) bt Ananya Kumar (MDN  VV) 8-11 , 11 – 3 , 11 – 3
7/8/11 – Isha Srivastava (SHR)  bt Malvika Singh (PTW)  11 – 4 , 11 – 8                     
13/8/11 – Isha Srivastava  bt   Ananiya Rustogi      
GIRLS U-15 FINALS  -  15/8/11 – Isha Srivastava  bt   Amaya Kothari 11 – 1 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 8                                                                          

GIRLS   U –  13 TOP 4
13/8/11 -  Ananiya Kumar bt Simran Nagpal – 13 – 11 , 11 – 5 , 11 – 2
13/8/11 – Ananiya Rustogi bt  Anmol Kaur 3-0  11 – 1 , 11 – 2 , 11 - 2   
14/8/11 – Maitreyi Srivastava  bt  Ananiya Kumar   3 – 1   11 – 3 , 5 – 11 , 11 – 7 , 11 - 2  
14/8/11 – Ananiya Rustogi bt  Isha Bhatnagar 3 – 0  11 – 1 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 3
14/8/11 – Megha Bhatia bt Simran Nagpal  3- 0  11 – 1 , 11 – 5 , 11 - 1
14/8/11-  Isha Bhatnagar   bt  Simran Nagpal 3-0  11 – 8 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 6
14/8/11 – Megha Bhatia bt  Ananiya Kumar  3-2  11- 7 , 12 – 10 , 9-11 , 9 – 11, 11-8 
15/8/11 –FINALS -  Ananiya Rustogi bt Megha Bhatia 3 – 2  12 – 10 , 7-11 , 11 – 7 , 10 – 12 , 11 - 7

GIRLS   U –  11  TOP 4
7/8/11 – Maitreyi Srivastava (Shriram) bt Isha Bhatnagar (Pathways) 3-0  11 – 3 , 11 – 5 , 11 – 3
7/8/11 – Megha Bhatia bt Isha Bhatnagar  3 – 0   11 – 5 , 11 – 1 , 11 – 3 
7/8/11 – Ananiya Rustogi(British S )  bt Megha Bhatia (DPS)   3 – 2  9 – 11 , 15 – 13 , 9 – 11 , 11 – 4 , 11 – 6 
13/8/11 -  Megha Bhatia bt Simran Nagpal 3-0  11 – 1 , 11 – 5 , 11-1
GIRLS U-11 FINALS  - 13/8/11 -  Megha Bhatia bt Maitreyi Srivastava 3 – 1   12 – 10 , 11 – 6 , 11 – 9 , 11 – 0                           

103rd Tournament Organised by ISP