Press Articles by Raju Chainani from 1976 to 2001
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Articles in Raju Chainani's memories

 

 Press Articles by Raju Chainani (2001)
 

Raju Chainani – RIP

By Khalid A-H Ansari (Mid-Day, 1st Sept 2001)

The widespread expression of grief in the world squash community – from the United Kingdom to Australia – over the sudden and premature passing away of renowned squash writer Raju Chainani is a barometer of the regard and affection, which he enjoyed in the fraternity.

In his death, the game of squash has been bereaved not only in Mumbai and the rest of India but all over the world.

Squash was the magnificent obsession for the genial Raju whose dedication to the game, devastating wit and affectionate nature won him friends and admires among squash players, administrators and journalists all over the world.

A nationally ranked player in his time, Raju’s passion for the game was legendary. Squash was his very being. His knowledge of the finer points of the game and its glorious traditions was second to none.

Raju’s passion to spread the gospel of squash outside the confines of the five-star clubs of Mumbai, especially among youngsters, was an inspiration to the present Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM). The setting up of the MID-DAY A H ANSARI Squash Academy at Andheri was a dream come true for Raju, the visionary, to whom many local squash champions are indebted for his support, guidance and inspiration.

To Raju Chainani must go a great deal of credit for getting MID-DAY and Malaysia’s PETRA FOUNDATION together, culminating in the setting up of the Exchange Programme between the two institutions under which promising squash players from Mumbai and cricketers from Malaysia derive the benefit, on a reciprocal basis, of the infrastructure and coaching facilities in the two countries.

Raju published SIMPLY SQUASH magazine for 12 years despite enormous financial constraints. It was for him a consuming passion, a labour of love in his single-minded endeavour to promote the game.

Prophets, it is said, are seldom recognized in their own countries. This was the case as well with Raju, who made many enemies in Mumbai and elsewhere in India because of his impassioned sense of justice and fair play.

His concern for the underdog and his crusading zeal against tyrannical, autocratic squash officials in Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) and their running dogs, predictably, incurred the wrath of oppressive officialdom. But Raju was not one to be intimidated and he continued his campaign against injustice with exemplary zeal.

Raju Chainani was a man in a hurry. His recent conversation with friends and colleagues during the Hong Kong Open and request to this writer, who he knew for almost 30 years, to meet at short notice in Mumbai after his return last week to discus important squash matters indicate that he was aware that the end was high.

The Maker does not cast many journalists in the Raju Chainani mould. May his soul rest in peace.

Squash correspodent passes away

By Rajan Bala (Asian Age)

Bangalore, Sept. 1: The somber announcement that Raju Chainani, 49, died after brief illness, came as a shock for those who regarded him as friend, albeit a mischievous one. Raju was the only worthwhile writer on squash in the country and good one. He had played the game at national level and loved it, like I love cricket.

As the editor of the magazine Simply Squash he showed that he was meticulous and accurate. He did everything possible for the venture. Unfortunately, it had to be just for private circulation but when I was working in Mumbai, I would get my copy. He encouraged all journalists he interacted with to use any information of interest from the magazine in their newspapers. I first came into contact with him in 1989, when I asked him to write on the game for the Indian Express in Mumbai. He did what he was best at – creating a stir.

There was no doubt that he had the good of the game at heart but if he had to call a spade a spade, he went beyond it. He called it a bulldozer. He used to joke: “If a bloke has any shame then a word would door even a tap on the head. But the squash officials we have, have to be battered into their senses.”

The point about Raju’s writing was that it was entertaining as it was provocative. Of course, I left the Indian Express, and Raju wrote elsewhere. But we remained in close touch, meeting for lunch at the Cricket Club of India. He close chum, Ramesh Ootam of Air-India was generally there and many a fine afternoon was spent in laughter and occasional “bitching.”

His constructive criticism (forget the harshness), at times did contribute to straightening the squash structure both in Maharashtra and the country (the National Federation). For instance, he conducted media tycoon, Khalid Ansari into squash and made him stand as president of the State Association.

It was Raju’s efforts that saw former champion Anil Nayar (now resident of the United States), visit and encourage young players with scholarships. It was Raju who brought coach Bajwa down. In fact, he was so prolific that  not a day passes without him contributing something on the game to newspapers. It must be said that another National Champion, Adrian Ezra, owes a lot to Raju’s interest and encouragement.

It was his dream that India should emulate Pakistan by providing a world champion. But that did not happen in his lifetime. The work that he has done though, will not go in vain. He traveled the world following and writing the game. And once did what many a journalist would dream to do, interviewed the Great Train Robber, Ronald Briggs in Brazil. Now Biggs is back in the United Kingdom, old and repentant. And Raju is no more. Hey buddy, just open your eyes and see what we have to say about you. RIP.
SRAM institutes Raju Chainani awards
THE Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra has decided to institute two awards for the Inter-Schools and Inter-Colllege squash tournament — the Raju Chainani Most Promising Junior Award and the Raju Chainani Essay Competition — in memory of squash writer Raju Chainani, who passed away recently. Sandeep Jangra of Jindal Vidyamandir, Vashind, won the most promising junior award and was presented with Rs 10,000.

For the Raju Chainani essay, schools and college students below the age of 19 are requested to send in an essay of 500 words on “What squash means to me.” The winning entry will win Rs 2,000 and will also be published in ProSquash, the newsletter of the Indian Squash Professionals.
What Squash Community says:
It is a tragic end to one of the finest writers and benefactors squash had in India. Raju did a lot for juniors and worked untiringly towards getting a better deal for the game from officialdom. God rest his soul.
                                                                                          Rajdeep Brar
More Articles on Raju:
 
Joshna leads India's charge

By Raju Chainani 

JOSHNA Chinappa spearheads India's challenge at the World Junior women's squash championships which begin at Penang on Sunday. The Chennai-based 15-year-old brought glory to the country at the recent Malaysian and Singapore Junior Opens. She won the under-17 at Kuala Lumpur and had a notable double, the under-19 and under-17 at the Lion City. 

Instead of lauding her success, the Squash Racquets Federation of India (SRFI) served her a show-cause notice asking how she had entered two events at Singapore. Mumbai's Supriya Balsekar has been named as the number three player for the world junior championship squad.
 
Raring for a crack

Mid-day

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29

TWO weeks of intensive training for Team MID-DAY's junior squash players concluded at the Lakeview Club yesterday. The squad has a day off today and then it's time for the Malaysian Junior Open. Coach K H Ong was quietly confident of a good showing from the Mumbai juniors.

Ong spoke to the players individually and had a group session later in the afternoon. They were all ears for a man who has commanded respect and been like a father figure for them. Ong hosted a lunch for the parents and the kids at the club. It's all been one happy family and the fortnight has gone off very amicably. The juniors got together and invited Ong for dinner. The surprise came in the form of a small present a framed photograph of his son Ong Beng Hee sitting with world champion Peter Nicol at a recent tournament. The coach was very touched and has put up the photograph in his proshop. The juniors have been advised on their kit and have listened to the coach's advice. Ong has experienced the tough limes when his son Beng Hee was coming up. Rackets and shoes cost a pretty penny, but for the juniors Ong has gone out of his way to help them with discounted prices, a gesture that has been much appreciated by the squad.

The proof of the pudding will no doubt come over the next five days as the players participate in Asia's biggest junior tournament. "Our aim is to make the tournament better and larger than the British Junior Open," said Mary Ong, a senior member of the organising committee. The way things have progressed in a matter of a year, this may well happen.

With the total entries being in the region of 500, the organizers have planned to hold the initial stages of the under-11 and under-13 events at the NSC Courts in Jalan Duta, where many a major event has been staged over the years. The under-15, under-17 and under-19 events are to be played at the Astaka Centre. Efforts are on to use the Lakeview Club courts as these are much closer and a final decision will be made later today.

sports@mid-day. com
  

Lalwani, Emanuel steal the show

By Raju Chainani
Mid-day 8-1-2001

NAISHAD Lalwani upset top seed Vikram Malhotra to win the hoys under-13 title in the Air-India SRAM Squash satellite at the Bombay Gymkhana glass-back courts. Lalwani, the number two seed, won 9-4, 5-9, 9-6, 9-1 with his front court game proving to he the key factor.

He was helped by Malhotra's unforced errors but in fairness, it was the better player who won on the day. Sharing the spotlight with Lalwani was ten year-old Nikita Emanuel. Her 9-5, 9-6, 5-9, 9-7 win over Shahnaz Dastur gave her the girls under-13 title.

It was her never-say-die attitude that gladdened the hearts of a knowledgeable audience. Natasha Lall was a member of Team MID-DAY which trained with K H Ong at Kuala Lumpur last May. She has come up well and it was her experience that saw her defeat Liana Deboo in the girls under-17 final.

Deboo led 7-3 in the opener before the US Club youngster look over the reins and went on to win 9-7. 9-4. 9-2. In the boys under-11. Vir Seth recorded his third successive Victory over Jay Dalai.

It was 9-4, 9-3, 9-2 to Seth. His opponent was guilty of playing far too many half-court balls and was never really got into the match. Seth for his part, played sensibly and kept the hall in play, something which his opponent would do well to learn.

Karanpal Sethi wormed his way through to defeat Rishabh Singhvi 10-8. 9-7. 9 2 in the boys under-15. Singhi was tentative when it mattered and must be kicking himself for losing the first and second games.

Sethi, who plays at Otters Club, has been around for a while and had the skill to keep his nose in front when it mattered. The boys under-17 final was a disappointment. Mihir Sheth played quite well in the opener which he lost 9-6 to Supreet Singh but thereafter did not trouble the scorers.

Singh was another to have benefited from the Malaysian experience and has shown he has the strength to come through a series of hard matches.

Mr. Jitender Bhargava, who has just taken over as President of the Air-India Sports Control Board, gave away the prizes.

The event had attracted over 70 entries. Mention must he made of the professionals who ran the event extremely well and were always on hand to referee matches. The third leg of the satellite circuit takes place from 26-28 January at the Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana.
 

Indians fare well

RAJU CHAINANI
Mid-day 31-5-2001

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 INDIAN players had a good opening day at the Milo Malaysian Junior Squash International.

Anurag Gill had the rub of the green as he beat Hansul Hashimi of Malaysia 9-7, 7-9, 9-3, 9-10,10-8 in the boy's under-17, having squandered his chance to close the match in the fourth game. Mumbai's Bhaktiveda Dhaul was two games up against local lass Jonitha Sumithiri but could not drive home the advantage. Her defeat in the under-17 was more than compensated by the Chennai trio of Joshna Chinappa, Vaidehi Reddy and Divya Rajan who dropped six points between them as they cantered into second round.

Heavy rain caused a two-hour delay at the Astaka Centre where the under-15, under-17 and under-19 events were being held. The under-19 matches had to be switched to the NSC Courts in Jalan Duta where the under-11 and under-13 were in action. Things were kept in control by the organisers and despite the unforeseen delay, the day went of smoothly.

Results: Boys under-11 (1st round): Ramit Tandon (India) bt Raja Muhammad Adarr (Malaysia) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Ishaan Balvani (Ind) bt Mok Wey Shem (Mal) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 Parth Jindal (Ind) bt J Umasuthan (Mal) 9-0,9-0,9-0 Boy's under-11 (2nd round): Adeep Arif (Mal) bt Ishaan Balvani 9-6,7-9,9-2, 9-6 Jay Dalai (Ind) bt Gabriel Lim Weijie (Mal) 9-4, 9-6, 9-1.

Boys under-13 (1st round): Mahir Singh (Ind) bt Mohd Izuddin (Mal) 9-3,9-6,9-5; Harinder Pal Singh (Ind) bt Mohd Afiq Syazwan (Mal) 9-0, 9-5, 9-0. Boy's under-13 (2nd round): Harinder Pal Singh (Ind) bt Randy Lim (Mal) 3-9, 10-8, 9-6, 9-1; Jay Bhagat (Ind) bt Jasson Tan (Mal) 9-0,9-0,9-1; Naishadh Lalwani (Ind) bt Azman Shaari (Mal) 9-1, 9-1, 9-1; Sandeep Jangra (Ind) bt Amir Arif Saufan (Mal) 9-1, 9-1, 9-2; Manek Mathur (Ind) bt Ong Man Chin (Mal) 9-0, 9-1, 9-2; Vikram Malhotra (Ind) bt Low Chen Yen (Mal) 9-3, 9-0, 9-1; JoranDiwan (Ind) bt Adrian Lee (Mal) 9-2,9-2,9-0; Heng Quo Lian (Mal) bt Mahir Singh(lnd)4-9, 9-7, 9-6,9-5.Boy's under-15 (1st round): Jai Singh Sekhon (Ind) bt Han Wei Kiat (Mal) 9-4,9-2, 9-5.Boy's under-15 (2nd round): Sadkj Madraswala (Ind) bt Presad Pillai (Sab)9-0, 9-0, 9-3. Boy's under-17 (2nd round): Anurag GHI (Ind) bt Gan Ghee Ming (Mal) 9-0,9-0,9-0; Supreet Singh (Ind) bt Jude Foo Chen Horng (Sin) 9-0, 9-1, 9-1.Boys under-17 (3rd round): Anurag Gill (Ind) bt Hansul Hashimi (Mal) 9-7,7-9, 9-3, 9-10,10-8; Mohd Shahril (Mal) bt Vikas Jangra (Ind) 9-4,9-1,9-4; Supreet Singh (Ind) bt Timothy Van Ewk (Aus) 9-0,9-0,9-2. Girls under-15 (1st round): Liana Deboo (Ind) bt Jenna Foo (Mal) 9-0,9-2,9-7.Girls under-17 (1st round): Joshna Chinappa (Ind) bt Yeo Chiou Giun (Mal) 9-0, 9-1, 9-1; Jonitha Somithri (Mal) bt Bhaktiveda Dhaul (Ind) 7-9, 6-9, 9-6 9O, 9-0; Divya Rajan (Ind) bt Nik Macjan Hanum (Mal) 9-1,9-1,9-0; Vaidehi Reddy (Ind) bt Lar Kan Lin (Mal) 9-0,9-0,9-2. 
 

Bhagat up

Team MID-DAY downs Bukit Jalil Sports School 8-5

RAJU CHAINANI
Mid-day 27-5-2001

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 TEAM MID-DAY heat Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) 8-5 in a hard fought three-hour encounter on Saturday. The tie, which was held at the Commonwealth Games Squash Complex, where squash made a spectacular debut in the multi-discipline event in 1998.

Jay Bhagat blew hot and cold hut was good enough in the deciding game against Calvin Lim. The Jindal trio of Ritesh Sharma, Vikas and Sandeep Jangra were on song. Their colleague Sarvesh Chauhan had a rest day.

On this trip, these soil spoken boys from Vashind have made a deep impression. Size did not matter as little Ishaan Balvani downed Leong Wei Chien a stockily built junior. Manek Mathur also impressed as he breezed past Wone Hou Chou, dropping just six points and Naishadh Lalwani appeared to have an early afternoon appointment as he trounced Presad Pillay 9-l, 9-1,9-0.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing for the Mumbai squad. There was ,1 surprise defeat for Gautam Kalani and Sadiq Madraswala lost a hard fought encounter to Romero Yap. The BJSS boy had a scoreline of 9-3 9-5 1-9 9-7. Service changed hands seven times on the last point and it needed a forehand pass to end what had been a very engrossing affair.

Team MID-DAY reached the venue early and had s chance to see the spectacular all-glass court where the main matches of the 1998 Asian Junior Championships and subsequently the Commonwealth Game where. They were awestruck by the surroundings and just abut the everyone wanted to have a hit on the court, which is a permanent structure. Many a flashbulb clicked and many a question was asked.

As has happened in the previous lies, it was the juniors who referred the matches. It was close to 1 pm when the last match ended and the entourage made it's way to the BJSS canteen to join the rest for lunch. This was the final warm-up for the Team Mid-day Junior Open, which starts on Wednesday.

RESULT:

Jay Bhagat bt Calvin Lim 9-1, 10-8, 4-9, 3-9, 9-3; Ishaan Balvani bt Leong Wei Chien 9-4 9-7, 6-9, 9-6; Ritesh Sharma bt Mohd. Hakimi 9-3, 9-2, 9-7; Sandeep Jangra bt N. Zuhelmi 9-1, 9-3, 9-2; Naishad Lalwani bt Presad Pillay 9-1, 9-1, 9-0; Manek Mathur bt Wone Hou Chou 9-0, 9-4, 9-2; Priyanka Yadav bt Betrice Goh 9-0, 9-0 , 9-0, 9-1; Jay Dalal lost to Mohd Hisham 5-9, 7-9, 5-9; Vikram Malhotra lost to Low Tsu Khian 7-9, 3-9, 4-9; Gautam Kalani lost to Mohd Fadzly 9-10, 3-9, 0-9; Liana Deboo lost to Pang Khai Khim 9-10, 10-8, 2-9, 2-9; Sadiq Madraswala lost o Romero Yap 3-9, 5-9, 9-1, 7-9

 Joshna seeded number one

RAJU CHAINANI
Mid-day 22-5-2001

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 INDIA'S national women's champion Joshna Chinappa has been given pride of place in the girls under-17 at the Mito All Stars Junior Squash International which is scheduled to commence at the Astaka Courts tomorrow.

Her Chennai compatriot Vaidehi Reddy has been seeded to meet her in the final whilst Mumbai's Supriya Balsekar has been placed in the 5-8 category. Thirty-two Indian players are participating in this tournament which is Asia's largest. There is Indian representation in nine of the 10 events, the girls' under-11 being the odd one out. Alisha Mashruwala is seeded in the 5-8 bracket for the girls  under-13, Ramit Tandon has a similar placing in the boys under-11 and Gautam Kalani has made it a menage et trios in the boys under-15.

Kalani is part of Team Mid-Day which is training with KH Ong at the Lakeview Club in Subang Jaya. The coach seemed undaunted by the seedings. "I expect them to do well in the tournament," he said. "There should be a few surprises."

A record 483 entries have been received for the tournament. The overseas participation comes from eight countries Australia, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, Netherlands and Pakistan. Between them, they make up 125 entries with the largest contingent coming from Down Under with 45 players. The hosts, who have 358 players spread over 10 events, have been given top billing in five of them.

The winners of the under-19, under-17 and under-15 stand to gain $1,000 each. Approximately $10,000 is on offer for these age-groups whilst the winners of the under-13 and under-11 have attractive gifts as prizes.

Seedings (Malaysian unless stated) Girls  under-13   (31  entries):  Nabilla Ariffin, Low Wee Wern, Ashley Starr (Australia),  Sagita  Paraminglam;  5-8 Alisha   Mashruwala   (India),   Tamryn Beveridge    (Australia),   Lara   Miller (Australia) and Pushppa Devi (Alisha is the lone Indian entry). U-15 (32 entries): Skye Miller (Australia) 2 June Tiong (Liana Deboo is the lone Indian entry).

U-17 (32 entries): Joshna Chinappa (India), Vaidehi Reddy (India); 3-4 Sally Looi and Cherelle Kelly (Australia); 5-8 Naarah Rodwell (Australia), Supriya Balsekar (India), Sahar Jasmina and Lim Yoke Wah (Joshna Chinappa, Vaidehi Reddy, Supriya Balsekar, Shubika Bilka and Divya Rajan are the Indian entries). U-19 (13 entries): Tricia Chuah, Kirsty Knight (Australia) (Rachita Vora is the lone Indian entry)

Boys under-11 (57 entries): Spencer Davis (Australia), Ivan Yuen, Elroy Leong and Kamran Khan; 5-8 Ramit Tandon (India), Wong Xi Liang (Singapore), Kikoyu Itagati (Japan) and Vincent Chew (Ishaan Balvani, Parth Jindal, Jay Dalai and Ramit tandon are the Indian entries). U-13 (97 entries): Eivin Keo, Matt Reece (Australia) (Harinder Pal Singh, Mahir Singh, Naishadh Lalwani, Sandeep Jangra, Joran Diwan, Vikram Malhotra, Jay Bhagat and Manek Mathur are the Indian entries)

U-15 (80 entries): Ben Reece (Australia), Kapil Nesan; 5-8. Gautam Kalani (India), Ali Bader Al Ramezi (Kuwait), Neil Hoevanaais (Netherlands) and Tan Tze Hion (Ritesh Sharma, Sarvesh Chauhan, Saurav Ghoshal, Sadiq Madraswala, Jai Singh Sekhon, Mrinal Todi and Gautam Kalani are the Indian entries). U-17 (68 entries): Jhie Gough (Australia), Dylan Bennett (Netherlands) (Anurag Gill, Vikas Jangra and Supreet Singh are the Indian entries)

U-19 (34 entries): Mohd Azlan Iskandar, Mubashir Gul (Singapore) (Deepak Yadav is the lone Indian entry).
 

Great Ghoshal

RAJU CHAINANI
Mid-day 2-6-2001

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 SAURAV Ghoshal was India's star on quarter-final's day at the Milo Malaysian Junior Squash International. His 9-1, 10-8, 9-2 win over the top seed Ben Reece (Australia) in the boy's under-15 had a touch of class. Victories for Alisha Mashruwala (girl's under-13), Joshna Chinappa and Vaidehi Reddy (girl's under-17) gave India four players in their respective age group semifinals.

Ghoshal kept his cool under pressure in the second game and was good value for his straight games win. He was cheered on by a vociferous Indian entourage who ensured that everybody at the Astaka Centre knew of their presence. Ghoshal's win was the only upset of the day which saw the fancied players make their way through to the last four stage. The 14-year-old Ghoshal trains with Dilip Tripathi at the Calcutta Racket Club and has been a finalist at the junior nationals on three occasions. Last year he had lost in the fourth round but has come on a great deal since.

The morning session had seen Jay Dalai (boy's under-11) and Harinder Pal Singh (boy's under-13) being beaten. Dalai could not match strides with the number two seed Mat Reece (Australia) but Harinder went down with funs blazing. It was 9-5, 9-5, 9-2 to Reece but the scores do not indicate how well the young sikh played. The Aussie's win was some consolation for his elder brother's defeat at the hands of Ghoshal.

Chinappa is a warm favourite for the girl's under-17 title. But the manner in which she played yesterday was reason for concern. She was good enough to beat Lim Yoke Wah (Malaysia) in four games but needs to be much sharper in the semis where she meets Australia's Cherelle Kelly. Mashruwala booked her place in the last four of the girl's under-13 with a comfortable 9-5, 9-5, 9-5 win over Australia's Ashley Starr. The petite Murnbai damsel runs into Malaysia's Sagita Paramalingam next. Mashruwala's Mumbai compatriot the third round of the girl's under-15. She had top seeded Australia Skye Miller as her opponent today and  bowed out gracefully

Results (quarter-finals):

Boys under-11:1-Spencer Davis (Aus) bt Aiman Aziz (Mal) 9-4,9-4, 9-0; Vincent Chew (Mal) bt Mohd Kharul B Rahimi ( Mal) 9-5, 9-0, 9-1; Kamran Khan (Mal) bt Lee Calvin ( Mal) 9-2, 9-4, 9-2; 2-lvan Yuen (Mal) bt Jay Dalai (Ind) 9-4, 9-0,9-1.

Boys under-13:1-Elvin Keo (Mal) bt Tom Steward (Aus) 9-10, 9-3, 9-2, 9-5; Lim Lu Tjun (Mal) bt Marcus Phua (Sin) 7-9. 9-3, 0-9,  10-8, 9-5; Jesmond Low (Mal) bt Mohd Asyraf Azan (Mal) 9-7, 9-7, 7-9, 6-9, 9-4; 2-Mat Reece (Aus) bt Harinder Pal Singh (Ind) 9-5, 9-5, 9-2.

Boys under-15: Saurav Ghoshal (Ind) bt 1-Ben Reece (Aus) 9-1, 10-8, 9-2; Risto Krauss (Aus) bt Russell Wegner (Aus) 9-6, 9-6, 9-0; Mohd Azfar Azan (Mal) bt Mohd Izam Mahazer (Mal) 9-4, 9-2, 9-4, 2-Kapil Nesan (Mal) bt Mohd Nafizwan (Mal) 9-5, 6-9, 9-2, 9-1.

Boys under-17: 1-Jhie Gough (Aus) bt Woo Yew Hong (Mal) 9-0, 9-4, 9-3; Dick Lau Siu Wai (HK) bt Mohd Shahril (Mal) 5-9, 9-1, 9-5, 9-7; Timothy Arnold (Mal) bt Alasdair Alien (Aus) 9-0, 4-9, 10-8, 3-9, 9-0; 2-Dylan Bennert (Hol) bt Wong Kin Lee (Mal) 9-0, 9-6, 4-9, 9-2.

Boys under-19: 1-Mohd Azlan Iskandar (Mal) bt Timothy Arnold (Mal) 9-2, 9-0, 9-1; Dylan Bennett (Hol) bt Marcus Yeap (Mal) 9-3, 9-2, 9-2; Kelvin Ho (Mal) bt Ziyad Tareq Al Owaish (Kuw) 4-9, 9-6, 5-9, 9-2, 9-2; Mubashir Gul (Sin) bt Michael Arcidiacono (Aus) 9-7, 9-0, 9-5

Girls under-11: 1-Zulijah Azan (Mal) bt Heng Yi Lian (Mal) 9-2, 9-1, 9-0; Jeshila Maniam (Mal) bt Roobim Sattampalam (Mal) 9-1, 9-7, 9-4; Chua Wen Ya (Sin) bt P Vanaja (Mal) 9-0, 9-2, 9-0; 2-Nesserine Ariffin (Mal) bt Asami Ninomiya (Jap) 9-7, 9-1, 9-5.

Girls under-13: 1-Alisha Mashruwala (Ind) bt Ashley Starr (Aus) 9-5, 9-5, 9-5; Kimberley Bessell (Aus) bt Sagita Parmalingam (Mal) 9-2, 9-5, 9-4; Low I Wee Wem (Mal) bt Pushppa Dewi (Mal) 9-7,9-2, 9-2; 2-Nabilla Ariffin (Mal) bt Lara Miller (Aus) 9-3, 9-4, 9-2.

Girls under-15: 1-Skye Miller (Aus) bt Liana Deboo (Ind) 9-0, 9-4, 9-1; Munirah Arif Kor (Mal) bt Nora Ashikin (Mal) 9-1,9-0,9-2; Ho Baoxia (Sin) bt Siti Munirh (Mal) 9-0, 9-5, 9-0; 2-June Tiong (Mal) bt Tan Poh Yong (Sin) 9-5, 9-0,9-1.

Girls under-17:1-Joshna Chinappa (Ind) bt Lim Yoke Wah (Mal) 9-0, 7-9, 9-1, 9-3; Cherelle Kelly (Aus) bt Delia Arnold (Mal) 10-9, 9-2, 9-10, 9-1; Sally Looi (Mal) bt Joanne Jee (Mal) 9-1, 9-4, 9-2; 2-Vaidehi Reddy (Ind) bt Sahar Jasmina (Mal) 9-4, 9-1,9-4.

Girls under-19: 1-Tricia Chuah (Mal) bt Teng Ooi Ean (Mal) 9-1, 9-5, 7-9, 9-3; Georgina Davis (Aus) bt Jemma Saxby (Aus) 9-2, 9-0, 9-3; Tracey Michell (Aus) bt Karen Lau Siu Ying (HK) 9-5, 9-5, 0-9, 2-9, 9-5; 2-Kristy Knight (Aus) bt Daniella Davis (Aus) 9-6, 10-8,9-2
 

Team Mid-day’s day out

By Raju Chainani
Mid-day 17-5-2001

Kaula Lumpur, May 17 The sign outside the Lakeview Club squash courts in Subang Jaya said, “Please do not disturb. Team Mid-day juniors are hard at work,” Indeed they were. It was an early start this morning with a three-kilometer run followed by court drills and match play. Coach K H Ong broke them in gently after their arrival on Saturday and has gradually built up the active level.

“We have done 13 drills so far” said Maneck Mathur who is on his second trip with Team MID-DAY,” Mr. Ong has been his usual wonderful self,” The kids dote on the soft-spoken coach who has proved his mettle. The outstanding performance of his son Ong Beng Hee, currently ranked at number nine in the world, is proof of the pudding.

“We were hoping to meet Beng Hee,” said Vikram Malhotra, winner of the under-13 title at the recent Otters Old Castle Open and one who has come up a lot since his training here last year, “We follow his progress and are very happy he is doing well.”

Not to be outdone, the girls have got into the groove. There are four of them-Priyanka Yadav. Shubika Bilka, Liana Deboo and Bhaktiveda Dhaul. “It is very professional. It is tough but we are enjoying the training,” said Priyanka Yadav, who has been given the additional charge of being the team leader.

Friday is the day of rest. The weather gods have been king and all going well, there is a trip planned to Genting Islands for the day. The team needs a day to recuperate before their weekend match against the MPPJ juniors.

The camaraderie with the local official is very good. On the 26th Team Mid-day has a match against  the Bukit Jalil Juniors and the venue is the squash complex in the Commonwealth Games arena. Squash apart, it’ll be an experience for them to see the venue of the 1998 Games.
 

A squashing day for India: (P-28)

Raju Chainani
Mid-day 17-7-2001

PENANG: Joshna Chinappa and Vaidehi Reddy provided the upsets in round two of the ninth world junior women's squash championships. Both had wins over players who were seeded in the 9-16 bracket.

Chinappa started the ball rolling when she beat Dagrnar Feddern (Denmark) 6-9, 9-3, 9-0, 9-4 in 27 minutes. Reddy had a much rougher time and needed to keep her cool under pressure in beat Milja Dorenbos (Netherlands) 10-8, 9-6, 8-10, 9-4 in a 39-minute encounter.

However, there was no such luck for Supriya Balsekar as she went our 10-9 9-4, 9-5 to Frances Ho (Hong Kong) in 28 minutes.

In the third round, both have unseeded Australians as opponents. Chinappa runs into Kasey Brown while Reddy takes on Felicity Goodall. The Indian national champion had no business 10 lose the first game against Feddern. She looked strong at 6-3 but there began a spell of nine points in which she did little right. The pendulum had swung and Chinappa was soon a game and 0-3 down. She was good enough to rise to the occasion. A relentless attack followed, Feddern wilted and the next 18 points went to the Indian. Chinappa soon put the issue beyond doubt as she led 7-1 in the fourth and though Feddern pur together a couple of winners, it was too late for any comebacks. "I lost my concentration in the first game. There are no excuses. I knew I had to set things in order. I started playing to length and was able to cut down on the errors," Chinappa said. This was a good result for the Indian number one. Her 18-year-old opponent was a quarter-finalist in the European Junior Open and is ranked at number two in Denmark. Feddern played the 1999 world junior girls championships at Antwerp.

World referee Chris Sinclair was in the hot seat. She had officiated Vaidehi Reddy's match in the first round and had ended up with a patch of wet paint on her trousers. Nothing so dramatic hap pened this afternoon and the lady who had once been told by Jahangir that "A woman's place should be at home" had a relatively peaceful time. The Chennai lass led 4-2 and 7-5 in the opener, saw her opponent fight back and reach game ball with a superb forehand crosscourt and then came up with two superb winners to close the game. Reddy was put to the test and showed plenty of character in coining through. The Indians have their best two in the round of 32 and there is more than a ray of hope for them.

Press Articles of Raju Chainani (2000)
   

MID-DAY tyros win

Mid-day 15-5-2000.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15. The MID-DAY junior squash team defeated The Lakeview Club 8-7 last afternoon. It was an impressive start by the Mumbai juniors who were up against five ranked Malaysian players. Looi Fon Sow, Looi Hong Lin, Ashvin Nesan, Kapil Nesan and Salty Looi. Three of  the matches went the distance with the Mumbai youngsters, who were not expected to be up against it, showing their mettle and emerging as deserving winners.

Results : Supreet Singh beat Looi Fon Sow 8-10,7-9,10-9,9-7,9-1; Yogin Thakur lost to Looi Hong Ling 6-9 0-9 4-9; Siddarth Samantaray lost to Mak Wai Ying 1-9,0-9, 0-9; Rahil Shah lost to Ashvin Nesan 7-9,0-9,0-9; Sanjay Pawar lost to Kapil Nesan 9-10,6-9, 6-9; Rachita Vora lost to Sally Looi 9-3,5-9,1 -9,9-6,3-9; Bipin Batra beat Saffi Raja 0-9,9-1,5-9,9-6 9-3; Manek Mathur beat Sec Toh Lee 5-9,10-9,9-6,9-2; Natasha Lal beat Nathan Raja 9-3,9-4, 9-4; Vikram Malhotra beat Sachin Nesan 9-3,9-2,9-4; Ishaan Balwani beat Joel Lee 9-1,9-5, 9-0; Shailee Shelke lost to Aisha Gnami 9-2,3-9,1-9,3-9; Shaifee Shelke beat Diana Ong 9-0,9-4,9-3; Siddarth Samantaray beat Nahan Raja 9-6.4-9, 10-8, 9-4.

Team MID-DAY get cracking in Kuala Lumpur

Mid-day 14/5/2000

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 THE Team MID-DAY junior squash team swung into action at the Lakeview Club on Friday evening, a few hours after reaching their hotel. A light lunch with coach K H Ong at the luxurious Holiday Villa in Subang Jay a went down well as they players had time to talk discuss the forthcoming fortnight.

The Air-India crew gave the players and accompanying entourage a red carpet treatment on board. There was a bit of fun too and the kids were full of beans when they got to the final destination.

There is a lot of Indian interest at present in Kuala Lumpur. The junior hockey team has done well. K P S Gill, president of the Indian Hockey Federation, was on the same flight as the squash group and if all goes to plan, some of the MID-DAY team would be at the Bukit Jalil Stadium on Sunday night to cheer the Indian boys in the final against South Korea.

Not so sweet have been the results in the Thomas Cup but it is the world's best who are in action. The finals are on 21st and there should be time to visit the badminton venue. A day trip to Penang has been planned for the 26th. It is finals day at the Malaysian National Games and Team MID-DAY would have the opportunity of seeing Ong Beng Hee and Nicol David, the current world junior boy's and girls champions in action.

Coach K H Ong felt the Mumbai kids have to set themselves goals and work towards achieving them. "It is all about hard work and dedication", he said, "I have seen ft with my son. You have a couple often year olds who have immense potential. This is a new environment for them so one needs to be patient".

Scenic setting

Mid-day 20/8/2000

CAIRO, August 19 THE world's leading men and women squash players return to the sport's most spectacular setting later this week for the $1,10,000 Al-Ahram International, staged on an open air court alongside the Great Pyramids of Giza, from August 20-25.

Top seed in the men's event will be world No 1 and world champion Peter Nicol. Arch rival Jonathon Power, the world No 2 from Canada, is seeded to meet the Scot in the final in what would be their 21st career meeting, with the score currently standing at ten wins apiece.

Al-Ahram interest, however, will undoubtedly be focused on local superstar Ahmed Barada, the 23-year-old world No 3 who is making his comeback in a PSA Tour ranking event since surviving a double stabbing in his back outside his home in Cairo last March. Barada is seeded No 3 and is the event's draw card, having won the title in 1998.

Last year, the event took on the status of World Open in which Barada's fans cheered him into his third final in four years, where he lost to Peter Nicol. Favorite in the women's event will be England's world champion and world No 1 Cassie Champion, who is expected to meet New Zealand's No 2 seed Leilani Joyce, the British Open champion, in the final on August 25.

Australia's World Grand Prix champion Carol Owens is seeded to reach the semi-finals whilst the event's dark horse may well be another Australian Sarah Fitzgerald, the ninth seed also from Melbourne. The three-times former world champion will be making her second come back this year after returning to the WISPA World Tour in January following knee surgery and winning five successive titles.

Indians on top

Mid-day 10/7/2000

HONG KONG, July 10 INDIA had a profitable opening day in the team event at the 10th Asian Senior Squash Championships. The men were in action in the morning and evening. They beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in their first tie and Singapore by the same margin. The women sailed past Chinese Taipei 3-0 but they have problems as Mekhala Subedar is unwell and a lot depends on her for today's match against Japan.

Ritwik Bhattacharya dominated the first and second games against Lim Jit Uei. He led 6-3 in the third and served for the match at 8-5. The Singapore number one persevered, came up with a superb forehand volley and then left his opponent stranded with a disguised backhand boast The game went to extra points and Bhattacharya nosed ahead with a wrong footing backhand crosscourt and his ensuing serve found the back wall nick to end this 30 minute encounter 9-5, 9-3, 10-8 to Bhattacharya. An erratic Mohammed Rizal made Manish Chothrani's task a lot easier.

"Rizal has not played in any competition since last August's SEA Games. He has had to do national service and has been working in the police force", said Singapore coach Fahim Gul, "But that does not detract from Manish's disciplined approach. He deserved to win".

Dhiraj Singh defeated Dermadi Ali 9-4, 10-8, 9-5 in the third rubber. The soft spoken Indian has been going about his task in a very business like fashion. He won in 27 minutes and though the second game went to extra points, Singh never looked like losing it. India play Malaysia in their conclud­ing Pool A tie tomorrow but the two wins today have put them into the top eight finishers.

Deepali Anvekar, Vaidehi Reddy and Supriya Balsekar took just 34 minutes between them, dropping only eleven points as India swamped Chinese Taipei 3-0. Reddy beat Pan Kueiyeh 9-3,9-2,9-0 to start the rout, Anvekar breezed past Hung Meihsia 9-0, 9-1,9-0 and Balsekar disposed of Huang Weiting 9-1, 9-2, 9-3. But the main concern for the Indians is Mekhala Subedar's health.

"She was feeling dizzy and vomited this morning. We called the doctor who felt it could be a viral infection. In this condition she cannot play tomorrow. I hope she recovers by the evening because we must beat Japan to qualify for the semi-finals. The draw has been good for us and the tie against Chinese Taipei was very easy," said coach Bhuvaneshwari Kumari.

Earlier, India beat Sri Lanka. Manish Chotrani put India in the lead when he beat Navrn Samarasinghe 9-7, 9-0, 9-7 in 29 minutes. Ritwik Bhattacharya beat Saman Tillekeratne 9-4, 10-8, 7-9, 2-9, 9-6 in 77 minutes. Dhiraj Singh made it a clean sweep with a comfortable 19-minute 9-4,9-4, 9-0 win over Hirantha Goonesena.

 

Byebye, India! LEARNING CURVE

Mid-day 12-5-2000
By Raju Chainani

TEAM MID-DAY left for Kuala Lumpur last night where they are to begin a 15-day long squash training period starting Saturday. "Playing in a different environment is important for the youngsters," said SRAM secretary Mahendra Agarwal.

" MID-DAY has put together this programme and has sponsored Chandrakant Pawar's son, Sanjay. It is very encouraging for the game."

Kuala Lumpur has fast developed into the hotbed of world squash. Since hosting the 1989 Men's World Open, an event which saw Jansher beat Chris Dittmar in arguably the best final in the history of the championships, the Malaysians have sponsored the Asian Seniors (1994), Asian Juniors (1998), World Women's Open (1996), World Men's Open (1997) and the Commonwealth Games, apart from a number of smaller events tike the Milo Open, the YTL Open and the Head Satellites.

It is into these surroundings that Team MID-DAY is headed for. The juniors and parents who have decided to come along for a holiday would be staying at The Holiday Villa in Subang Jaya, adjacent to the Lakeview Squash Club where the training is to take place.

MID-DAY chairman Khalid A-H Ansari is specially flying to Kuala Lumpur. He and H R H Tunku Imran, president Emeritus of the World Squash Federation have been instrumental in setting up the exchange programme.

The juniors shall have a chance of mixing with royalty Tunku Imran is hosting an official dinner for the group on Monday. As the entourage left Mumbai, there was a tinge of excitement and expectation. Now it's time for the serious business as squash becomes top of the agenda.

The select juniors who left for Malaysia are: Aditya Manjrekar, Ishaan Bahvani, Manek Mathur, Natasha Lall, Rachita Vora, Rahil Shah, Sanjay Pawar, Shailee, Shelke, Supreet Singh, Vikram Malhotra, Yogin  Thakur,  Bipin  Batra  and Siddharth Samantrey.

These Mumbai squash juniors will be training with former Malaysian international K H Ong. The tour is part of an exchange programme between MID-DAY and Petra Foundation of Malaysia.

Byebye, India!

By Raju Chainani 
Mid-day 7/7/2000

HONG KONG, July 6 SECOND seed Rebecca Chiu had to be at her Thursday best to quell a spirited performance from Mekhala Subedar in the quarter-finals of the 10th Asian Senior Squash  Championships.

The Indian national champion led 6-0 in the opener and had a chance to dose this game when she served at 8-7. It needed a superb backhand drop from Chiu to level the scores and she had two more winners to take this 13-minute game. Subedar never gave up. She ran for every ball and made her experienced opponent work for her points. It was 10-8, 9-3 ,9-3 to the local favourite, the clock stopping at 38 minutes.

"She should have won the first. She began very positively and though she lost, it was an excellent performance," coach Bhuvaneshwari Kumari said. The Indian men's challenge came to an end in the third round.

Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee beat Ritwik Bhattacharya 10-8, 9-4, 9-1 in 37 minutes. The story of this match revolved around the first game, and once Bhattacharya had lost it there were to be no comebacks.

Sixth-seeded Zubair Jahan Khan of Pakistan beat Manish Chotrani 9-1, 10-8, 9-2 and second seed Kenneth Low (Malaysia) ended India's interest with a 13 minute 9-6, 9-3, 9-0 win over Dhiraj Singh.

But the star of the day for the Indians was Mekhala Subedar. She was most impressive in her 22 minute 9-0, 9-4, 9-0 demolition of the number eight seed Serene Lee (Singapore) in the third round, played in the morning. Subedar played with controlled aggression and her opponent was always playing second fiddle. The Singapore girl made many feel she had just come out of school.

Bhuvaneshwari Kumari was delighted with the result. "In the past they have had long matches, usually five games. Today I was confident Mekhala would win, but I didn't think it would be so easy. She is hitting the ball well and changing the pace of the game. It was a very good performance," said the 16-time national champion, who had reached the semi­finals of the 1992 Asian Seniors in Mumbai.

Ritwik Bhattacharya let top seed Ong Beng Hee off the hook in the first game of their third round encounter. He did well to rally from 2-4 and when he served for the game at 8-4, he had Beng Hee on the ropes. The world junior champion was snatching at volleys and three unforced errors made matters worse.

To his credit, Beng Hee hung in there, saved two gameballs and fought back to win the game over extra points.

Bhattacharya could not convert the chances that came his way and found the tin four times. The top seed took control of the match from there on. "I was lucky to win the opening game. Ritwik played superbly. He was taking the ban early and put ting me under pressure," Beng Hee said. "Had I managed to take the first game, I feel I had a chance of beating him. It is the unforced errors that proved costly," Bhattacharya said.

Results Mens's Quarter-final Ong Beng Hee (Malaysia) bt Zubair Jahan Khan (Pakistan) 8-10, 9-4, 9-7, 9-1; Shamsul Islam Khan   (Pakistan)   bt   Yap   Kok  Four

(Malaysia) 3-9, 9-4, 9-4, 9-10, 9-6; Mansoor Zaman (Pakistan) bt Ajaz Ahmet (Pakistan) 9-5, 9-7, 10-8; Kenneth Low (Malaysia) bt Abdul Faheem Khan (Hong Kong).

Women Nicol David (Malaysia) bt Tricia Chuah (Malaysia) 9-10, 10-8, 9-4, 9-6; Kuan Choy Lin (Malaysia) bt Della Lee (Singapore) 9-3, 0-9, 10-8, 9-0; Sharon Wee (Malaysia) bt Christina Mak (Hong Kong) 9-6, 9-4, 9-2; Rebecca Chiu (Hong Kong) bt Mekhala Subedar (India) 10-8, 9-3, 9-3.

Indians set to thrive

By Raju Chainani 
Mid-day 5/7/2000

HONG KONG, July 4 EIGHT Indian players and three officials make up the contingent for the 10th Asian Senior Squash Championships which begin at the Hong Kong SRA Courts today.

India's third string, Navneet Narain has the honour of playing on centre court and his opponent is top seed Ong Beng Hee (Malaysia). National champion Manish Chothrani and Ritwik Bhattacharya also have their first round matches slated for today whilst Dhiraj Singh is on later.

The girls are luckier as they have afternoon matches.

The squad had just about checked into the hotel at 5 pm last evening. They did get to the courts, a ten minute taxi ride away, around 6 p.m. Considering the door to door time was twelve hours or more, depending on whether they travelled from Chennai, Delhi or Mumbai, the Indians have little time to settle in.

Fortunately, Chothrani and Bhattacharya appear to have easy matches. Nevertheless, when close to $ 10,000 is being spent on sending a team to a major event like the Asian Championship, there is a definite requirement for the players to have sufficient time to get used to the conditions. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee and Nicol David, the reigning world junior boy's and girl's champions respectively, are aiming for the golden double. The task for Beng Hee is much tougher than that for Nicol David.

Although the Pakistanis are not the same force, Mansoor Zaman, Shamsul Islam Khan, Ajaz Ahmet. Zubair Jahan Khan and Hong Kong's Abdul Faheem Khan could make life interesting for the top seed. Of the eight men who are seeded, only Faheem Khan is a previous winner.

He represented Pakistan in the 1990 Asian championships at Calcutta, migrated to Hong Kong soon thereafter and won the Asian title at Peshawar in 1992 defeating Zubair Jahan Khan. The women's event looks to be a straight fight between Nicol David and local lass Rebecca Chiu.

They are currently ranked at 37 and 38 on the WISPA world list but the 16 year old Malaysian has had the better of the exchanges, particularly during the last year. International referees have been flown down by the organizers for the event. Peter Highstead (New Zealand), Munir Shah (Singapore) and Yogendra Singh (India) have the colourful but controversial Australian lady Chris Sinclair as the fourth. She made world news at the 1991 Australian Open. Sinclair was in the hot seat in the final between Jahangir and Chris Dittmar.

The six times world champion was most upset with her officiating and suggested, "A woman's place is at home". Undeterred, Sinclair responded that she would love to have breakfast with Jahangir.

Squashing success

Mid-day 7/9/2000 
By Raju Chainani

SIMPLY Squash, Asia's popular squash magazine, has completed a decade. And Raju Chainani, it's editor is proud Not often do scribes get lauded for their efforts but the magazine's editor who also contributes to MID-DAY, received his share of accolades at the Bombay Gymkhana last night.

Former Mumbai sheriff Nana Chudasama, MID-DAY chairman Khalid A-H Ansari and the squash fraternity of Mumbai praised Chainani's dedication and devotion to the game which has seen his magazine grow from strength to strength.

Prominent in Simply Squash's fist of highs is the fact that it has covered events in 32 cities from Cairo to Yokohama. To mark the occasion Chainani has put together a special issue called Simply Ten Celebrating Ten Years of Simply Squash winch was released yesterday by Ansari, president of the Squash Rackets Association of Maharashtra. The special publication is embellished with pieces from some of squash's leading writers like Richard Eaton, Colin McQuillan and Chainani himself.

Top players tike Geoff Hunt and Sarah Fitz-Gerald have penned pieces too.
 

Indian squash squad returns In batches

By Raju Chainani Mid-day 14/7/2000

HONG KONG, July 14 THE Indian squash players left in three batches yesterday. Women's team coach Bhuvaneshwari Kumari, Dhiraj Singh, Navneet Narain and Ritwik Bhattacharya had to change their flights as their seats on Singapore Airlines were wait listed.

They had to have the tickets endorsed to Air-India for the early evening flight to Delhi. It is sometimes difficult to comprehend how a national squad has travelled with unconfirmed seats.

One batch left for Chennai and another for Mumbai The weather conditions in Mumbai are reason for concern as news has filtered in about heavy rains during the last ten days. Coach Cyrus Poncha is Mumbai bound and on Friday night is scheduled to leave for Milan for the world juniors.

News about happenings at the AGM of the Asian Squash Federation (ASF) was doing the rounds at the farewell dinner last night. Mokhzani Mahathir, the current ASF President is contemplating to stand for another term of four years.

The elections arc due to be held during the Asian Junior Championships at Chennai in January 2001.

It is learnt that there has been some canvassing for N Ramachandran but should Mahathir, the son of the Malaysian Prime Minister stand for re election, it could be a no contest. Ramachandran along with India's team manager S Subramaniam and referee Munir Sait attended the AGM. Subramaniam was conspicuous by his absence in India's match against Hong Kong for the third place. Ramachandran objected to the organisers having invited international referee Yogendra Singh directly and not through the SRFI. He was politely but firmly told that Yogendra had been called because of his qualifications and also because the organisers felt the regional referees should be given first preference.

Letters had been sent to all who are on the list and Yogendra had confirmed his availability. When told about this, Bhuvaneshwari Kumari who is Yogendra's sister, was at a loss for words.
   

Mixed bag

By Raju Chainani 11th July 2000.
Mid-day

HONG KONG, July 11 INDIA defeated Japan 3-0 to enter the semifinals of the 10th Asian Senior Squash Championships. They meet Pakistan tomorrow whilst Malaysia play Hong Kong in the other semifinal.

The Indian women were caught out by the Japanese and though Mekhala Subedar put them ahead, Deepali Anvekar and Vaidehi Reddy both lost in straight games. As a result the girls are in the play off for positions 5-9. Ritwik Bhattacharya defeated Yoshihiro Watanabe in the first rubber. The Indians could have won in straight games but that was not to be. He was 4-0 up in the second and later had his chance at 7-5. The attempts at the inch perfect volley did not work and Watanabe drew level with a clev­erly disguised forehand boast.

These two games had lasted 27 minutes and had taken their toll on the Japanese player. He was a spent force thereafter, had a three minute timeout in the fourth game as he strained a thigh muscle and it was soon all over 9-6 8-10 9-1, 9-0 to Bhattacharya after 35 minutes, the last two games lasting a total of eight minutes.

Manish Chotrani had the left handed Akira as his opponent. The Indian champion had to work hard for his points. He was good enough to do so though the error rate was higher than what the doctor ordered 9-4,9-5, 9-3 to Chotrani in 45 minutes with the games lasting 18, 14 and 13 minutes respectively.

The third rubber was of academic interest with Dhiraj Singh defeating Kimihiko Sano 9-0, 9-4, this match being the best of three. India play Pakistan tomorrow, a team they have never beaten so far in the previous Asian Senior Championships.

The ladies match had its twists and turns. Mekhala Subedar had been unwell yesterday. She lost the first game to Mami Nishio and trailed 3-6 in the second The Deolali girl rallied and her perseverance paid off. It was equally close in the third and at 7-7 it was anybody's game.

The Indian champion polished it off with a forehand boast and then raced away with the fourth game. 4-9, 9-7, 9-7,9-1 to Subedar after 53 minutes. Kaoru Tateno is an experienced customer. She was helped by Deepali Anvekar playing a front court game.

Tateno won 9-6,9-3,9-3 in 24 minutes and the semi-final spot hinged on the deciding  rubber. In fairness, Anvekar tried her best but it just wasn't good enough. Young Vaidehi reddy was no match for Eri Tsuchida.

The Japanese number three coasted to a 94, 9-3,9-7 win, the match lasting 27 minutes. Reddy as ahead at 3-0 and 5-2 in the third before the geisha act turned the tide.

"You cannot blame Deepali or Vaidehi Both are relatively inexperienced and were playing seasoned opponents. Mekhala played superbly. She showed a tot of character, slowed the game down in the second and it worked well", said coach Bhuvaneshwari Kumari The thought remains of what might have happened had   Sohini  Kumari   and   Joshna Chinappa been included in the team. The chances of a medal would certainly have been very, very good. But that is water under the South China Sea now.

The Indian men went on court against Malaysia with a loser's attitude. Ritwik Bhattacharya had played well against Ong Beng Hee in the individual event Today, he was bundled out in 18 minutes, the score of 9-1,9-2, 9-1 speaking for itself.

Beng Hee felt Bhattacharya ok not try. Worse was to follow as Manish Chotrani won the opener against Kenneth Low and Dhiraj Singh did likewise in his match with Yap Kok Four. The lack of effort was evident Kenneth Low went on to win 8-10,9-3,9-2,9-5 after 27 minutes.

It was being said that the Indians did not wish to exert themselves as they had a tough evening match against Japan. Suddenly India were scared of a country who have played in only three Asian Championships and have always finished web below us.

Results of the preliminary stage MEN
Pool A: Malaysia beat India 3-0; Singapore beat Sri Lanka 2-1 Finishing order 1.Malaysia 2.1ndia 3.Singapore 4.SriLanka

Pool B: Pakistan beat Hong Kong 3-0; Japan beat Kuwait 3-0 Finishing order 1.Pakistan 2. Hong Kong 3. Japan 4.Kuwait

Pool C: Philippines beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 Finishing order: 1 .Philippines 2.Chinese Taipei 3.Macau

Pool D: Thailand beat Korea 3-0 Fishing Order : 1.Thailand 2 Qatar 3. Korea

Men's Event (Stage 2): Positions 1~& Malaysia beat Thailand 3-0; Hong Kong beat Singapore 3-0; India beat Japan 3-0; Pakistan beat Philippines 3-0; Positions 9-14: Qatar beat Macau 3-0 ( winner to play Sri Lanka) ; Korea beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 ( winner to play Kuwait) WOMEN Pool A: Malaysia beat Japan 3-0; India beat Thailand 3-0; Japan beat India 2-1 Pool B: Sri Lanka beat Korea 3-0); Hong Kong beat Singapore 3-0; Singapore beat Sri Lanka 3-0.
 

Squashing glory

By Raju Chainani
Mid-day 11-1-2000

MAHARASHTRA squash was on a high in the year 2000. The juniors won five of the seven titles at the nationals and the seniors provided the icing on the cake with a clear cut victory in the interstate championship. Manish Chotrani, Bikram Uberoi, Mekhala Subedar and Priyanka Yadav had their moments of glory on the senior circuit. It was, however, the little ones who stood out. Vikram Malhotra, Jay Bhagat, Jay Dalai, Mihir Sheth, Maneek Mathur, Nikhil and Vir Seth, Sahil Vora, Supreet Singh. Aditya Manjrekar, Bipin Batra, Karanpal Sethi, Junaid Nathani, Vishal and Mihir Kapoor, Ishaan Balwani, the Jindal boys, Rachita Vora. Alisha Mashruwalla and Natasha Lal... they were the ones fighting it out at many an event. The results were by no means a foregone conclusion a healthy sign for the sport. If one were to handpick three from this lot, it would be Vikram Malhotra, Sahil Vora and Alisha Mashruwalla. Interestingly, Vora opted out of the under-17 category and chose to play the under-19 event at the nationals. He reached the semi-finals and is in line for a place in the squad for the Asian juniors.

There was success for Malhotra and Mashruwalla at the Hong Kong Junior Open. Last week there was a fourth place finish for little Ishaan Balwani at the Scottish Junior Open, where the arctic conditions did not dampen his spirit. Such keenness, such application, such results make the association, parents and supporters look with a sense of pride to the future.

There were more tournaments in Mumbai for the kids and the seniors. The Hong Kong Bank sponsored Maharashtra State Open had a record purse of Rs 450,000. The RaboBank Indian Junior Open, the Little Masters and the Otters Junior Open gave the younger lot plenty to play for. Air-India came in with a junior satellite and there were seven tickets on offer for the respective age-group winners. The Motilal Sanghi inter-club event has become part of lore and continues to grow every year. Coaching schemes increased and, towards end of the year, world-renowned Chris Clark conducted a clinic for the kids. The Indian Squash Professionals put together a series of events and, for the first time, there was a tournament in Kolhapur.

As 2001 moves into the second gear, there are positive movements towards the public courts. The eggs have not been put in one basket. Instead, several leading lights have been approached and it is all looking good. The recent elections of the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM) saw Khalid A-H Ansari and his team be reelected to another term of office by a thumping 9-1 majority.

   

Press Articles of Raju Chainani (1999)
 

Indians in four plate finals

Mid-day 27-1-1999

KUALA LUMPUR, January 27 WORLD junior champion Ong Beng Hee (Malaysia) is to meet arch rival and holder Mansoor Zaman (Pakistan) in the final of the boys individual event at the HEAD 9th Asian Junior Squash Championships. Beng Hee had a workmanlike 9-3, 9-7, 9-6 scoreline against Pakistan’s Shahid Zaman after 39 minutes whilst Mansoor cantered to a 40 minute 9-0, 4-2, 9-4 win over colleague Mohammed Ilyas.

The girls semi-finals were an all-Malaysian affair. At the end of the day, the fight for the gold has developed into a family affair between the David sisters, Nicol and Cheryl Nicol ran riot with a crushing 9-0, 9-1, 9-1 win over Daphine Ting in 16 minutes.

The Indians figure in tour plate finals. Rhea Bhandara had a disappointing loss to Malaysia's T'eng Ooi Ean in the Classic Plate which is for second round losers. However, Joshna Chinappa had a good win and her colleague Vaidehi Reddy made the final of the Consolation Plate.

Results: Boys Classic Plate (semi-finals): Anshul Manchanda bt Mihir Kapoor 9-1, 9-0, conceded; Parth Doshi bt Abdul Adzira (Malaysia) 9-6, 9-6, 9-2.

Girls Plate (semi-finals): Nur Adawiyah (Singapore) bt Pia Abraham 9-7, 9-7, 10-9; Francis Ho (Hong Kong) bt Lim Yoke Wan (Malaysia) 7-9,4-9,9-6,9-1,10-9.

Girls Classic Plate (semi finals): Joshna Chinappa bt Tan Hui Shan (Malaysia) 10-8, 9-7, 9-5; Kong Yi Zhen (Malasyai) bt Teng Ooi Ean (Malaysia) 9-3,9-2, 9-7.

Girls Consolation Plate (semifinals): Vaidehi Reddy bt Eriko Chiba (Japan) 9-0, 9-1, 9-3; Nagisa Miyashima (Japan) bt Buddhika Pefera (Sri Lanka) 9-5,9-0,9-5.

"A night of the squash champions

Times of India 6/2/1999

MUMBAI : A proposal to intro­duce squash among the police force was mooted at the Mid-Day Lifetime Achievement awards on Thursday.

The function was graced by World Squash Federation's president emeritus Tunku Imran who gave awards to former national champs Anil Nayar, Adrian Ezra and Meherwan Daruwalla.

The  London based  Ezra  was present to receive the award from the sports loving Imran while the New York based Nayar was represented by his brother who received the award on the former's behalf.

Daruwala, who was the undis­puted champion before Ezra top­pled him, also received an award.

The victorious Maharshtra men's team, the National team champions, were presented with a cash award of Rs 50,000 for winning the interstate title at Calcutta last month.

Malaysia's world junior boys champion Ong Beng Hee, his country's richest squash player, was given the Tunku Imran award by the South East Asian Nation's Prince himself on the day hee turned 19.

Hee had beaten Pakistan no. one Mohammed Hussain, perceived to be his biggest threat, on his way to the title last year.

Also honored were Maharashtra's coach Ananth Nayak, women's national champion Mekhla Subedar and professionals champions Chandrakant Pawar and Shyamlal Verma.