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Mihir Kapoor would have liked to sign off from the under-19 ranks with a national title. But it was not to be. He had to remain runner-up. But he ended the recent season happy having beaten the most talked about player of the season , Bikram Uberoi, who swept everything before him in the under-19 ranks. He beat Bikram in one of the four legs of the Air-India-SRAM, Junior tournament but he could not play the grand finals owing to 12th standard board exams. In fact, Mihir won the four legs of the Air-India event. Junaid Nathani was usually his rival. One that got away was the Indian Open in which he lost to Abhimanyu Jain. Mihir is now eyeing a place in the universities of either Franklyn Marshall or Dension. Mihir did his early schooling at Doon school. They had a good squash coach but was in the eighth standard he left. Mihir found a vaccum till the 11th Standard after which he decided to come back home. He began playing at Otters club where father Gopal played the sport. He says Cyrus Poncha and Professional Santosh More have helped him in coaching. At Juniors Nationals he has usually made the semi-final grade. Last year he lost to Bikram in the last eight. He attended the camp under Rehmat Khan arranged by the SRAM. He was advised to put more power in the shots and tone up his fitness. |
His chart has been: semi-finalist in 1995, quarter-finalist in 1996, semi-finalist in 1997, quarter-finalist in 1998 and again the following year under-16 and under-19 events. A case of born at the wrong time. Maybe luck will smile on him in the lvy League.
Switcher – The Leela Squash
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Manish Chotrani and Deepali Anvekar further highlighted their domination on the game of the squash in the city when the lifted the men’s and women’s titles respectively in the Switcher Invitation prize prize money squash tournament, played at the glass back courts of The Leela. National champion Chotrani had a tough time, though, in the final against under-19 National champion and junior Asian champion Bikram Uberoi. Uberoi won the first game 15-11, but also aggravated an old injury. Yet, he Uberoi won the first game 15-11, but also aggravated an old injury. Yet, he put up a gallant fight, but was found wanting in some departments against the 29-year-old Chotrani, who is still extremely fit. Chotrani won the next two games at 15—11, 15-3 before getting another scare in the fourth. Scores ran neck to neck, with Uberoi wiping out a 3-poin deficit to level scores at 14-4, |
However, Uberoi the long match seemed to have got to Uberoi, who could not maintain the momentum and lost 15-17.Chotrani was richer by Rs.6,000. The women’s filed was depleted with the last-minute withdrawal of national champion Mekhala Subedar and Deepali made the most of it. Facing Madras las Joshna chinappa in the final, Deepali, the under-19 National champion was stretched bit in the first game, which she won 15-13. However, the next two were easy 15-6, 15-6. The boys under-19 title was lifted won by Junaid Nathani, but not before dropping a game to Vishal Kapoor.
The Dension University Squash Team has finished its strongest season every by ranking seventh in the intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association. The DU team was the third-ranked small college, trailing first-place Trinity (Conn.) and runner-up Williams (Mass.). Dension beat Dartmouth College 7-2 at the National Championships at Yate University in late February, to firm up its seventh-place ranking. Dension also was nominated for the Bombay Award for most improved team for the second time in its five-year history of playing intercollegiate squash.
DU senior Arif Paul (Mumbai, India), who finished No.5 in the nation, became a member of the All-American Second Team. Paul lost the deciding match selected for each honor. Paul was one of five players nationwide to be nominated to be nominated for the Skillman Award, the highest individual award in college squash. Dension has a short but
Rich tradition of squash. The team began in 1995, ranked 33rd in the nation. The college moved to 21st place after the first year. The team then finished 13, 8, 10 and 7 respectively in the past four years. There are 36 teams that complete including those after from the lvy League and small liberal arts college in the east. The handful of other schools west of the Hudson River who compete in squash include Northwestern, Standford, Carl Berkely, and Western Ontario.
The Denison Squash Club had several notable wins that include: Navy(9-0); The University of Pennsylvania (9-0); Franklin and Marshall (9-0); and Dartmouth (5-4), (7-2). Close losses include matches against No.4 ranked Yale (4-5) and No.5 ranked Western Ontario (4-5). Squash is a winter indoor court sport popular in England, Europe, Asia and Australia. The United States adopted the international game in 1995, the year Dension began its squash program. There are 10 players on each college team who play the best of five games. The first player to win 5 points in the game. Home Dension matches are played on international courts at the Castellini Courts in Mitchell Recreation and Athletics Center. Jon Bridge ’82, Dension major and planned giving officer, serves as the team’s coach.