NEWS LETTER OF THE INDIAN SQUASH PROFESSIONALS Vol 2 No.2 Issue No.6 April 1998.
WEBSITE: www.ispsquash.com E-MAIL : squashindia@hotmail.com
DIRECTORS: MAHENDRA AGARWAL/ SUBHASH WALI / NARENDRA GOUR (I.R.S.) CHANDRAKANT
PAWAR.OUR HONORARY MEMBERS: NAVNEET SONI(I.R.S.) / BHARAT BHUSHAN (I.R.S.) / SAIFEE
JANI (M.D. JANI SALES LTD.) / RAJESH LIHALA( M.D. SHIVA MARKETING LTD) / RAKESH LAKHANPAL
(M.D. S.S.KNITTING IND.) MUKESH BABU (CHAIRMAN, MUKESH BABU SECURITIES LTD)
HONOURED PATRONS: VIVEK NAIR (VICE CHAIRMAN & MD THE LEELA)/SAJJAN JINDAL VICE
CHAIRMAN & M.D. JINDAL GROUP OF COMPANIES)
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The national squash title has come back to Maharashtra. Thanks to Akhil
Behl playing to his potential. Not many expected him to put it across
Arjan Singh, India’s national champion and the only one who is ranked in
the top 100 of the PSA. But Behl was in top
form throughout the season. He had won the Maharashtra Open and the
Western India. His only reverse had been in the Videocon Classic where
Udai Singh had got the better of him. Udai has a great low return from
back court which perplexes the best of opponents. But there was no Udai
at the Chennai Nationals. But the obstacle of Arjan was there. The sardar
is a veritable returning machine. Arjan blanked Behl in
the opening game and it looked like another year wasted for Akhil. But
then the virtues of keeping ball in play worked. Arjan, it appeared
wasn’t as strong as before. Akhil on the Other hand, had worked hard at
his game. All those long hours came handy in the final stages as Arjan
made a last-ditch effort in the fourth where he level-pegged. But Akhil
had plenty in reserve and knew exactly where his opponent would falter. |
National Champion Akhil Behl with the trophy presented to him by the ISP who were among the first to felicitate him. |
Akhil is a self-made
man. He was a footballer at Bombay Scottish school where among his
teammates was Rohan Gavaskar. When he came to Otters Club he began liking
the game of squash. He has picked up from watching the others and Otters
have had a wealth of talent.
Behl’s performance
has led to some sponsors coming forward to help out. Shyam Bhatia of Dubai
has offered him playing facilities at the Indian Club there and the chance
to play tournaments.
Akhil is keen on
playing the PSA circuit. But that will require a lot of inputs which
Indian players don’t seem to be blessed with. And the most likely
outcome is Behl joining exodus to the Ivy League. The American
universities have beckoned any number of Indian squash players right
from the time Anil Nayar went to Harvard in the seventies.
There is no chance of the Satellite circuit coming to India. All that we have is the magnum opus the Mahindra Open which will turn into the World Open this year. In that case Behl will have to depend on largesse of the organisers in the form of wild cards. How long can he depend on this? Might as well try his hand in the land of opportunities where squash of the type played in India is now played there with the not-so-hard ball.
Akhil Behl receives a trophy from Mr. Dugarpur & MR.M.K.Sanghi during the prize distribution of the Motial Sanghi inter-club |
I was up against Arjan Singh who was looking
composed as usual and confident throughout the tournament. Nothing
disturbed him. The other contenders for the title were Ritwick Bhattacharya,
Rajdeep Brar and me. Arjan made the final with straight sets wins while I
dropped a set to Ritwick. The final was one of
the biggest matches of my life. I knew this was it. I entered the court as
positive as I could be. But I lost the first game 9-0. For some reason I
was still very focused and believed in myself began to exploit his
weakness and in a matter of time I had the second game in my packet. 9-0. Using the same strategy as in the second I won the third 9-2. I knew Arjan would fight back in the fourth but I kept strong and went on to win the match 9- 7. It is unexplainable the joy and emotions felt a t that moment. |
The sense of
personal satisfaction which that moment gave me I don’t think I will now
experience again. It was a moment of a lifetime. Last but not the least I
would like to thank the professional for the verbal support they gave me,
especially Chandrakant Pawar.