NEWS LETTER OF THE INDIAN SQUASH PROFESSIONALS Issue No.9
WEBSITE: www.ispsquash.com E-MAIL : squashindia@hotmail.com
DIRECTORS: MAHENDRA AGARWAL/ SUBHASH WALI / NARENDRA GOUR (I.R.S.) CHANDRAKANT
PAWAR. OUR HONORARY MEMS: 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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Jonathon Power, the first North American to win the World Open title at the Mahindra Open in Doha, receiving his trophy from Arun Nanda. Excutive Director, Mahindras and Sheikh Jassem Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the heir apparent of Qatar. |
Peter Nicols bid for a hat-trick of titles in 1988 came a cropper at Doha in the Mahindra World Open. Canadian Jonathon Power wrested the title from him in a 72-minute final 15-17, 15-7, 15-9, 15- 10. He became the first North American world squash champion and claimed $28,000. Power was in the lead for the most of the important opening game . The two were meeting for the fifth time this year. The first game, which Nicol took after saving three game-balls took a toll of the defending champion who tired in the next three. But he shed some of that casual approach after hurting an ankle playing basketball with his dad. The injury taught him that a pro must take care of himself all the time, or someone is there to snatch the bread away. So for a change it was Power who snatched the bread of his fellow pros. At the start of the year Power was number three in the rankings beginning at 16 in 1997. |
He had torn ligaments on the outside of his foot .He shocked his doctor by playing when he should have been resting. The injury was aggravated when he fell in the British Open second round against Davis Evans and he had to concede. Power has been known more for his acrimony on court than anything else. This time he made news for the right reasons-his game. Power conjures up the unexpected. From a full swing right down to the impact, you don’t know where the ball is going, making it hard even for the speediest players to read where it is going. Low drives from swishing swings often force boasts unless they are retrieved before the back His agility to reach flat-touch drops, his hard low drives, casual drops from the back are his strong points. And kills with the wrist snap reminiscent of Hiddy Jahan, the Pakistani all-time great. As for the loser Nicol who, had won the British Open and the Commonwealth Games titles, it was a case of playing one tournament too many. Quarter-finals: Nicol beat Paul Johnson 13-1 5, 15-4, 17-3 6, 15-9; Castelyn beat John White 10-3 5, 15-13, 15-9, 17-15. Hill beat Alex Gough 13-15, 15-11, 15-10, 15-7. Power beat Ahmed Barada 15-5, 15-2, 15-3.
There is little to choose between the second string of the Pakistani squash players. This was evident when Zarak Jahan Khan defeated top seed Amjad Khan to claim the Asian Games men’s gold . Zarak, the son of Hiddy Jahan, the Pakistani squash legend, won 1-9, 9-0, 6-9, 9- 7, 9-3. In the semi-finals, Amjad beat Hong Kong’s Abdul Fahim Khan 9-0,9-3,9-3 while, Zarak put it across Malaysian Low Ewe-Loong 10- 8,9-7,9-0. The women’s gold was claimed by Malaysia’s Nicol David who beat Hong Kong’s Rebecca Chiu 9-3,9-1,9-6. The result was a repeat of the Asian final in July. Both the Indian entries, Mehkala Subedar and Sohini Kumari lost in the first round . Mekhala went down to Japan’s Masami Kofuji 3-9, 9-1, 9-1,7-9. Sohini was crushed by Chai Lin Kuan crused Sohini 9-4,9-0,9-0.