Shivangi
wins battle of siblings Mahesh overcomes jitters in u-13 final (Article
in DNA, Mumbai : 12/9/2005)
Shivangi won the battle of Paranjape’s to clinch the
girls under-19 title in the Airtel All India School/Colleges Squash
Championship at the Khar Gymkhana court here on Sunday. Shivangi outpaced
her elder sister Madhura in straight games 11-5, 11-10, 11-10 to clinch the title.
Sandeep Jangra denied Vikram Malhotra the double
crown beating him 3-0 in the u-19 boys section. Vikram had won the
under-17 title earlier in the day. Sandeep went on to notch up a 11-9,
12-10, 15-13 in the match which lasted for 75 minutes.
Shivangi had an easy first game 11-5. But the
experienced Madhura came up with her best in the second game, but could
not rise when it mattered the most. Down 9-10 in the game, Shivangi
overcame the game points to clinch the issue 12-10.
Madhura had more advantage in the third game as she
was up 10-6. But the stubborn Shivangi rallied superbly to complete her
mission with a 12-10 final verdict.
“Yes, it was fraustrating, I was down 6-10. But a
few unforced errors by my sister (Madhura) made things easy for me,” said
Shivangi. “Things did not work out well for me. I did have an upper hand
in the second and third games but, I ran out of idea,” stated Madhura who
has not won against her younger sister in their last four meetings.
Mahesh Mangaonkar over came mid-game jitters before
prevailing over Abhishek Jagtap to be crowned as the under-13 champion in
an all Don Bosco affair.
Squash
Championship: Vikram, Saumya in quarters (Article
in Free Press Journal, Mumbai : 10/9/2005)
Playing true to reputation, top seed Vikram Malhotra
from H R College who was quite consistent with his stroke selection, had
little progress as he recorded a comfortable straight games 11-6, 11-9,
11-5 victory over Pranay Merchant in the boys under-17 pre quarter finals
of the Khar Gymkhana Airtel All India School/College Individual Squash
Championship being played at Khar Gymkhana on Friday.
The third day of the tournament, conducted under the
auspices of the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra, also witnessed
second seed Naishad Lalwani charting an identical course on his way to the
last eight stage. Coming up with a solid performance, Lalwani was never
really stretched against Pune’s Deerav Moolani before chalking out a
comfortable win.
In a category where the matches went on the expected
lines with the fancied players coming through, third seed Laxman Joshi
enroute to making his way into the quarters, encountered initial
resistance from Jay Bhagat before getting into his stride for a 11-10,
11-5, 11-7, win.
Coming up with impressive performances, Shivangi
Paranjpe and Sandeep Jangra hogged the limelight by clinching the girls
and boys under-19 titles respectively on the concluding day of the Khar
Gymkhan Airtel All India School/College Individual Squash Open
Championship.
In what was excepted to be an evenly contested
encounter, the second seed Shivangi had things in countrol for a major
part of the match as she accounted for her elder sister Madhura in
straight games 11-5, 11-10, 11-10 to stamp her supremancy in girls
under-19 section at Khar Gymkhana on Sunday.
Later in the boys-19 summit clash, which was also the
last event scheduled, top seed Jindal Academy’s Sandeep Jangra encountered
some initial resistance from Vikram Malhotra, the second seed before
coming through in straight games by the scoreline of 11-8, 11-10, 11-10.
In afiercely contested match for the third place
played in this category, fourth seed Naishad Lalwani was made to work much
better of Laxman Joshi.
Overall, hardly any surprises were witnessed on the
concluding day of the prestigious championship, being conducted under the
auspices of the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM), as the
fancied players came through in their respective categories.
Vikram Malhotra, the top seed the boys under-17
category, justified his top billing after he overcame a mid-game stutter
to quell the challenge posed by second seed Naishad Lalwani 11-3, 8-11,
11-2, 11-6, while the third place in this section was grabbed by fourth
seed Cyrus Vakil who made his way past Laxman Joshi, the third seed.
On a day when majority of the results went on the
expected lines, unseeded and surprise package of the tournament. Dheeya
Somaya’s (Indore) performance in the finals of the girls under-13 segment
saw her drew attention in great measure as she scalped yet another fancied
player.
Maintaining her superb run of form, Dheeya capped her
consistent showing by deservingly clinching the title with another
inspired show, this time against the second seed Ankita Sharma by winning
the summit clash in four games.
That’s
the spirit : Malhotra
overcomes fatigue to put up valiant fight (Article
in Mid-Day, Mumbai : 12/9/2005)
If I didn,t have the under-17 final to play as well,
I would have surely defeated him.” These were the words of a tried Vikram
Malhotra shortly after going down to top seed Sandeep Jangra in the boys
under-19 final of the Khar Gymkhana Airtel All India School/College
Individual Squash Open Championship at the Khar Gymkhana yesterday.
Malhotra lost 8-11, 10-12, 13-15 but not before putting up a spirited
showing in the 35 minute contest.
After claiming the boys under-17 title with with a
11-3, 8-11, 11-2, 11-6 in a tricky encounter against Naishad Lalwani
earlier in the day, nobody, not even Malhotra himself expected the clash
with Jangra to go the distance that it did. “I was extremely surprised at
the way I played and I think he (Jangra) was even more surprised than me.
I don’t think he expected me to play so well,’ said Malhotra.
After taking the opening game, Jangra had to earn
point there after with Malhotra stretching the next couple of games into
nail biting tie-breakers. But in the end, the support for the underdog
wasn’t enough to match the fatigue from playing his second final of the
day. “Although I won, I’m disappointed with my performance especially when
one considers that he (Malhotra) had already played a final earlier,” said
Jangra.
In the girls u-19 final which pitted sister against
sister, the younger of the Paranjpe siblings, Shivangi prevailed over her
elder sister and top seed Madhura in straight games, 11-5, 11-10, 11-10.
“It’s extremely difficult to play against each other because we both know
each other’s games so well,” said Shivangi while Madhura smiled in
agreement.
The boys u-15 final saw no such upset with 13 year
old Aditya Jagtap getting the better of second seed Abhinav Sinha 11-4,
11-8, 11-4. “Im satisfied with my relaxed in each of my matches,” said
Jagtap.
Don Bosco
lad making waves : Mahesh Mangoankar is a good prospect, says a state squash coach (Article
in DNA, Mumbai : 12/9/2005)
It is a family affair. Father (Dayanad) was a
weightlifter, mother (Anjali) was shuttler and he (Mahesh) is a squash
player. But what keeps the youngster apart from his parent is his success.
He has scaled new heights which his parents could not.
Mahesh Mangaonkar, a class VI student from Don Bosco
School in Borivali, is termed a champion on the block. “ He works hard and
is ready to learn,” says a state squash coach A I Singh.
Mahesh started playing badminton when he was five but
switched to squash three years latter. And since then has won many
laurels. He doesn’t remember how many. He cherishes his first major most.
“I will never forget my first major which I won at the Otter Club in
2003.”
Mahesh’s idol is Jonathan Power and he makes it a
point to watch the clippings of Power’s game before any match. Mahesh
occasionally keeps aside the racket and officiates the matches too. “By
refereeing, I gain more knowledge about the game. I also get to experience
what it is to be an official other than a player.”
It has been a rather sedate year for Mahesh. “I just
went out for one tournament and since I have graduated to the under-13
category, it will take some time for me to settle.”
Mahesh is no pushover when it comes to academics. “I
always want him to study well and he has not disappointed me on this front
either,” say mother Anjali.
Squash
may join mainstream of schools sports (Article
in Times of India, Mumbai : 11/09/2005)
Mumbai: If quantity begets quality then there is hope
for squash in the city. The ongoing Khar Gymkhana Airtel All-India Schools
and Juniors College Tournament has attracted 275 juniors. Prizes worth
Rs.30 lakh are at stake.
Next week’s Little Masters junior squash event at the
Willingdon Sports Club, Mahalaxmi has attracted a record 318 entries. The
prize money is Rs.1.8 lakh, but a new sponsors SKF bearing has made the
scene.
But the best news is that the parent body for schools
sports in the city, the MSSA, has also evinced interest in promoting the
sport.
Indian squash professional’s Ashish Gupta had a
meetings with MSSA secretary Shaji Kuttiani about squash promotion. Shaji
promised to put it before the committee. This would mean three squash
tournaments for juniors a year in the near future!
Willingdon pioneered the first schools event 12 years
ago. Otters Club then joined the fray. Khar Gymkhana and ISP then took the
event to a different level, encouraging the winners with lavish gift as
prizes, including TV sets and DVD players.
Diwan
downs fancied Anup (Article
in Indian Express, Mumbai : 9/09/2005)
Showing great fighting qualities, unseeded Joran
Diwan of H R College Mumbai staged a great recovery act as he rallied from
an opening game reversal to get the better of Jindal Academy’s Anup Sharma
7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 for a place in the boys under-19
quarterfinals of the Khar Gymkhana Airtel All-India Inter Schools/College
Individual Squash Championship being played at Khar Gymkhana on Thursday.
In a match of fluctuating fortunes, Diwan who made a
hesitant start to the proceedings, regrouped and came back strongly to win
the next two games quite comfortably.
At that stage, it seemed that carrying on the
momentum, Diwan would close out the contest quickly, however Sharma had
other ideas as he put the match on level terms to force the decider, where
Diwan held his nerves and played the big points well to prevail.
It’s a sisters’ act in U-19
final (Article
in Free Press Journal, Mumbai : 11/9/2005)
The semifinal matches on Saturday in the girls’
under-19 category of the Khar Gymkhana Airtel All-India Inter
School/College Individual squash open championship went exactly as per the
script. The top seed Madhura Paranjpe and second seed her sister Shivangi
entered the finals registering comfortable victorious over their
opponents.
Top seed Madhura Paranjpe didn’t have any problem in
over coming Indore’s Dheeya Somaya. Madhura won the match in straight
games 11-4, 11-4, 11-3. second seeded Shivangi Paranjpe also had an easy
outing against fourth seeded Shaheen Madraswalla. She top won her match in
straight games.
In the boys singles semi-finals contrasting
victorious were recorded any top seed Vikram Malhotra and second seed
Naishad Lalwani.
Vikram played true to his from as he made short work
of his opponent Cyrus Vakil in straight games 11-4, 11-8, 11-4.
But second seed Lalwani had fight really hard to win
his encounter. In a match of fluctuating fortunes, showing a great
resolves and spirit Lalwani twice came from behind to quell the spirited
challenge of Jindal Academy’s Laxman Joshi by 11-13, 12-10, 4-11, 11-6,
11-6.
Though the Lalwani-Joshi encounter went the full
distance, the quality of play was not of the highest order. More than the
individual brilliance, it was the spate of unforced errors by both the
players that made their semi-final match a humdinger.
But in the final analysis, it was Lalwani’s better
hold on his nerves that saw him carry the day. Having come back from
behind twice in the match, he gained the crucial momentum that he didn’t
fritter away in the decider.
Another result that turned out to be talking point of
the day was the semi-finals of the girls under-13 section where unseeded
Dheeya Somaya clawed back from a two game deficit to stun top seeded
Sachika Balwani 10-11, 10-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5.
