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Press Reports 2005 |
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Shaikh
of racquet sports Vancouver: Among
the greatest joys of a hack writer’s itinerant existence is the
opportunity to meet long-lost friends, especially if they are God’s own
people such as Abdul and Viloo Shaikh. |
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Tandon sole winner from India in HK Open Rishi Tandon turned out to be the sole title winner from the Indian contingent at the Hong Kong Squash Open that ended on Friday. He beat Kevin Cheug, 9-2, 9-1, 9-1 for the Under-11 Title. In the boys under-13 event Akshay Deepak ended runners up, losing to Cheong Ka Wah (Mal) 3-9, 2-9, 0-9. Ishaan Advani was the 2nd runners up under 11 category. Results:Boys’ U-19: Anson Kwong bt Chin Ho Fun 9-2, 10-9, 9-2, U-17: Leo Au bt Asyraf Azan (Mal) 9-4, 9-6, 9-5, U-15: Ivan Yuen bt Kwok Chun Lok 9-0, 9-0, 9-1, Girls’ U-19: Joey Chan bt Annie Au- 9-1, 10-9, 9-4, U-17: Leung Shin Nga bt Dororothy Ko 9-5, 9-0, 9-4 U-15: Rachel Goh (Mal) bt Low wee Nee 9-2, 8-10, 9-7, 9-5, U-13: Tan Yan Xin (Mal) bt Kwai Fai 9-7, 9-4, 9-6, U-11: Ho Ka Po bt Chu Ka Hei 9-4, 9-2, 9-1 |
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Ghoshal
first to qualify for British Open Squash
(Times Of India, Mumbai : 11 Oct 2005)Chennai: Sourav Ghoshal created history by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the main draw of the prestigious British Open men’s championship. Ghoshal, a former British Open junior champion, had graduated to the senior level only this season. Another Indian, the higher ranked Ritwik Bhattacharya was edged out in the first qualifying round on Sunday. Bhattacharya lost to reigning European junior champion Chris Simpson of England, who is more than 100 ranks below the former’s 178th position, 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0) in 41 minutes. |
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As Joshna crosses 19, 13-year-old
Dipika flies Indian flag on junior circuit. Indian Express, Mumbai : 15/9/2005 Her
idolizing of Joshna Chinappa is complete – from ironing her hair
straight, to steeling her nerves. The almost cloned appearance apart,
Dipika Pallikal who takes over as India’s next best junior after
Chinappa crosses 19 on Thursday, is striving hard to ensure that her role
model in squash does not remain India’s one-off phenomenon. It
took a bagful of Grand slams to trigger Russia’s tennis revolution, and
Pallikal, through modest when quizzed on comparisons with Joshna Chnappa,
believes that the current crop of Indian juniors will be far more visible
internationally in the coming years. “It’s
difficult to say who can match Joshna’s levels, because she is just such
a huge benchmark for us. But you will certainly see many juniors
graduating very quickly to higher levels,” Pallikal says before swatting
away her first-round opponent at the Little Masters tournament in less
than 15 minutes here. Backed by a strong
support system of sponsors and some impressive endorsements already, this
petite lass has gained international exposure which very few juniors – a
week short of turning 14 – can afford. With a perfect combination of a
stable mind, insured finance and a particularly effective back-court play,
Pallikal recently earned the top rank on the European under-15 circuit. The
youngster has been competing abroad since late-2002 and had finished an
unbroken year on the top in the under-13 rankings in Europe – the
longest in the continent’s competition record. Besides scalping
title-wins at the French and Dutch Open this year to finish No. 1,
Pallikal also pocketed two back – to back junior crowns in Australia for
god measure, so that she approaches the year – ending and all-important
British Open with a degree of confidence. Entering
a packed season, jettisoning from Delhi to London for various tournaments,
Pallikal also wants to take a crack at a spot in the seniors team for
Asian championship next year. The
last six months have seen her beating older and bigger opponents twice
from two-games down in Europe’s tournaments finals, her opponents on the
domestic circuit remain wary for her unflappable composure. Many concede
that her stoic response on courts wherein she steers completely clear of
throwing tantrums, actually unnerves opponents. “I
travel without a coach, and when you play in a foreign country in front of
partisan crowds on lonely circuits you learn to think for yourself in
changeovers… makes you stronger,” Pallikal says. She has also picked
up some uncharacteristic aggression, very deceptive for a baby-voiced
teen, during her various sojourns. At 5’5”, she has shot up suddenly and uncomfortably for mother Susan, who makes sure that she carries original corporation birth-certification if that vertical frame raises eyebrows. “Jokes apart, it is good for the reach she gets in her game,” Susan says. |
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Times of India : 13th September 2005 He talks less, but once on court his racket makes all the right noises. Eleven-year-old Mahesh Mangaonkar, fresh from his triumph in the under-13 category in the Khar Gymkhana inter-schools event, hopes to maintain his winning run in the SKF All India Little Masters squash tournament which got underway at the Willingdon Sports Club on Monday. Mahesh, the top seed, made a light of his opponent in the second round, going through without dropping a point. The standard 6 Don Bosco (Borivli) student had an awesome season last year. Playing in the under-11 category, he won everything on offer in Mumbai and also added the Junior National crown to his kitty. Mahesh performed impressively abroad last year winning the Malaysian Open (beating his perennial rival Abhishek Pradhan in the final) and finishing runners-up in the Scottish Open. Mahesh cannot pinpoint why he as had so much success against Pradhan. At Khar Gymkhana too, he prevailed over his Don Bosco mate. "I know his game well and somehow I always manage to beat him." Regarding his chances at the Junior Nationals next month. "I am pretty confident I can secure the title.: Mahesh began playing squash at the age of six, but his first love was badminton. " I played badminton at Club Aquaria and one day I saw people playing squash and I enjoyed the pace so I started playing it. Mahesh has a passion for basketball too. He captains his schools team where he plays as a centre. It's fun and fast I enjoy playing it. I don't really watch the NBA so I don't have any favorite players. Mahesh's squash inspirations are Jonathan Power and Saurav Ghosal. The youngster is fan of Roger Federer too. |
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Ritwik
loses, Indian challenge ends KOLKATA, Sep 8: Indian
challenge came to an end as the country's top player Ritwik Bhattacharya
went down to Pakistan's Khayal Muhammad in a ill-tempered quarter final
clash in the Kolkata International squash championship here today. Final: Semi-finals: Quarter-finals: Source : Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1225102.cms) |
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The Hindu : 22/8/2005 CHENNAI: Once their contests used to be close affairs but the current National champion Saurav Ghosal's improvement over time has been such that his rival in the final, Gaurav Nandrajog of Delhi never proved a match. The local boy emerged an easy winner at 9-3, 9-1, 9-3 to sign off in style in the Southern India squash championship which concluded here on Sunday. Saurav and partner Harinderpal Singh, the reigning champion, retained the title for another year in the National doubles championship which was held concurrently. A double crown is wonderful parting present for Saurav, who is soon leaving India to further his studies (and squash too) in England. Even though he plans not to miss any major domestic events in India, this much is clear: Saurav will be missed at the academy. Such is his popularity with the trainees. And the way they egged him on in the final it was clear they wanted him to leave as a champion. Not that Gaurav posed much problem. There were rallies but when the initial freshness vanished and stretches became frequent, Gaurav began to show the after effects. Saurav did not allow his rival to settle, switching his returns from flank to flank and punctuating with an occasional drooping drop shot, aimed at the corners. The points came easily. In the doubles too resistance was there only initially but with Harinder proving an able foil, Saurav could work the downfall of Gaurav and Niraj Shirgaokar in straight games. Capt S.S. Virk, Secretary, Services Sports Control Board, was the chief guest and gave away the prizes. All final: Southern India
championship: National
doubles: |
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Times of India,
Westside plus : 02/07/2005 : THE current ongoing
Herald Maritime Service Squash Open 2005 at the Otters Club in Bandra is
the 62nd tournament organized by the NGO Indian Squash Professionals,
since 1993. This tournament also happens to be the richest and the biggest
in the country with the prize money of US $25,000/- including antique
trophies worth three lakhs along with international players from Pakistan,
Columbia and Australia competing as well. And this all has been possible
due to builder Mahendra Agarwals’ labour of love for the game. It all started twenty
years ago, when Agarwal took on the game for fitness purposes. Totally enthralled by
the sport, he formed the Indian Squash Professionals, with the sole
intention of promoting the game in the country. He gathered like-minded friends and acquaintances in his desire to produce a squash culture in the country and sponsored the very first tournament in 1993. “ when we started twelve years back, there were only two or three tournaments in Maharashtra,” he recalls “ and ISP organizes an average of five tournaments annually, so the squash talent is busy all year round.” He also further enhances the fact that earlier squash courts were confined to about twelve clubs, but nowadays a number of housing societies have started providing a squash court facility. “ It was all basically due to a lack of awareness, training, sponsorships and actually squash was presumed to be a game of the elite. But today, I have a
list of eighty eight courts across Mumbai itself and there are twenty more
coming up” he announces with pride. The other objectives of
the association are adoption of players, supporting new talent and
producing a world – beater from India. “ Out of the five
players that we adopted, Deepali Avnekar became National Junior Under
19,” adds Agarwal “ Priyanka Jadav was chosen for the Asian Women’s
team championship which won the silver medal for the first time in the
squash history of India and Abhishek Pradhan is the number one in the
under eleven category.” The association also
publishes a newsletter entitled Prosquash, which is distributed to over
3000 squash lovers throughout India without any charge. Additionally thay have conducted over twenty five free squash coaching camps across the state and have been instrumental in arranging coaching sessions with Jahangir Khan’s coach Rahmat Khan, who at present is the captain of Pakistan and Abdul Sheikh a squash coach from Canada. They also have recently Launched squash awareness clinics of ten days, which will be conducted in various housing societies and clubs. Glad that the
corporates are finally coming in a big way for the game, Agarwal is keen
to complete ISP’s seventy fifth tournament by the end of next year. So has he himself, who
plays the game religiously every single day, ever trained or won any
trophies? “No” he replies candidly “all this is simply for the love
of the game.” |
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Squashing
interest The Squash Racquets Federation of India
is at its notorious best again. Meanwhile, the Delhi players are preparing a court petition. Source : http://web.mid-day.com/sports/local/2005/may/109534.htm |
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SRFI leaves Delhi kids stranded Times of India : New Delhi 17/5/2005 : By Ruhi Batra New Delhi: Indian squash has been resuscitated by the good show put up by Joshna Chinappa and Ritwik Bhattacharya on the international scene but a power battle within the Squash Racquets Federation of India (SRFI) is threatening to stymie the game in the country. Squash players from Delhi are being prevented from playing the Milo All Star Junior Squash Championship, an open tournament in Malaysia, from May 31-June 4 on ambiguous grounds. According to a new guideline, the tournament organisers wanted a sanction from the national association, the SRFI. Interestingly, till last year, such a condition did not exist, say sources. The organisers notified the participants and forwarded the applications to SRFI. The Chennai-based body didn’t reply for quite some time. In the meantime, additional entries were sent from the Capital which were also accepted. In an unexpected turn of events, the Delhi party was informed by the organisers that SRFI had rejected the applications, saying the players had to send their entries through the state association, wherein lies the problem. The guideline of the tournament clearly states that the players have to be endorsed by the national association, not state associations. The same stand was not adopted while clearing applications from Maharashtra, where players had sent applied directly to SRFI and not through the state association. There are two factions which represent squash in the Capital: Delhi Squash Association and Squash Racquets Federation of Delhi. The DSA has been accused of fudging players’ age which prompted some members to form the SRFD, much to SRFI’s dislike. The unfortunate fallout is that kids who are eager for international exposure are being stopped in their track because of this tug-of-war. SRFD secretary Rahul Kumar says DSA has not forwarded the applications to SRFI despite little time left for the event. “I still haven’t got any response from the DSA. The rules very clearly state that regional associations don’t need to get involved. This only indicates SRFI is bent on making life miserable for us,” Kumar told TOI, adding, “we’ve even informed the sports ministry about the state of things.” When TOI contacted Vijay Goel, president of the DSA, he said that he had not been contacted on the matter. “These kids haven’t contacted me. I’ve no problem in endorsing their names. They should become DSA members and there will be no problem,” Goel responded. As a last resort, the players are planning to take legal recourse and get a stay order on the SRFI decision. The SRFI is headed by N Ramachandran who is also the president of the Asian Squash Federation. Some quarters have accused him of running SRFI autocratically. It was under his command that Joshna was banned from playing till she got the ban revoked by a high court order. There have been instances of coaches and players being threatened if they went against SRFI diktat. Ramachandran could not be reached despite repeated attempts. |
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Ritwik
bows out in quarters New Delhi: Ritwik
Bhattacharya failed to continue the momentum and went down against sixth
seed Matthew Giuffre of Canada in the quarter-final of the Atlanta Open
Squash championship in the United States. |
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Joshna becomes 1st Indian girl to win Junior British Open (8/1/2005) Times of India : By Pradeep Vijayakar It was the sport of squash that had given Indian sport a grand start and a measure of that success was revisited at Sheffield. Last year, Chennai lad Saurav Ghosal emulated Anil Nayar by winning the Drysdale Cup for the British Open Junior men's squash. This year, it is Joshna Chinappa who has claimed the under 19 girls title. She had win won the under-17 title two years ago. Runner-up in the under-19 last year to Egyptian Omenya Al Kawi, Chinappa ended the run of unseeded Sourth African sensation Tenille Swartz in four games 3-9, 9-3, 9-6, 9-3. Said Joshna about her win: "I was happy to win in my last year in this age group. I was tense, playing on the center court even through I had played there last year. This was because I was wary of the unseeded South African who had shocked many seeded players. I lost the first fame as I was trying to unravel what kind of game she was playing. But once I sized here up, I ran through her." Ghosal complimented Chinappa. "it's great for women's squash," he said. Seconding that was India No.2 Ritwik Bhattacharya, who said it was "awesome". Chinappa's dad Anjan, who has invested a lost in here; said from his home in Chennai, " I hope history repeats itself in another way. Whichever girl has won the British U-19 has gone onto win the World Juniors title. I hope Joshna emulates Nicole David and Omenya Abdel Kawy in Belgium in August." Chinappa had lost to Omenya in last year's final as as also at the quarters of the world's but Omenya is no longer in that age group. Pakistani Basit Ashfaq won the boys under-19 crown beating Tarek Momen 10-8, 7-9, 9-2, 9-1. Click here for more news : http://web.mid-day.com/sports/national/2005/january/101093.htm http://www.hindu.com/2005/01/08/stories/2005010812221800.htm http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=62278 |
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Joshna
invests in training with super coach Bajwa Mumbai: India's squash queen, Joshna Chinappa will be felicitated by the sports minister Sunil Dutt at the Habitant Centre in Delhi on April 15.Joshna made the country proud by winning the British Open JUnior under-19 girls title earlier this year. Mr Dutt is taking special interest in the career of Joshna who is aiming to become India's first-ever junior champion boy or girl at the World Juniors in Belgium this August. He followed up the efforts of Indian Squash Professionals led by Mahendra Agarwal to release a grant of Rs five lakhs for training for Joshna. The government usually helps promising sportspersons this way but these funds had been held back by the national federation for reasons best known to them. Said Joshna's father Anjan Chinappa:``The money is being well spent. Joshna trained in March-April with renowned coach Satinder Bajwa, who was manager of Jansher Khan during his dizzy days at the top of the world squash ladder. As the tournamnent nears Josh will train in Amsterdam at a club where world-class players like Nicole David and Co. play. That way she will get acclimatised as Belgium in a neighbouring country.'' When contacted Bajwa said about Joshna:``What I do with elite players of the calibre of Joshna is to adjust the flow based on the day, which is determined by many factors such as fatigue, particular needs, attitude on the day, day-to-day morale. When training on a regular basis with an individual these things mentioned above determine the outlook of a particular session on any given day. Sometimes there is no session at all. Joshna won the her second British Junior Open title, the under-19 at the start of the year. This is as good as the world title. She had won the under-17 title two years earlier. When asked on her return what areas of improvement she reckoned she needed, Joshna had said her game up front needed to be better. Said coach Bajwas about the areas of improvement:``I have found that Joshna, in particular, needs work on her focus, movement, speed, diet, recovery and most of all the basics, as she has abundant skill. What I mean is that she finds it easy to play, so it is hard for her to grasp why she would need the basics, but through many discussions and mutual evaluation a big part if a coach wants the co-operation of his player we are at a stage where she is making great strides in the above areas mentioned.'' According to Bajwa one needs a minimum of three months to lay down a good foundation and develop an understanding with one another.``With Joshna with me with him only for a month, I focussed on her ongoing progression that can keep her heading in the right direction after she leaves.'' |
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Joshna becomes 1st Indian girl to win Junior British Open (8/1/2005) Times of India : By Pradeep Vijayakar It was the sport of squash that had given Indian sport a grand start and a measure of that success was revisited at Sheffield. Last year, Chennai lad Saurav Ghosal emulated Anil Nayar by winning the Drysdale Cup for the British Open Junior men's squash. This year, it is Joshna Chinappa who has claimed the under 19 girls title. She had win won the under-17 title two years ago. Runner-up in the under-19 last year to Egyptian Omenya Al Kawi, Chinappa ended the run of unseeded Sourth African sensation Tenille Swartz in four games 3-9, 9-3, 9-6, 9-3. Said Joshna about her win: "I was happy to win in my last year in this age group. I was tense, playing on the center court even through I had played there last year. This was because I was wary of the unseeded South African who had shocked many seeded players. I lost the first fame as I was trying to unravel what kind of game she was playing. But once I sized here up, I ran through her." Ghosal complimented Chinappa. "it's great for women's squash," he said. Seconding that was India No.2 Ritwik Bhattacharya, who said it was "awesome". Chinappa's dad Anjan, who has invested a lost in here; said from his home in Chennai, " I hope history repeats itself in another way. Whichever girl has won the British U-19 has gone onto win the World Juniors title. I hope Joshna emulates Nicole David and Omenya Abdel Kawy in Belgium in August." Chinappa had lost to Omenya in last year's final as as also at the quarters of the world's but Omenya is no longer in that age group. Pakistani Basit Ashfaq won the boys under-19 crown beating Tarek Momen 10-8, 7-9, 9-2, 9-1. Click here for more news : http://web.mid-day.com/sports/national/2005/january/101093.htm http://www.hindu.com/2005/01/08/stories/2005010812221800.htm http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=62278 |
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Squash Day a
big hit |
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More than 150 squash
enthusiasts representing various clubs from all over the city took part in
the ‘World Squash Day’ celebration sponsored by Fosters and held at
the Khar Gymkhana on Saturday. |
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'India
will overtake Pak in squash' Karachi:
Jansher Khan believes India are fast transforming into a squash power and
have the potential of overtaking Pakistan as the dominant force on the
Asian circuit in the near future. |
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Times
of India : 19/1/2005 (Naoshirvan
Vakil) After a depressing
2004, Ritwik Bhattacharya has begun the New Year with a bang. The highest
ranked Indian on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) circuit at
No.94 won the title – his third on the PSA Tour – at the $3,000,
Rocafort Open in Barcelona on Sunday. A few days ago, he was runner-up to
Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the CCI Ezra International event in Mumbai. Last year he was plagued by injuries. He also relinquished his National crown when he lost to top junior Saurav Ghosal in the National ginal and the Inter-state event in Chennai last December. Bhattacharya smarting from the defeats put it down to a bout of food poisoning. Bhattacharya, who was the favourite, easily accounted for the 194th ranked Bader Abdel Aziz, a Swede of Egyptian origin, 11-10 (2-0) 11-2 11-2 in Barcelona Bhattacharya, whose two previous titles came two years ago in Whakantane and Auckland in New Zealand, was delighted at beginning the year brightly. “It feels great to start on a winning note. Last year was a tough year and it tested by determination and resolve, and this win makes it sweeter, as I know I am on the right track and this is just the beginning to a great year.” The Delhi star expected his ranking to improve when the new list is released by the PSA in the first week of February. The Indian next plays at the Rochester Pro Al in New York state from January 20. Bhattacharya is the No.2 seed. The Indian ace earned just $600 (Rs.25,000) from the Barcelona victory, but “the points are more important”. RESULTS: Final: Semi-finals: |
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Times of India : 19/1/2005 Sachika Balwani, the firls under-11 National champion for the last three years, won the Scottish Junior Squash Open recently. She won all her semifincal round-robin matches. Sachika began by beating favourite Michelle Gemmeli (Canada) 9-3, 9-2, 9-6 and then went on to defeat Rosie Allan (Scotland) 9-0, 9-0, 9-5 Heather Young (Canada) 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 and Lura Lagerweij (Netherlands) 9-3, 9-3, 9-0 "After winning the nationals in Ajmer well I was very keen to win an international tournament before i moved into the higher category," said the ten-year-old Sachika, who was a runner up in the Penang Open in May 2004. "Its all about focus and how your game is on that particular day," said the class V student of Bombay Scottish School, whose travel to England was sponsored by Air-India. Sachika tried her luck in the British Junior Open, but in under-13 category and reached the last eight. |
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