We Adopted Airf Paul (1996) / Deepali Anvekar (1997) / Priyanka Yadav (1999) / Abhishek Pradhan (2003)

We Adopt

Airf Paul (1996) / Deepali Anvekar (1997) / Priyanka Yadav (1999) / Abhishek Pradhan (2003)

Arif Paul ( 1996 )

He has been India’s no 2 ranked junior in 1996. He was sponsored by ISP to play in Professional Squash Circuit by Subhash Wali, director of Indian Squash Professional. Paul played in England, Scotland, Germany and France. In German Open in May 1996 he finished 11^th in a field of 48 losing to German No 2.

In Scotland, he trained under Dr. George Meiras and played in interclub tournaments there. Dr. Meiras emphasis on the mental aspects of the game benefited him. In the French Junior Open in Strasbourg, Paul reached the semi-finals before losing to the top seed Lars Harms, the Switzerland No. 1. He won the playoff for the third place, beating Holland no 1.

After his successful trip in Europe, Paul won the under- 19 nationals in India. He was also the captain of Indian team for the World Junior Championship at Cairo. On the basis of his performance he gained scholarship at Denison College, Ohio, USA.

Paul has also been successful in the US Circuit events. He won the Denison Open defeating Omar Alvo of Columbia, becoming the first ever not to drop a game in the final. In Chicago he won the Windy City Open beating Chicago pro Phil Yarrow 9-0/10-9/9-3. He represented the city for Columbus in the national five team competition and won all his matches at the number one spot. At present he is among the top 10 in American University Ranking.

Deepali Anvekar ( 1997 )

In 1995 her first year in squash at 14 years age, she made the finals of CCI under-19 event and also the Western India Inter School Under 16. The next year Deepali concentrated on her ICSE exams but was back in the limelight on her return in 1997. She made it to the finals of the Under - 19 category of the Maharashtra State, Western India and the Little Masters. Deepali also stood out in the women’s category, reaching the semifinals of the CCI championship.

She was adopted by ISP in November 1997. She was given a playing membership and coaching at The Leela (courtesy Vivek Nair,V-C & M.D. THE LEELA). In Jan 1998 she proved her worth by winning the Pix Juniors Squash Championship in the Girls under 19 category & Motilal Sanghi Inter Club championship. She was runners up in Mukesh Babu Squash Satellite, where she lost to the Womens national champion, Mekhala Subedar. She was selected to play for India at the Asians in Kuala Lumpur. She was choosen for the World Junior(under-19) womens tournament at Belguim. Her other achievements are as follows:

Steelmade Schools & Jr. College championship 30-8-98
Deepali beat Rhea Bhandare: 9-4/9-0/9-1.
Dewan Housing Classic-15-8-98
Mekhala Subedar beat Deepali 15-6/15-3/15-5
National Junior, Sub-junior squash Championship(11.10.98)
Akansha Hazari (Hongkong) beat Deepali Anvekar 3-9/3-9/10-9/9-6/9-7.
Little Masters Indian Jr. Open Squash Tournament(25.10.98)
Tricia Chuah(Malaysia) beat Deepali Anvekar 9-3/9-5/9-4.
Western India Open Squash Tournament (15.11.98)
Girls Under-19: Deepali Anvekar beat Rhea Bhandare 9-2/9-6/9-0.
Womens: Mekhala Subedar beat Deepali 9-0/9-4(conceded)
Motilal Sanghi Inter Club Tournament ( 1-4-99)
Deepali beat Rhea Bhandare 9-3/9-2/9-0.

Priyanka Yadav ( 1999 )

PriyankaYadav.jpg (54011 bytes)

The ISP adopted Priyanka Yadav aged 18 who took to the game barely one year ago but shows considerable promise because of her athletic background.

Priyanka was a good tennis player before she switched to squash and started playing at CCI in April 1998. She was a member of the Maharashtra tennis squad that won a silver at the National Schools Championship. Before that Priyanka was good at badminton and won a number of certificates and medals at schools meets. Her interests extend to martial arts where she is the recipient of a green belt. Thanks to her athleticism and ball sense, Priyanka has risen rapidly to be fifth in the Head Indian Squash Ratings for girls under 19.

The 17-year-old, who stands five feet, four inches, has just passed her higher secondary examination with flying colour. The daughter of Mr. S.P.S. Yadav, additional commissioner of police (traffic) and Dr. Usha Yadav who is posted at the G.T. Hospital. Priyanka has also set her sights on the civil services examination.

Like Deepali Anvekar, the second to be adopted by the ISP, Priyanka gets free membership and coaching at The Leela (thanks to our Patron Member, Mr. Vivek Nair)

Abhishek Pradhan

A champion is always born, seldom made. This proved true in the case of Abhishek Pradhan, who drew praise from one and all the moment he stepped on to the squash courts, even for the first time, when he was a total novice at the game. The attributes that were noticed were the tremendous power the ten-year-old Abhishek packed into his shots, the manner in which his game improved every time he stepped on to the court and his never-say-die temperament.

Within no time, Abhishek was challenging the best in his age group and very soon he had overtaken them to make the under-11 age group his personal domain. His never-say-die attitude was much evident in two tournaments the youngster featured in recently, where, in spite of suffering considerable pain from being hit by his rival's racquets, he went on to win the title.

Besides the free training, ISP will also provide him with racquets, shoes and financial assistance while traveling for tournaments in the country. Abhishek is the fourth player who has been adopted by the Indian Squash Professionals and The Leela, the previous three being Arif Paul, Deepali Anvekar and Priyanka Yadav.

Arif was given financial sponsorship for training and playing tournaments abroad in 1997 and this was followed up by assistance to Deepali, who was given a three-year membership and coaching at The Leela, courtesy Vivek Nair (MD and Vice-Chairman, The Leela). Deepali was among the top eight when the ISP took her under their wing and she went on to become the junior National champion (under-19) category.

Priyanka was also among the top eight when she was adopted by the ISP in 1999. She was in the women's team which represented India in Kuala Lumpur in May 2002 and at present she is amongst the top four in the women's category.

Abhishek recently won the Khar Gym Inter-School Tournament when he beat the No 1 seed Tarun Nambiar and followed it up with the title in the All-India Little Masters Squash Championship.

Home