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21st ICL World
Men's Team Squash Championship
The winning England team with their trophies Pradeep Vijayakar in The Times of India At the post-match conference among other things World champ Amr Shabana said was squash was bound to grow in India because I see little kids running here and there, that's the future. It's this passion for squash that is remarkable about Indian squash. This passion is reflected in the attitude of the parents and players of all classes and generations. Mumbai was once the hub of the sport having world class events and a flourishing local circuit. It still has a large number of tournaments, a large mass of players and a system in place with coaches being called like Gomez from Mexico at the CCI academy, World Sports Academy guided by Peter Nicol in place at Bombay Gymkhana and Indian Squash Professionals bringing in Egyptian coaches like Sami Farrag and Khalid Atlas Khan from Pakistan. But the quality air-conditioned courts as we have in Chennai are not there and players cannot prepare for big-time squash with facilities as they exist in Mumbai. Mumbai needs a centre like the ICL Academy. Indiain Squash Professionals is trying its level best to bring up such an academy. But if passion will take the boys through let it be so. This passion can be seen in the Mumbai people who came here. There's professionals Sunil Verma, Rohit More,Vijay Jangra who attended the referees clinic and doing refereeing here. There were the champs of tomorrow with their parents: Mahesh Mangaonkar with his mom Anjali who was filming the matches. Mahesh has been training in Egypt and got to knock with Greg Gaultier and Amir Waigh. Mahesh's guide Vaman Apte as also there like CCI players Chetan ladiwalla and Jahangir Surti with his kid. There was Aditya Jagtap with his parents, Pune coach Deepak Moolani with his son. Sunil Verma and wife brought the kids from Jindal Squash ACademy. Laxman Joshi the u-17 runner up is the best of them. There was Raj Aora with son Caran. Former national champs Akhil Behl and Manish Chotrani also came. They hail from Otters Club which is an ambitious squash hub whose players/officials Rustum Dalal and Avinash Bhavnani was are also here. Indeed it was a Mumbai's invasion of Chennai. They could be seen discussing the game animatedly. Where could one have seen a collection of stars as we saw here? And hopefully from the young ones who saw this event an Indian champ will surface. Now squash ponders Olympic dream By Pradeep Vijayakar Chennai: The 21st ICL World Men's Squash Championship had a delightful ending at the Taj Conemara hotel on Wednesday. Two ladies holding high positions in different international sporting federations held out promise for squash gaining Olympic entry. The first was Sarah Springman, President of the International Triatholon Federation and then the vice-president of the Federation Internationale de Hockey , Els vsn Breda Vriesman. Sarah said :``We got into the Olympics in the shortest time. I will show squash the way, all the best. Sarah competed for ten years and was European champ six times, British champ ten times and won the Hawaiian Iron Man Challenge. She said swimming was her favorite sport but was biking champ too. Sarah's squash connection was when she was working on a dam project in Fiji. She played there and won the Fiji title in 1981-82. Hockey official Els, a former international player, said: ``We respect squash because it is a dope free sport. That is a big reason for it to get into the Olympics.'' The consensus of the opinion is that it is more a political issue with voting involved. But most expect squash to get in by 2016 games, provided standards are higher. But a fear was expected that standards may have gone down lower at these latest championships. A case is made for PSA points to be given for performances in a World Championship so that players take it seriously. And that the event is placed suitably in the calendar and not squeezed in at the last. World champ Amr Shabana, who made noises in the media about the two world events being held back to back may be ticked off by the world body. Shabana kept to himself and was missing at the final evening merriment when the players had a sumptuous dinner and discoed into the night first at the hotel disco and later at the Park disco, a happening place downtown. As at the opening ceremony, so at the closing one Maj Maniam, director of coaching Asian Squash Federation is hsi other role as emcee had the audience in splits with his wisecracks. A few samples:``My wife is a sex object, every time I want sex, she objects.'' Another: ``Eighty per cent of Indians cheat on their wives. The balance twenty cheat outside India!''' N Ramachandran, secretary of the Squash Rackets Federation of India and president of the Asian federation, presented Rs 2.5 lakh to Indian team for their path-breaking No 8 finish in the World event. Saurav Ghoshal, who won
the country's highest sporting award, the Arjuna award was also rewarded
with a clock for his achievement. An Indian team finished higher than the No 8 the current one finished at the 21st edition of the World Team Squash. But it was fifth out of six in the inaugural event in 1967. Whereas it was No 8 out of 29 in 2008. We were trying to figure out who would have been the members of the first team. Raj Manchanda, India's long-time national squash champion had the answer: it was Anil Nayar, Ali Ispahani, Sanjit Roy and Fali Madon. Ispahani's a great story. He played a lot of squash in England at Landsdowne Club where Rahmat Khan remembers playing with him. He was returning to Madras via Bombay. His cousin, Baaqer Shirazi asked him to play in the Nationals which were being held in the city. Ali agreed provided he would provide proper diet. He played and beat Fali Madon to win the title. Ali stays in Chennai but couldn't be at the world championships as he was in the U.K. And who played for Pakistan. Rahmat Khan provided some possible names: Aftab Javed, Salim, Gogi Allauddin, Meerand Sajid...................... Much water has flown down the Sutlej and Ganges since that first world event when India finished ahead of Pakistan whose giants like Roshan Khan, Azam Khan didn't play. But we had a repeat of India finishing ahead of them when both countries were at full strength inChennai 2008.India 8 Pakistan 11. Indian squash can only go higher from here. As Amr Shabana said:``Seeing so many young kids running here and there at the world class Indian Cements Academy, I can only see a bright future for Indian squash.'' A six-year-old kid Vir, the son of former national champ Manish Chotrani would be seen entering the courts when they were free and knocking oblivious to anything around him. We may have seen the world-class future of Indian squash there. But Manish, a stroke-playing artist, also knew the pitfalls after watching the world event here: ``It's hard work playing at this level.'' How many Indian kids are ready for that? There are. The Aditya Jagtaps, the Mahesh Manganokars, the Deepiak Pillais are not averse to spending hours in strange places like Egypt to further their game. Indian squash is in good hands, on and off the court. That's the message from a
world-class World event conducted by India. England Australia provide world class squash Pradeep Vijayakar in The Times of India (12/12/2007) Chennai: England and
Australia gave Indian squash players, kids and parents a display of world
class squash in the final of the World Team Squash Championships. England
had a 2-1 win over Australia in the 21st edition of the event at the
ICL-SDAT courts. England, losers to
Australia in the final and semi-final in 1991 and 2001, retained their title
with a 2-1 success. France overcame top seeds Egypt to repeat their
third-place effort of last time, while hosts India claimed eighth spot,
their best ever after the 11th in 2005 losing to Holland 0-3. Their
players looked dead beat while the Dutch had plenty in reserve. England bt Australia 2-1: Nick Mathew lost to David
Palmer 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-2, 4-11(32 min); Play-off (3-4): France bt Egypt 2-0: Gregory Gaultier bt
Amr Shabana 11-2, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3 (30m); Play-off (5-6): Malaysia bt Canada 2-1: Azlan Bin Iskandar
bt Shahir Razik 12-10, 13-11 (27m); Play off (7-8): Netherlands bt India 2-0: Laurens Jan Anjema
bt Saurav Ghosal 13-11, 11-4, 11-4 (27m);
England coach salutes team spirit Chennai: David Pearson, England manager and national coach said team spirit was the key to the World Team Squash triumph.``Our No 2 and No 3 men played to form, kept us ahead of Australia.It is always hard to beat David. But after we were one-down James and Peter kept their cool. Pilley felt the pressure more than Peter. Our boys needed good starts and got them.’ Byron Davis, Australia coach, said:``It was really a great world team final. We were the underdogs at No 4. David Palmer was exceptional while beating Nick Mathew. He did well to win the crucial points otherwise Nick may have had his day. James was too strong for Boswell. Peter was solid. England boys had a better day. Winning the first game makes a difference for the underdogs, we did that against Egypt and that’s how we won. When David had allowed Nick to level I told him that he had to move forward he was hanging back and allowing Nick to dominate.’’ David Palmer said:`` Nick played better that’s why he won those two games. At 6-4 in the third I thought I had done it and dropped my concentration. Nick has always been a fighter and he came back strongly. But in the decider I didn’t panic, started well and was happy to win. To beat Shabana and Nick in a couple of days feels great stuff.’’ Peter Barker, who won the decider for the second day running after the one against France said: ``I did feel the pressure of playing the decider initially. But I played the basic game and a simple one, going straight to the front and make it hard. The pressure came back in the third but I decided to be patient.’’ India to fight for 7-8 spots Pradeep Vijayakar in The Times of India Chennai: India’s hopes of finishing fifth or sixth in the World Team Squash were dashed by Canada who beat them 2-1. Canada’s Egyptian Shahier Razik lost a five-setter to Saurav Ghoshal quite dramatically 12-10,9-11,12-10,6-11,11-9. At 8-all Razik was docked two points-- a conduct stroke when he threw the racket after falling. That gave Saurav match-point and he clinched the tie when Razik hit the tin. However in the deciding
tie, Ritwik Bhattacharya couldn’t raise his game against Matthew
Giuffre losing 1-3 (8-11,6-11,11-6,7-11). Siddharth Suchde, playing with
grit, had lost the opener 1-3 to Shaun De Lierre who won
11-3,13-11, 13-15, 11-8. On Tuesday, with World
Open champ Amr Shabana beaten by David Palmer, fourth seeds Australia sent
top seeds Egypt crashing out and will take on defending
champs and second seeds England who beat No 3 France 2-1. The last time
England played Australia they lost to them in the semis of the Melbourne
event in 2001. They had lost the 1991 final in Helsinki. India, 11th last time
around, lost 1-2 to Canada for 5-8 positions and take on Holland for the 7-8
spots. For positons 5-6, Canada play Malaysia who beat Holland 3-0. When told that an
`Ashes’-like battle will be fought out in the 21st ICL World Men’s Team
Squash Championship at the ICL-SDAT courts here on Wednesday, England’s Nick
Mathew who had been instrumental in that happening, said:``Greg beat me in
the World Open semis, so I had to stay mentally stronger. Australia beats us
in several sports, I hope we can beat them in squash. I am pleased but not
over the moon. It’s a half job done. It will be fifty-fifty for the final. I
was the team mascot when he lost last time to England at Melbourne 2001.’’ England manager David
Pearson said:``Greg Gaultier looked stale. He has had a long run. It
was bound to happen. At Bermuda he was looking great. In comparison Nick,
who also plays a lot, works hard on staying mentally fresh. And Barker
doesn’t reach too many title rounds to get drained.’’ Peter Barker said:``I was
mentally prepared to play the opener as I was told in the morning that I
would play. Ours is a closely-knit team and we have practiced hard. I have
played three matches before this even though I was No 4. The pressure not to
lose was there as I wanted to give us a winning start and take the
pressure off Nick. I kept the ball straight.
I played a simple game, not a complicated one and it worked. I had lost to
Renan in a PSA event in September. When you play a team event the
pressure is different. Frenchman Gaultier
said:``I have had too much of squash.’’ Renan Levigne
said:``England were better today. Against Barker I was good in the first
half of the games. But every time I played the ball short, it turned
out a loose shot. Barker was cantering away.’’ World Open Champion Amr
Shabana, the star attraction of the event, lost in four games to David
Palmer in the second tie after No 3 Mohammed Abbas had beaten
Cameron Pilley with some confident strokeplay in the opener. In
the decider, Karim Darwish, tried his best inspite of his recent injuries
but the fitter Stewart Bosewell kept getting the ball back in play to
win 3-1 to give the Aussies a famous win. Boswell had taken Shabana
to five games in the World Open first round. Stage 2 - 1 to 16 - Semi Final EGYPT lost to AUSTRALIA 1-2 ; {4} Mohamed Abbas {Egypt}
beat {3} Cameron Pilley {Australia} 7-11 11-7 11-4 11-8 FRANCE lost to ENGLAND 1-2 ; {3} Renan Lavigne
{France} lost to {4} Peter Barker {England} 6-11 6-11 6-11 Stage 2 - 1 to 16 - Round 3 WALES beat SOUTH AFRICA 2-1 ; {4} Jethro Binns {Wales}
lost to {3} Adrian Hansen {South Africa} 8-11 11-7 11-9 10-11 {1-3} 8-11 MALAYSIA beat NETHERLANDS 3-0 ; {3} Mohd. Nafiizwan
{Malaysia} beat {3} Tom Hoevenaars {Netherlands} 3-11 11-10 {4-2} 11-4
8-11 11-3 CANADA beat INDIA 2-1 ; {4} Shawn Delierre
{Canada} beat {3} Siddharth Suchde {India} 11-3 11-10 {3-1} 10-11
{3-5} 11-8 PAKISTAN beat IRELAND 2-1 ; {4} Yasir Ali Butt
{Pakistan} beat {3} Derek Ryan {Ireland} 11-4 11-4 8-11 11-8 NEW ZEALAND beat GERMANY 2-1 ; {3} Josh Greenfield {New
Zealand} beat {3} Johannes Voit {Germany} 9-11 11-9 11-10 {3-1} 7-11 11-10
{2-0} HONG KONG lost to U.S. OF AMERICA 1-2 ; {3} Max Lee {Hong Kong}
beat {4} Richard Chin {U.S. of America} 11-2 11-10 {2-0} 11-3 Stage 2 - 17 to 29 -
Round 3 VENEZUELA lost to BERMUDA 1-2 ; {4} Richard Prieto
{Venezuela} lost to {3} Robert Maycock {Bermuda} 4-11 5-11 9-11 SWEDEN beat JAPAN 3-0 ; {3} Rasmus Hult {Sweden}
beat {3} Yuta Fiukui {Japan} 11-4 11-5 10-11 {0-2} 11-7 SCOTLAND beat SPAIN 2-1 ; {3} Henry Leitch
{Scotland} beat {3} Arturo Santo Tomas {Spain} 11-2 11-7 11-4 Stage 2 - 17 to 29 - Round 3 RUSSIA lost to SRI LANKA 1-2 ; {3} Valery Litvinko
{Russia} lost to {3} Anura Hewage {Sri Lanka} 4-11 11-7 9-11 5-11 KUWAIT beat KENYA 3-0 ; {4} Nasser B. Al-Ramezi
{Kuwait} beat {3} Hartaj Bains {Kenya} 11-8 11-6 11-4 FINLAND beat AUSTRIA 3-0 ; {3} Henrik Mustonen
{Finland} beat {3} Andreas Freudensprung {Austria} 11-5 11-5 11-10 {3-1} India go down fighting to Egypt Pradeep Vijayakar in The Times of India : 10/12/2007 Chennai: Defending champions England play France and Egypt play Australia in the semi-finals of the 21st ICL World Men’s Team Squash Championship at the ICL-SDAT courts here. England’s Nick Mathew had a good run-up to the semi-final in his match against Anjema. James Willstrop was a little out of focus against Tom Hoevenaars. England beat France in a four-player Euro match but lost last time we had a three-player affair. French star No 3 Gregory Gaultier said:``I am happy I had a competitive the match against Azlan.’’ Thiery Lincou also had a keen tie against Ong Beng Hee who had his moments in the opening game. The other semi-final pits Egypt against Australia. Egypt beat India 3-0 resting Karim Darwish. Australia beat Canada 3-0 with only David Palmer having problems getting past Shahir Razik, whose returning ability and sudden winners stumped Palmer in the opening game he lost over extra points. Jonathan Power rested feeling sore in the back. India were beaten not disgraced. Tenths seeds India, who made this round for the first time and were rewarded by the Squash Rackets Federation of India, with a Rs 2.5 bonanza, now play for 5-8 positions meeting sixth seeds Canada. Ritiwik Bhattacharya took Wael El Hindi over extra points 13-11. He didn’t have the luck with refereeing decisions. Saurav Ghoshal played his shots against World Open champ Amr Shabana, who played the, thanks to the accuracy and width of his shots, especially the crosscourts. Saurav did have him stumped with a volley drop or two and some drives to length. Shabana was through at 11-5, 11-8, 11-9. In the third Siddharth Suchde could not perform as well as the other two losing 6-11, 8-11 the dead rubber tie to Mohammed Abbas. Amr Shabana said about the Indians:``Saurav is fast, has good hands, if he stays hungry he can make the top 20 and go higher. Ritwik had some bad calls from the referee. But for that he could have made the match interesting.’’ Saurav said:``Amr has fantastic racketwork, it phenomenal how much width he gets on the crosscourts.’’ Said Ritwik:``I wish I had the luck in the first it would have been a different match. In the next two it was a slugfest.’’ Suchde said:``It was a totally different level. The length of the shots that came back at you was totally different than you expected. They have that kind of touch.’’ Former national champion Manish Chotrani who was watching the match said:``It’s amazing how when they want to win a point they do so.’’ In Tuesday’s tie against Canada for the 5-8 positions, all eyes will be on veteran Jonathan Power who is making a comeback. It appears he has some back pain. He rested from Canada’s game against Australia who won 3-0 and play Egypt in the semi-final. The other semi-finals pits holders England against France, who beat Malaysia 3-0. India will have to watch out for Canada’s Egyptian player Shahir Razik who won the first game against Aussie World No 4 David Palmer before losing 1-3. Razik a top 20 player, worried the Aussie with his consistent returns and the occasional drop from back. But when Palmer showed him down he suddenly lost control of the game. Said 34-year-old Power:``I’m feeling sore. I have respect for the Indian players. It will be a tight match.’’ Power remembered Mumbai and the Mahindra Open. ``Jansher beat me 15-13 in the decider of the semi-finals.’’ Quarter-final results: Egypt bt India 3-0: Wael El Hindi bt Ritiwik Bhattacharya 13-11, 11-4, 11-8; Amr Shabana bt Saurav Ghoshal 11-5, 11-8, 11-9; Mohammed Abbas bt Siddharth Suchde 11-6, 11-8. U.S. OF AMERICA lost to
SOUTH AFRICA 1-2 RUSSIA beat CHINESE-TAIPEI 3-0 {2} Sergey Kostrykin
{Russia} beat {3} Kai-Han Chuang {Chinese-taipei} 11-3 11-2 9-11 11-4 SPAIN beat KENYA 3-0 {2} Alejandro Garbi Caro
{Spain} beat {3} Hartaj Bains {Kenya} 11-5 11-8 11-7 AUSTRIA lost to JAPAN 1-2 {2} Jakob Dirnberger
{Austria} lost to {2} Takanori Shimizu {Japan} 6-11 2-11 8-11 KUWAIT lost to SCOTLAND 1-2 {2} Abdullah Kh.
Al-Mezayen {Kuwait} beat {2} Stuart Crawford {Scotland} 11-2 11-5
11-10 {2-0} FINLAND lost to SWEDEN 1-2 {2} Matias Tuomi
{Finland} lost to {2} Badr Aziz {Sweden} 10-11 {2-4} 4-11 5-11 PRADEEP VIJAYAKAR, THE TIMES OF INDIA Chennai:Asian giants Pakistan crashed to 1-2 defeat to Holland while emerging Asian force India, the 10th seeds had their all-time best show upsetting seeds Wales , the 8th seeds, 3-0 to enter the quarter-finals for the first time in the 21st ICL World Men’s World Team Squash Championshiop at the ICL-SDAT Squash academy here. India, who were 11th at the last worlds in 2005, are assured of their best finish ever, at least eighth. They next play top seeds Egypt who blanked Hong Kong 3-0. If India lose, they play for positions 5-8, probably Canada who play tough Australia in the last eight. It was the first time India finished ahead of Pakistan. The first occasion was in the inaugural event in 1967 when all of Pakistan’s professionals did not play and India were fifth and Pakistan sixth in the six-team event. Ritwik Bhattacharya, who has been hovering on the brink in the earlier matches, showed his best game against David Evans, drops from back, shots into the nick and timely crosscourts winning 3-0. The brinkmanship surfaced when he won the second game 13-11. He took dad’s advice to calm nerves. Evans showed his class in the way he played for the crucial points. Alex Gough had a lesson or two for Saurav Ghoshal. But Saurav reads the game well and kept the ball to length. His positivity was seen in his going for his shots when he had a `let’ coming his way. This was a good sign and it kept up the rally which tired Gough in the first game itself though he won 14-12. He needed sport taping for his thigh after that courtesy the Dutch physio. In the second Gough was still controlling the exchanges with his wealth of experience, deceptive shots, first-timers into the nick. But Saurav kept his focus keeping ramming home the advantage not letting his opponent’s injury affect him. After losing the second Gough conceded the tie on the last point of the third game (3-11). Siddharth Suchde made it 3-0 beating Jethro Binns 3-0 indicating that India may have won even if any one of the earlier matches had not gone their way. Welsh veteran Alex Gough, who had celebrated his birthday on Saturday with a great win over `LJ’ Angema of Holland, said:``I finally went to pieces, it had to happen.’’ Gough has been avoiding playing on the circuit but came to play for the country. Holland’s Angema who beat the Pakistan No 1 said: ``I knew Aamir is the fastest player on the circuit, so I slowed the pace down, kept him in the back, used my height and dominated the T.’’ Dylan Bennett who beat No 2 Mansoor Zaman, said:``I kept control of the game, kept ball in play he made mistakes with his finishing shots.’’ Aamir Atlas said:``I was just not in the match, I don’t know how.’’ Mansoor Zaman:``My opponent played well. I was leading 6-1 in the third after being two-down. But I began hitting too many tins and that was that.’’ India’s win was welcomed by a host of squash lovers, among them 1997 national champ Akhil Behl and his Otters Club friends Rustum Dalal, Avi Bhavnani, the parents of Ritwik and Saurav, Ritwik’s actress friend Neha Dhupia, Raj Arora, professionals Chandrakant Pawar and Rohit More, former India player Yogendra Singh, fans from Kolkata, squash kids and their parents from Mumbai having to come to watch a world event, besides former players and referees. Mahesh Mangaonkar, junior champ, quickly got Saurav's racket gutted after the strings came off in the first set. He changed rackets thrice. Malaysian Maj Maniam, who has been first coach and now consultant to the team since 2002 said:``It’s an outstanding result for Indian squash. It was a test of Saurav’s temperament when Gough was injured. He drove the point home.’’ India bt Wales 3-0:Ritwik Bhattacharya bt David Evans 11-6, 13-11, 11-7; (38m); Saurav Ghoshal bt Alex Gough 12-14, 11-7, 11-3 retired.(50m); Siddharth Suchde bt Jethro Binns 11-8, 11-7, 11-2(31m). Other results(Pre-quarter-finals): England bt Germany 3-0;Netherlands bt Pakistan 2-1,Malaysia bt Ireland 2-1;Canada bt South Africa 2-1; France bt New Zealand 3-0; Egypt bt Hong Kong 3-0;Australia bt US 3-0. Results for Sunday 9th December : Day 4 Stage 2 - 1 to 16 - Round 1 ENGLAND beat GERMANY 3-0 {2} James Willstrop
{England} beat {2} Tim Weber {Germany} 11-6 11-2 11-8 Stage 2 - 17 to 29 - Round 1 SCOTLAND beat CHINESE-TAIPEI 3-0 {2} Stuart Crawford
{Scotland} beat {2} Hsuen-Chih Huang {Chinese-taipei} 11-4 11-1 11-1 SWEDEN beat BERMUDA 3-0 {3} Rasmus Hult {Sweden}
beat {2} Mel Cairnes {Bermuda} 11-7 11-2 11-5 KUWAIT beat RUSSIA 3-0 {2} Abdullah Kh.
Al-Mezayen {Kuwait} beat {2} Sergey Kostrykin {Russia} 11-3 11-2 11-2 AUSTRIA beat VENEZUELA 3-0 {3} Andreas Freudensprung
{Austria} beat {2} Juan Pablo Sanchez {Venezuela} 11-6 11-6 11-0 KENYA beat SRI LANKA 2-1 {2} Rajdeep Bains {Kenya}
lost to {2} Navin Samarasinghe {Sri Lanka} 5-11 11-10 {3-1} 5-11 4-11 India to meet Wales in last eight Pradeep Vijayakar in The Times of India Chennai: India play Wales in the knockout rounds of the 21st ICL World Men’s Team Squash Championship at the ICL-SDAT courts here. If they win they run into Egypt, the top seeds. The draw was released here after the end of the league DRAW FOR LAST 16 Wales beat Holland 3-2 which meant India seeded No 1o having to meet No 8 Wales. They would have preferred to meet No 9 Holland, who they were capable of beating and had downed in 2005. Alex Gough, the oldest player on the PSA circuit, who turned 37 on Saturday won a five-setter against Laurens Jan Angema. He will play Saurav Ghoshal on Sunday. Kenya have three playes of Indian origin and two of them played against India. Hardeep Singh Reel had two match-balls against Ritwik Bhattacharya, who wiggled out with his strong strokeplay. The other was Hartaj Bains who was beaten 3-0 by Siddharth Suchde. Results: India bt Kenya 3-0: Ritwik Bhattachayra bt Hardeep Reel 11-4, 12-10, 12-10; Gaurav Nandrajog bt Otto Kwach 11-5, 11-6, 11-9; Siddharth Suchde bt Hartaj Bains 11-2, 11-4, 11-3. Egypt bt Russia 3-0; Germany bt Finland 2-1; England bt Hong Kong 3-0; France bt Venezuela 3-0; US bt japan 3-0; Australia bt New Zealand 3-0; Malaysia bt Sri Lanka 3-0; South Africa bt Kuwait 2-1; Pakistan bt Bermuda 3-0; Sweden bt Chinese Taipei 3-0; Wales bt Holland 2-1; Canada bt Ireland 2-1 Results for Saturday 8th December Day 3 : Pool 'A' {2} Karim Darwish {Egypt}
beat {1} Alexi Severinov {Russia} 11-4 11-2 11-4 EGYPT beat RUSSIA 3-0 {1} Simon Rosner
{Germany} beat {1} Olli Tuominen {Finland} 11-8 4-11 10-11 {0-2}
11-10 {5-3} 11-3 GERMANY beat FINLAND 2-1 Pool 'B' {2} James Willstrop
{England} beat {1} Dick Lau {Hong Kong} 11-5 11-4 11-3 ENGLAND beat HONG KONG 3-0 Pool 'C' {1} Gregory Gaultier
{France} beat {1} Fransisco Valecillo {Venezuela} 11-4 11-6
11-7 FRANCE beat VENEZUELA 3-0 {1} Julian Illingworth
{U.S. of America} beat {1} Jun Matsumoto {Japan} 11-10 {2-0} 11-4 11-7 U.S. OF AMERICA beat JAPAN 3-0 Pool 'D' {1} David Palmer
{Australia} beat {1} Kashif Shuja {New Zealand} 11-4 11-2 11-6 AUSTRALIA beat NEW ZEALAND 3-0 Pool 'E' {1} Mohd. Azlan Bin
Iskandar {Malaysia} beat {1} Saman Thilakaratne {Sri Lanka} 11-6
11-2 11-5
MALAYSIA beat SRI LANKA 3-0 {1} Bader I. Al-Hussaini
{Kuwait} lost to {1} Jesse Engelbrecht {South Africa} 7-11 8-11 6-11 KUWAIT lost to SOUTH AFRICA 1-2 Pool 'F' {1} Jonathan Power
{Canada} beat {1} Liam Kenny {Ireland} 11-8 11-6 11-6 CANADA beat IRELAND 2-1 Pool 'G' {2} Mansoor Zaman
{Pakistan} beat {1} Chase Toogood {Bermuda} 11-4 11-1 11-6 PAKISTAN beat BERMUDA 3-0 {2} Ritwik Bhattacharya
{India} beat {1} Hardeep Reel {Kenya} 11-4 11-10 {1-0} 11-10 {1-0} INDIA beat KENYA 3-0 Pool 'H' {1} Christian Drakenberg
{Sweden} beat {1} Chun-Yu Chang {Chinese-taipei} 11-1 11-1 11-3 SWEDEN beat CHINESE-TAIPEI 3-0 {1} Alex Gough {Wales}
beat {1} Laurens Jan Anjema {Netherlands} 11-6 8-11 11-8 6-11 11-7 WALES beat NETHERLANDS 2-1
Ghosal revels even in India’s defeat to Pakistan Pradeep
Vijayakar | TNN
In the India-Pakistan opening tie, India No 3 and a fit and mobile Siddharth Suchde had his chances taking the first game off Farhan Mehboob and leading 6-5 in the second which he lost over extra points. He lost the next two and the tie 1-3 because he didn’t always put the ball away when he had the chance. India No 1 Saurav Ghosal played the stuff professionals do, coming back from two games down and an injury to draw level. But for some poor luck in the decider, he may well have beaten Aamir Atlas Khan instead of losing 2-3. In the dead rubber, No 2 Ritwik Bhattacharya, watched by his parents and actress friend Neha Dhupia, could have left his mark when leading 6-1 against Mansoor Zaman in the second. He had already lost the first. However, he let his opponent off the hook to lose 0-3. Ritwik wasn’t lucky with some finishing shots he played but picked up fewer drops from his opponent than he left alone. The match had the tense nature of any India-Pakistan battle. This was reflected in referee Aussie lady referee Chris Sinclair having to make 39 decisions, most of them apt. The excitement was echoed not only by Neha Dhupia (who said she too felt as tense as the players) but also Pakistan coach Fahim Gul and their No 1 player Aamir Atlas Khan. Fahim Gul said, “I had expected a tough match like this. Saurav Ghoshal is playing like a professional and coming up fast. He knows the game and reads it well. I advised Aamir to slow down the tempo because Saurav likes a fast, hard game. That helped. Aamir said,”Saurav is a good player. If one doesn’t play at his best, one can lose to him. I was not in the best rhythm and almost paid the price.’’ Saurav on his part said,
“Aamir is a class player. In the end I ran out of luck. But Saurav won the hearts of about 200 spectators the way he fought back, sent his opponent the wrong way and picked up most of his cunning drop shots and countered the kills with counter-kills. In the first game, the scores were level 10-all before a drop and a ball, that ‘died in the back nick, saw Amir prevail. The second game Amir claimed 11-6. In the third Saurav recovered from 4-7 to 9-all and slipped when his opponent led 10-9. He hurt the same ligament between the knee and shin which he had injured in August. But the adrenalin was flowing and Saurav raised his game to win 13-11 after saving two game points. Saurav kept the momentum going to claim the fourth once even sending Aamir the wrong way and playing some lovely drops. The decider was neck and neck and as Amir kept playing the drop, Saurav’s counter drops didn’t pose problems. It was 8-all when Amir’s volley drop from back won him a point after which Saurav had another slip which gave Amir match point.
INDIA LOSE TO PAK IN MEN’S TEAM SQUASH CHENNAI: Pakistan beat the India 3-0 in a pool G match of the 21st ICL World Men’s Team Squash championship yesterday. Pakistan, seeded seventh, qualified for the round of 16 while 11th seeded India will take on Kenya and a win would take them through to the knock-out phase. Farhan Mehboob gave Pakistan the lead with a close win over Siddharth Suchde 8-11 12-10 11-5 11-5, in the first singles.While,Aamir Atlas Khan,World No 28, outlasted Sourav Ghosal 12-10 11-6 11-13 6-11 11-9, in an absorbing encounter to give his team an unassailable 2-0 lead. Mansoor Zaman then wrapped up the contest with a 11-6 11-9 11-3 rout of Ritwik Bhattacharya. Saurav Ghoshal sparkles at World Team Squash Pradeep Vijayakar in The Times of India Chennai: A standout display by Saurav Ghoshal who all but beat Amit Atlas Khan featured the India-Pakistan clash in the preliminary group G tie in ICL World Team Squash Championship at the ICL-SDAT courts here on Friday. Showing great agility, excellent courtcraft and reading every move of Amir, Saurav recovered from two games down to level 2-all before a series of errors with the drops shots as Amir slowed the game saw Amir escape to victory. Farhan Mehboob is notorious as a slow starter and he proved that again losing the opening game before beating India No. 3 Siddharth Suchde, the US collegiate champ from Harvard 3-1. Now it was the battle of the No 1s. Saurav Ghosal vs Amir Khan, who had traded matches here at the Asian Juniors in 2005, Saurav winning the team event tie but losing the individual final. In the first game, the scores were level 10-all before a drop and a ball that `died’ in the back nick saw Amir prevail. The second Amir claimed 11-6. In the third Saurav recovered from 4-7 to 9-all and slipped when his opponent led 10-9.He hurt the same ligament between the knee and shin which he had injured in August. But the adrenalin was flowing and Saurav raised his game to win 13-11 after saving two gamepoints. Saurav kept the momentum going to claim the fourth once sending Amir the wrong way and playing some lovely drops. The decider was neck and neck and as Amir kept playing the drop, Saurav’s counter drops didn’t pose problems. It was 8-all when Amir’s volley drop from back won him a point after which Saurav had another slip which gave Amir match point. In the dead rubber, Ritwik Bhattacharya, lost 0-3 to Mansoor Zaman. Ritwik’s slower game didn’t work and he didn’t go to pick all the drops Mansoor played. Mansoor has the best finishing shots of all the Pakistanis. The closeness of the match was reflected in Aussie referee Chris Sinclair having to give 39 decisions, most of them apt. Once Amir appealed for let when Saurav had the point and she relented. But not when Amir fished for another similar points. Canadian referees assessor Rod Symington was assessing Chris in this match and looked contented though he was not allowed to comment about it. Chris and Rod had conducted the referees clinic ahead of this event. Pakistan coach Fahim Gul paid tribute to the Indians. ``This is by far the best Indian squash side I have seen. I had expected a tough match like this. Saurav Ghoshal is playing like a professional and coming up fast. He knows the game and reads it well. I advised Aamir to slow down the tempo because Saurav likes a fast, hard game. That helped.’’ Aamir said:``Saurav is a good player. If one doesn’t play one’s best one can lose to him. I was not in the best rhythm and almost paid the price.’’ Saurav on his part said:``Aamir is a class player. In the end I ran out of luck.’’ Results for Friday 7th December (Day 2) Pool 'A' {3} Henrik Mustonen
{Finland} beat {3} Valery Litvinko {Russia} 11-4 11-0 11-5 FINLAND beat RUSSIA 3-0 {4} Mohamed Abbas {Egypt}
beat {4} Moritz Dahmen {Germany} 11-3 11-4 11-5 EGYPT beat GERMANY 3-0 Pool 'B' {4} Peter Barker
{England} beat {3} Arturo Santo Tomas {Spain} 11-4 11-4 11-7 ENGLAND beat SPAIN 3-0 Pool 'C' {4} Ken Okada {Japan}
beat {3} Luis Hernandez {Venezuela} 11-4 11-6 11-5 JAPAN beat VENEZUELA 3-0 {4} Julien Balbo {France}
beat {3} Jamie Crombie {U.S. of America} 11-4 11-4 11-7 FRANCE beat U.S. OF AMERICA 3-0 Pool 'D' {4} Scott Arnold
{Australia} beat {4} Jamie Macoulay {Scotland} 11-4 11-4 11-5 AUSTRALIA beat SCOTLAND 3-0 Pool 'E' {4} Nasser B. Al-Ramezi
{Kuwait} beat {3} Anura Hewage {Sri Lanka} 11-4 11-1 11-2 KUWAIT beat SRI LANKA 3-0 {3} Mohd. Nafiizwan
{Malaysia} lost to {3} Adrian Hansen {South Africa} 7-11 8-11 8-11 MALAYSIA beat SOUTH AFRICA 2-1 Pool 'F' {3} Mathew Giuffre
{Canada} beat {3} Andreas Freudensprung {Austria} 11-10 {2-0} 11-6
11-6 CANADA beat AUSTRIA 3-0 Pool 'G' {3} Farhan Mehboob
{Pakistan} beat {3} Siddharth Suchde {India} 8-11 11-10 {2-0} 11-5
11-5 PAKISTAN beat INDIA 3-0 {3} Hartaj Bains {Kenya}
beat {3} Robert Maycock {Bermuda} 9-11 11-10 {2-0} 11-4 11-2 KENYA beat BERMUDA 3-0 Pool 'H' {4} Jethro Binns {Wales}
beat {3} Kai-Han Chuang {Chinese-taipei} 11-1 11-6 11-6 WALES beat CHINESE-TAIPEI 3-0 {4} Piedro Schweertman
{Netherlands} beat {4} Gustav Detter {Sweden} 11-9 11-5 9-11 11-6 NETHERLANDS beat SWEDEN 3-0 Pool B: England beat Spain 3-0 (Peter Barker bt Arturo Santo Tomas 11-4, 11-4, 11-7; Nick Mathew bt David Vidal Villamide 11-7, 11-7, 12-10; Lee Beachill bt Alejandro Garbi Caro 11-4, 11-4, 13-11). Pool C: Japan beat Venezuela 3-0 (Ken Okada bt Luis Hernandez 11-4, 11-6, 11-5; Jun Matsumoto bt Fransisco Valecillo 11-8, 11-7, 11-2; Takanori Shimizu bt Juan Pablo Sanchez 11-8, 11-4, 11-6). France beat United States 3-0 (Julien Balbo bt Jamie Crombie 11-4, 11-4, 11-7; Thierry Lincou bt Julian Illingworth 11-6, 11-6, 11-3; Renan Lavigne bt Christopher Gordon 11-8, 7-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-4) Pool D: Australia beat Scotland 3-0 (Scott Arnold bt Jamie Macoulay 11-4, 11-4, 11-5; Stewart Boswell bt Alan Clyne 11-3, 11-3, 11-6; Cameron Pilley bt Henry Leitch 11-6, 11-5, 11-2). Pool G: Pool H: Wales beat Chinese-Taipei 3-0 (Jethro Binns bt Kai-Han Chuang 11-1, 11-6, 11-6; David Evans bt Chun-Yu Chang 11-8, 11-6, 11-8; Rob Sutherland bt Hsuen-Chih Huang 11-6, 11-4, 11-2). Pradeep Vijayakar in the
Times of India (6th Dec 2007)
He's the one to watch out
for at the next Asians.'' That should be food for
thought for the Indians. Pool 'A' -
RUSSIA lost to GERMANY
0-3 FINLAND lost to EGYPT 0-3 Pool 'B' SPAIN lost to HONG KONG 1-2 Pool 'C' VENEZUELA lost to U.S. OF
AMERICA 0-3 JAPAN lost to FRANCE 0-3 Pool 'D' SCOTLAND lost to NEW ZEALAND 0-3 Pool 'E' MALAYSIA beat KUWAIT 3-0 {3} Anura Hewage {Sri
Lanka} lost to {3} Adrian Hansen {South Africa} 5-11 1-11 0-11 SRI LANKA lost to SOUTH AFRICA 0-3 Pool 'F' {3} Andreas Freudensprung
{Austria} lost to {3} Derek Ryan {Ireland} 11-10 {7-5} 4-11 8-11 4-11 AUSTRIA lost to IRELAND 0-3 Pool 'G' {3} Hartaj Bains {Kenya}
lost to {3} Farhan Mehboob {Pakistan} 2-11 3-11 6-11 KENYA lost to PAKISTAN 0-3 {4} Gaurav Nandrajog
{India} beat {3} Robert Maycock {Bermuda} 11-3 11-10 {4-2} 11-8 INDIA beat BERMUDA 3-0 Pool 'H' {4} Gustav Detter
{Sweden} lost to {4} Jethro Binns {Wales} 10-11 {1-3} 5-11 11-9 1-11 SWEDEN lost to WALES 0-3 {4} Piedro Schweertman
{Netherlands} beat {3} Kai-Han Chuang {Chinese-taipei} 11-1 11-6 11-0 NETHERLANDS beat CHINESE-TAIPEI 3-0 |
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Willstrop confident of England's chances Chennai: James Willstrop, England's number one playing is confident of England keeping the crown in the World Men's Team squash championships, which began here from Thursday. ``We have strong squad. England are keen on keeping the title,'' he told TOI on the sidelines of the inaugural function of the World Men's team squash championships on Wednesday night. It is interesting to note that England have always been among the top four since the beginning of the championships in 1967. Willstrop, son of renowned coach Malcolm Willstrop, leads the English squad comprising three others, who figures below fourteen in the world rankings. The other members of the squad are Nick Mathew, Lee Beachill and Peter Barker. England will open their Pool B campaign against Spain on Friday. Asked about the dark horse in the championships, he said four teams – Malaysia, Pakistan, Wales and Netherlands – could bring about surprise results. ``But the real competition could be among Egypt, England and France,'' he added. Asked about his recent dip in the world rankings, the former world junior champion, said it will not make any difference. His teammate Nick Mathew has overtaken him in the recent world rankings. He said world number one Egyptian Amr Shabana is the most exciting player in the pro circuit today. ``Right now he is the most exciting player in the circuit. I have played him a number of times and beaten him once in recent times.'' About his sparring partner and Indian number one player Sourav Ghosal, he said the Indian could not focus fully on the game because of his studies. ``We practice together. He is very quick on the court. He could not concentrate on the game alone because of the studies. When he become a full timer, then he will make a good player,'' he said. Ghosal is an economics student at the University of Leeds, London. Willstrop, who performs guitar after matches, likes the Indian ways extending hospitality also. ``I was here five years back and won the junior world title. I had fond memories of that. People were very nice. I had fond memories of that in also,'' he said. The English player said he is yet to find time to go around the city because of the busy schedule of practicing. ``I hope to go out as soon as the pool matches are over.'' |
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World Champ is hungry for another title this time for his country |
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What's the secret of Egypt's success?
What happens when they run into each other?
Who are his idols?
Are you aware of ISP's efforts to help the markers rise in social stature?
And squash? |
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Chennai all set for World Team Squash Chennai: Twenty-nine countries have come for the World Team Squash here. They are led by world number 1 Amr Shabana, who landed up in the city immediately after the title win in the World Open in Bermuda. Canadian Jonathan Power, known as the John McEnroe of squash, will be among those playing at the event. Interestingly They show no discomfort in the packed schedule of playing. The organizers of this world event have a ``starry'' problem in hand. They invited Shah Rukh Khan to visit the venue during the championships. The organizing committee chairman N. Ramachandran is now worried over the space to accommodate SRK's fans if he accepts and decides to turn up at the championships. It may be recalled that the Cricket board found it to hard to welcome SRK's frequent visit to the venues of the cricket matches. The championships' opening ceremony will be attended by Raja Randhir Singh, secretary general of the Olympic Council of Asia. Curiously, the concluding function will be attended by the president of the world hockey federation (FIH) Els van Breda Vriesman! Els had visited the ICL squash academy and was very much impressed by the ongoing activities. ``So when we extended an invitation this time, she readily accepted it,'' Ramachandran revealed. India had their best finish in World Team Squash, No 11, last time in 2005. They are looking to better that. Their hurdle on way to the last eight would be Holland or Wales. India are in the preliminary pool F with Pakistan, Bermuda and Kenya. If they come among the first two, which looks possible, they will meet either Holland or Wales in the round of 16. India did beat Holland in 2005. Holland's Lawrence Jans, referred TOI as `LJ' is top 20 player and Dylan Bennett is a top 50 player who both Saurav Ghoshal and Ritwik Bhattacharya have beaten. Wales' Alex Gough has been a recent World Open quarter-finalist while Dan Evans, now 37, is a one-time top ten player who no longer plays on the circuit. The Indian players all looked relaxed on tournament eve and were discussing Indian cricket team and icon Sachin Tendulkar rather than their squash rivals. ``I am playing freely without any bother,'' said Ritwik who comes into the event after winning an NSC Satellite event in Kuala Lumpur. He added:``It was the same during the World doubles and we became (Saurav as partner) runners-up from a strong field. Saurav Ghoshal said he was happy with his show in the World Open qualifiers. ``I led Egyptian Omar Mossad 2-1 before losing and he went on to beat the No 14 Ollie. We have the home advantage and we will make the most of it.'' Siddharth Suche said he trained in the UK with a group of players after taking a month off the circuit. No 4 Gaurav Nandrajog said he was happy to reach the final qualifying of the KL event losing to the player Ritwik beat. Coach Cyrus Poncha said he was expecting a good show based on the results he players had shown in recent months. N Ramachandran, secretary, Squash Rackets Federation of India, said the World event coming to Chennai was the culmination of their organizing good earlier events. ``We have conducted three Junior Asian events, two World Boys Juniors events, and World doubles. We will conduct the doubles again next year.'' He said they had over a hundred players and 35 referees besides a host of officials. |
