|
Press Report 2002 |
|||||
|
‘There’s more to squash than instinctive play’ |
|||||
|
Indian Express 23rd
Dec. 2002 The lone Indian who
plays on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) circuit, Ritwik
Bhattacharya, a three-time National Champion, lost his title to Manish
Chotrani in a marathon fie-game encounter in the finals of the recent
Nationals that concluded at the Otters Club on Sunday. Ritwik, who is
presently based in London talks to * The Indian Express about life on the
PSA circuit London and the future of Indian Squash. The PSA Circuit : It
was in my third year of college ( he has a degree in Economics from St.
Stephen’s college, New Delhi) that I decided that to take up the sport
professionally. Luckily for me, my parents were supportive enough and I
got myself admitted to the PSA three years ago. That was the only way for
me to forward, I had played enough tournaments here and I need to complete
against the best to improve my game. On his decision to move to London : London is the hub of World Squash. There is method and theory to squash, I am learning that there. We Indians tend to play on instinct, now, I’m not saying that’s not good – but there’s more to squash then just instinctive play. Besides, traveling from
India to tournaments abroad is very expensive and the number of
tournaments require you to travel a lot. The standards out there are very
high – even players at the club / league level perform extremely well. On life in London: It’s great place to be in. People ask me- how can you stay in London and not party? The truth is that I manage to stay more focused there than I can never be here. You don’t need to get up and turn up all sleepy-eyed for practice at 5.30 in the morning like you do here, it never gets too hot. I can get my regular sleep and still practice to my heart’s content there. I have to cook my meals though. London is an expensive city, your earnings are never enough. I have been supported by JCT’s Sameer Thapar and the Delhi Squash Association, I also saved up a little money to see myself through. On the future of the Indian squash: Gaurav Nandrajog, Saurav Ghosal, Siddarth Suchde and Sahil Vora are all bright prospects, so is Joshna Chinappa. I only hope more Indians play on the PSA and the WISPA circuit, that’s the way to go. Pakistan has the same amount of talent as us, there are so many more international tournaments there. Exposure is the key. |
|||||
| HSBC won the Ernst
& Young Corporate Squash Championship for the third year in-a-row narrowly
edging out HDFC in the finals held at CCI Squash Courts on Sunday.
The vent was co-sponsored by Hotel Marine Plaza and managed by Saran
Presents, Bobby Parikh, CEO, Ernst &Young India was the Chief guest
and gave away the prizes.
Final results : |
|||||
DIFFERENT STROKES FOR THIS SQUASH EX-CHAMP20/12/2002 The Indian Express |
|||||
|
She was a two-time, under – 19 national squash champion and a national level swimmer before giving it all up to pursue a career in medicine. Now, Deepali Anvekar gets to play only during her vacation – her squash racket and stethoscope may never call it truce and from the looks of it, her 19-month hiatus has done precious little to her game. Her current vacation has seen the 21 year-old medical student from Virar Medical Collage finish runners-up at the Western India Open and on Friday she romped into the semi-finals of the Senior National Squash Championship being held at Otters Club, Bandra. “It was a tough decision, but then I knew that in today’s world it I is very important to have a proper education. My parents too were keen that I take up medicine,” reminisces Anvekar, whose father is a manager with the Bank of Baroda and a mother is a former nurse. “Besides, I didn't want to go to the US on a squash scholarship,” she says referring to the precedent followed by juniors who excel in squash. Anvekar continued to play during her first two years of medicine and she won the Otters Club Open in May last year, which was the last tournament she entered, “I couldn’t afford to miss my practical and lab work in the third year besides being posted at various hospitals. So I had to stop playing,” she explains. Traveling from home in Vile Parle to her college in Virar and the demanding schedule that medical students have to endure, meant that Anvekar had little time left to herself in the day. “There’s no time for much else,” says Anvekar. Luckily for her, it was during her vacation when Mumbai hosted the nationals this year. “I had put on a lot of weight since I had stopped playing, so it was a little difficult during the first tournament at CCI, but now I think I’m playing better,” says Anvekar, who took up the game initially “to loose weight”. “Back then, I just played a lot, and luckily for me, things worked out well.” Anvekar won the under-19 national twice- in 2000 and 2001. She was also part of the national team that participated in the Asian Women’s Championship in Hong Kong and the World Junior Championship in Belgium two years ago. But now she looks forward to career in medicine. “I would love to specialize in Sports Medicine, but I haven’t decided yet,” she says. Doesn't she miss squash? “Every day,” comes the pat reply. “You need some kind of release when you do a course like medicine. Sometime it gets a little too stressful and the only workout is my daily run on the beach. I never have the to play squash.” Life, of course, is now an altogether different ballgame. |
|||||
|
The Times Of India Dated 4-12-2002 Mumbai: Men’s and women’s standards are stagnating but the juniors are looking up. That was the message from the last squash fortnight which included the CCI Western India and State Open. Juniors like Alisha Mashruwala, Vikas Jangra, Manek Mathur,Vikram Malhotra Aadit Zaveri and Ramit Tandon are hopes for the future. The three standout performances came from Alisha, Vikas and Manek. The only girl can beat Alisha is Chennai’s Joshna Chinappa, the girls under-19 and women’s national champion. However, if Joshna is not around the task becomes easier for Alisha. Jindal’s Vikas Jangra is blossoming into a fine talent. Jangra maintained his superiority in the under-17 events at the Bombay Gymkhana and Cricket Club of India. And surprisingly on both occasions he got the better of Indore’s Yashwardhan Singh. Cathedral’s Manek Mathur doesn’t give the impression of being a Std 10 student so carefree he is. But once he steps he on the court, he means serious business. The youngster had, ealier this year, won the inter- schools title and he has now won back-to-back crowns at the Western India and Maharashtra State Opens. Young Aaadit played exceptionally well to get to the under-11 final at CCI. With the right impetus this boys could start making a mark. Kolkata’s Ramit Tandon maybe just pint size but his already making his presence felt. The youngster who is not inspired by the likes of Jonathon Power and Peter Nicol but our very own Saurav Ghosal. “ Iwant to be like Saurav. I like his game very much,” profuses Tandon. There are other juniors who have caught the eye. Chandigarh’s Harinder Pal Sandhu did well at CCI going all the way to the final, before coming a cropper against Mathur. Sandhu had won the Scottish Open under-13 title and he has since moved up th the under-15s where he is also making his mark. Chennai’s M. Partibhan, the younger brother of professional Balamurugan was a little unlucky in the Complan Open where he lost narrowly to Siddharth Samantray. In the State Open and Western India also he made it to the later stages of the event. He had been adjudged the most promising at the last Junior Nationals. Delhi’s Naresh Kumar, after winning the Complan Open, could not replicate his form at the later events. However, the youngster looks set to go places. The crying shame has been the Open and women’s events. At the State Open, there were only six entries in the women’s section and amazingly Deepika Chadratreya at the ripe age of 59 was seeded fourth. There are just no takers for the women’s game. At one time, there were the likes of Bhuvaneshwari Kumari and Misha Grewal who fought many a colossal battle. But now apart from Mekhala Subedar, Joshna Chinappa and Deepali Anvekar there is hardly anybody else playing the game.Mekhala won a tough final against Joshna in the State Open. It was sweet revenge for her loss to the Chennai lass at the Nationals. Mekhala has been training rigorously and even did the coaches course. The hard work has been paid off. At the CCI, she totally overwhelmed Deepali Anvekar who was playing squash after a year’s absence as she is studying to become a homeopathic doctor. The Open event at both Bombay Gymkhana and CCI saw Manish Chotrani sweep. The Mumbaikar did not have competition worth its salt. At one time the Services produced players like an assembly line- the likes of Raj Manchanda, Narjit Singh, Arjan Singh, Rajdeep Brar and Ravinder Malik. Now they have just Navneet Narain and Anuj Kalia but there was just no match for Chotrani. Mumbai had Ananth Nayak, Meherwan Daruvala and Adrian Ezra but now there is just Manish Chotrani. Bikram Uberoi did not play in the State Open and Western India due to his new job commitments. But even if he had played he would have finished a distant second. Chotrani’s lone opposition is national champion Ritwik Bhattacharya who is busy now playing PSA events abroad. |
|||||
| Indian Express : 14/11/2002 | |||||
"The Busan Games was one of the best things that happened in my life, " says classmate Joshna while speaking to the The Indian Express on Wednesday. "Though we may not have done exceedingly well, we now know what it takes to play at that level." Joshna lost in the quarterfinals to Sharon Wee of Malaysia while Saurav succumbed in the first round match to Qatar's Al-Soud. Sourav and Joshna along with India's top-seeded Ritwik Bhattacharya and third-seeded Vaidehi Reddy formed the Indian Squash representation at Bhusan. "My most memorable moment at the Games was when Leander Paes, who happens to be friend of Ritwik, decided to join us for dinner. He's such a warm and friendly guy and spoke to us a lost about our career," says Ghoshal. "Sourav would get all excited everytime he spotted a famous Indian sportsman. Vaidehi and me would have to calm him down whenever he got excited," says Joshna, whose past exploits include three Malaysian Open, a couple of Singapore and Scottish Open crowns in various age groups. The two unanimously agree that, though they have represented India in international tournaments before, being part of such a big Games contingent and the camaraderie that the team enjoyed was what made it special for them. "Everyone was very encouraging. You really felt a sense of belonging and that feels very special," admits Sourav. |
|||||
| Times of India : 9/11/2002 | |||||
A regular at the Otters Club squash courts since the age of six, Sachika believes that it is her passion for the game and her confidence that made her defeat top seed Harita Omprakash. It was a double victory of sorts for this young star when she won not only her young star when she won not only her first biggest national achievement ever in Chennai but was also given the award for 'most promising girl player'. And if that was not enough, Major Retd. Maniam consulting coach SRFI, made a public announcement of her being the 'Nicole David of India'. Well, if it was a week of treats for Sachika, twelve year old Vikram Malhotra wasn't far behind. After having won several national and international champions in the past two years, winning this years under 13 place at the Nationals Juniors, is just another feather in his cap. Beating Laxman Joshi to it, wasn't too difficult a task; as Vikram frankly puts it in squash lingo, "I had all the 'good shots' abd determination to be number uno." Kicking off his career at Khar Gymkhana but now training at Otters Club as well, Vikram's father, who is an avid player himself, not only takes a keen interest in the boys career but is also his coach. Working out regularly and following a strict fitness regime, Vikram has chalked out his future plans ambitiously. That of reaching the world juniors ranking standards in the next five years being one of his prime goals. |
|||||
| Indian Express : 29th Nov. 2002 | |||||
"I took an instant liking to to sport. It was fast and kept me physically fit," recalls Ramesh, as he prepared to play his semi-final clash in the Over-45 age group at the Western India Open Squash being held at the Cricket Club of India (CCI). Ramesh has been the National Champion (1984) and has finished runners-up on numerous occasions. "I stopped playing at that level since the prize money was not much anyway," he says. Ramesh's pupil Manek Mathur is the top seed in the Under-15 category at CCI. Former player Misha Grewal has also trained under him. As the years rolled by, Ramesh, who was being pursued by then squash secretary at CCI to work for them, brought younger brother Anant to the city in 1981, trained him and set him set him up as the market at CCI. Anant (40) followed his brothers footsteps. He has been the winner in the Over 35 age group category at Western India for two years now. "I remember the time great players like Adrain Ezra and Sandeep Ghosh played at these courts. Those were good times ,"he remembers fondly. Soon enough, it was time for the youngest brother Santosh (30) to join them. He dropped out of school, trained under his brothers and joined the Otter's Club, Bandra, as a marker. "This is all I wanted to do," gushes Santosh, who has been a three-time runners-up at the Nationals. He beats his nephew, (Ramesh's son Rohit) to book a spot in the finals of the Professionals category at CCI this year. 'My father has been my coach," says Rohit (23), who too works as a marker at CCI. All have them have been well supported by their clubs, who provide them with racquets and even finance their trips to outstation contests. Ramesh who is the coach and mentor to his brothers and son, watches them play and can be see chiding them for their mistakes on court. "He's the reason why we are all here," they agree. All of them put in hard hours of work everyday which leaves them very little energy to pursue any other interests. "It can be very tiring, playing for hours together. Moreover, you need adequate rest to maintain your level of fitness," says Santosh. They all agree that squash is the one thing in their lives that they can never get enough of. More squash can only mean less for the Mores. |
|||||
SRAM camp a smash hit (Mid-day 7-11-2002) |
|||||
|
|||||
| the 75 players systematically,” said
Pawar. He along with his eight assistants worked hard to groom a talented bunch
of youngsters who could be good prospects for the future. “Out of 75 children, there are at least 10-15 children who can make it big if they work hard. All they need is the right kind of coaching and dedication on their part,” he said. But the most surprising aspect of the camp was the keen interest shown by parents. “Often parents would come and tell me that they never thought their child could play so well. They would also seek guidance for improving their game. I have never seen such enthusiasm before this camp,” Pawar said. Many children, oblivious to the sport have now developed a taste for the game thanks to the camp. One such was the winner in the boys category Priyam Raskapurwala. He had never held a squash racquet before attending the camp. In fact, he had been selected, quite luckily, through a draw system held in his school Arya Vidya Mandir. But now he aims to make it big in squash and will be pursuing his dream under Pawar. |
|||||
