Sahil, Rushabh claim title (Artilce in Free Press
Journal, Mumbai : 1/6/2003)
The Vora brothers from
Cricket Club of India, Sahil and Rushabh lifted the title in the Khar-Gymkhana
ISP handicap open doubles squash tournament, defeating Chandrakant Pawar
and Mangesh Nadkarni of Otters Club 15-13, 10-15, 15-11, 13-15, 17-15 in
the final played late on Friday at the squash courts of Khar
Gymkhana.
With just a 30-minute
gap between the semi-finals and the final, and the heat and humidity
sapping the energy of the players, it was wonder that they had the legs to
contest the final, which lasted for about 90 minutes. However, fitness and
speed of the younger Vora brothers counted in the end, though the victory
was nothing but easy, thanks to the canny play of the veteran Chandrakant
Pawar.
Pawar, a former
nine-time National professional champion, moved the ball around
brilliantly, slowing down the pace of the game and targeting the younger
of the two siblings Rushabh. Pawar’s partner, Nadkarni also did his bit,
using his power to hit the ball deep and keep the brothers at bay. The
five-point handicap that the Vora brothers conceded to Pawar and Nadkarni
balanced things out as both pairs fought valiantly for each point. Rushabh,
just back from a training stint at the SRFI Academy in Chennai, proved
more than equal to the task as he gave his elder brother tremendous
backing on every point.
The decider was the
closest of the five games, and though Pawar and Nadkarni fought gamely to
keep abreast till 14-14, they just didn’t have it in them when Sahil
asked for a three-point extension. He then finished the match with two
clinical kill shots to lift the winner’s purse of Rs 8,000.
The third place was
sealed by Cyrus Apoo and Sanjay Pawar of Otters Club, who defeated Vijay
Sonawane and Ashwini Kukreja 15-12, 10-15, 13-15, 15-11, 15-12.
Vora
brothers claim squash title
(Article
in Asian Age, Mumbai : 1/6/2003)
The Vora brothers from Cricket Club of India, Sahil
and Rushabh won the title in the Khar Gymkhana ISP Handicap Open Doubles
Squash Tournament, defeating Chandrakant Pawar and Mangesh Nadkarni of
Otters Club 15-13, 10-15, 15-11, 13-15, 17-15 in the final played late on
Friday, at the squash courts of Khar Gymkhana.
With just a 30minutes gap between the semi finals and
the final, and the heat and humidity sapping the energy of the players, it
was wonder that they had the legs to contest the final, which lasted for
about 90 minutes. However, fitness and speed of the younger Vora brothers
counted in the end, though the victory was nothing but easy, thanks to the
canny play of the veteran Chandrakant Pawar.
Otters,
Khar Gym win (Article
in Times of India, Mumbai : 09/04/2003)
Otters Club A and Khar Gymkhana B recorded their
second consecutive victories in the The Leela-ISP Squash Classic handicap
team event, defeating Kamat Club and Navi Mumbai Sports Club by identical
3-2 margins at the glass backed courts of The Leela, here, on Sunday.For Otters Club it was junior champion Vikram Malhotra who gave his
team the winning start, defeating Sandeep Mundhra in three games, after
which Kamat Club took the lead, winning the next two rubbers.However, Kunal Jani and Dhiraj Nagpal then won their matches to
give Otters Club a 3-2 victory.
Willingdon
go down fighting (Article
in Asian Age, Mumbai : 02/04/2003)
Otters Club had a fight on their hands before getting
the better of Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana 3-2 in the opening round of The
Leela-ISP Squash Classic Handicap team event which was played at the glass
back courts of The Leela on Sunday.
Fancied Otters Club got off to a poor start with
Supreet Singh and Manav Tandon losing their matches to Bipin Batra and
Prashant Mehra respectively, before talented junior Vikram Malhotra, Kunal
Jani and Dhiraj Nagpal won their matches to see Otters Club through.
In other matches, Juhu Gymkhana beat The Leela 4-1,
while Navi Mumbai Sports Club defeated Tulip Star A by an identical
margin.
Host
buster! (Article
in Mid-Day, Mumbai : 12/05/2003)
Leela defeated as Willingdon, Otters set up title clash
FINALLY, two months after it began, the Leela-Indian
Squash Professional-sponsored Handicap Squash Tournament at the Leela
found the two teams that will vie for top honors next Sunday.
Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana and title
favorites
Otters Club, Bandra, will lock horns in the summit by virtue of their wins
over the hosts and Khar Gymkhana 4-1 and 3-2 respectively yesterday.
“We had organized this tournament so that players
could interact with each other.
“It was supposed to be a fun-based tournament but,
surprisingly, it turned out to be a fiercely contested tournament,”
tournament director Chandrakant Pawar said yesterday.
Around 16 teams participated in the tournament that
saw 75 players fighting it out for the top honors.
Pawar, however, was disappointed that the hosts, for
whom he also turned out to play, lost out in the penultimate round.Pawar – who lost to Jay Thapa 12-15, 15-12, 15-13, 12-15, 15-13
in a closely contested tie – said it was unfortunate that his team lost
out.But he was also
disappointed by the fact that Khar Gymkhana and Otters Club, the two power
houses, had to battle it out in the semi-final.
“Both the teams were good.Ideally the two should have met in the final but due to the
fixtures they had to battle it out in the semis itself,” he said.
Commenting on the format of the tournament, Pawar
said: “The tournament was played only on Sundays and we decided to
conduct a handicap tournament to give the players who are not as good as
their rivals an opportunity to perform and win.
“Normally we give a handicap of three points to the
player but if the player seems to be rally struggling, then we can even
give that a player a handicap of 10 points.”
Not
just squash, by the way (Article
in Mid-Day, Mumbai : 31/5/2003)
Khar Gym shows how to mix
work and pleasure
Nine-time national champion Chandrakant Pawar and his
partner Mangesh Nadkarni paced around the Khar Gymkhana squash courts,
belying their age against much younger opponents Sahil and Rushabh Vora,
in the final of the Khar Gymkhana Indian Squash Professionals Open Squash
Doubles Tournament yesterday.
Though they succumbed 14-15, 15-10, 12-15 in the end,
both Pawar and Nadkarni used their experience take the match to their
opponents.
The tournament is a one-off event, which over the
past four days, saw a unique blend of former champs battling it out
against the current lot. Apart from former players, promising players like
Kunal Jani, Anurag Gill, Cyrus Apoo and the under-13 champion Vikram
Malhotra also took part in the event.
“One day, Mahendra (Agarwal) and I were talking and
it was decided to organize the event. The aim basically is to let players
enjoy the game as there is not a lot of pressure to win here,” said Shiv
Malhotra, vice-president of Khar Gymkhana.
The Prize distribution that followed was as eventful
as the final. With the orchestra playing in the background, everyone, from
players to organizers, joined in the song and dance.
“It is always our aim to make sports a fun event.
The aim is to give everyone a chance to get together and have fun.
Something they do not get to do every time a squash event is organised,”
Malhotra added.
Malhotra also said that every club should aim to not
make sports just a competitive event, but to also create an atmosphere
where everyone feels at ease. “When a player loses in the first round,
there is not much left for him in the tournament. But after event parties
such as this gives the players and the spectators a chance to mix with
each other in a fun atmosphere,” he said.
The mixed pair of Vishal Kapoor and Sachika Balwani continued their fine
run even as hosts Khar Gymkhana managed to keep their hopes alive in the
Khar Gymkhana-ISP handicap open doubles squash tournament with two teams
advancing to the quarter-finals at the Khar Gymkhana courts, here, on
Thursday.
With current under-13 national champion Vikram Malhotra ending up on the
losing side along with partner Kunal Jani, it was left to his father shiv
Malhotra and partner Rajesh Rajani to make the last eight grade, defeating
mates Sunil Gupta and Kishan Borade. Also advancing was the pair of Vijay
Waghela and Jayesh Agarwal, who got the better of Tulip Star’s Sanjay
Goyal and G Dube 15-8, 10-15, 15-8.
Vishal Kapoor, a former National Champion now studying in Trinity
College, US and the tiny Sachika Balwani of Otters Club were pitted
against the formidable Anurag Gill and Bharat Shah, and much credit for
the victory should go to Kapoor, who displayed tremendous reserves of
stamina and great sense as he guided along his nine-year old partner.
Sachika and Kapoor won 11-15, 15-12, 15-11 and much sterner test awaits
them as they run into the Vora brothers Sahil and Rushabh in the quarter
finals. The due from CCI were clinical in their 15-12, 15-10 victory over
Sonu Mirani and Shashi Gupta of New Mumbai Club.
Vora
brothers enter final (Article
in Free Press Journal, Mumbai : 31/5/2003
It will be youth versus experience as the Vora brothers from CCI, Sahil
an Rushabh, clash with Chandrakant Pawar and Mangesh Nadkarni of Otters
Club in the final of the Khar Gymkhana-ISP Handicap Doubles Open Squash
Tournament, sponsored and organised by Khar Gymkhana at their courts. In
the semi-finals on Friday, while the Vora siblings dispatched off the
pairing of Sanjay Pawar and Cyrus Apoo, Pawar and Nadkarni got the better
of Vijay Sonawane and Ashwini Kukreja, both matches going to four games.
Pawar, a former nine-time national professional champion used his vast
experience to good stead as he guided his partner along to a well derserve
win. How much this experience helps him in the final against the much
after and powerful Vora brothers remains to be seen.
The elder of the Vora brothers, Sahil, not in the best of form due to a
long study break, received much support from the younger sibling Rushabh,
just back from a training stint with the SRFI in Chennai. While Sahil made
good use of his power, it was Rushabh, who made his shots count, firing
winners to make light of the large handicap they conceded to their
opponents, Pawar and Apoo.
After winning the first two games, 15-11, 15-12, the Vora brothers
slackened the pace a bit and were caught by surprise as Apoo hit some good
winners to lift the third. The fourth too was close, with the Vora dup
fighting back from 11-14 down to level score at 14-14.
Apoo then asked for a three-point extension, which proved their undoing
as Sahil hit two good winners to win the game 17-15.
The Vora brothers earlier halted the inspired run of Sachika Balwani and
Vishal Kapoor, winning their quarter final encounter in five games, in
what was probably the best match of the tournament.
Otter
Club teams make merry
(Article
in Free Press Journal, Mumbai : 29/5/2003)
Teams from Otters Club enjoyed a good day at the Khar Gymkhana – ISP
handicap open doubles squash tournament, sponsored by Khar Gymkhana and
Organised by the Indian Squash Professionals, four of them advancing into
the third round at the Khar Gymkhana, here, on Wednesday.
Leading the charge was the mixed team of Sachika Balwani and Vishal
Kapoor, who got the better of Amit Bhutani and Aditya Shastri of Khar
Gymkhana 17-14, 17-16.
The under-11 National champion, Sachika and Kapoor, a former junior
National champion, down for his holidays from the United States, combined
well to make light of their handicap against Bhutani and Shastri.
Also advancing were Sanjay Pawar and Cyrus Apoo of Otters, who beat
Baban More and Sunil Lalachandani of Mandpeshwar Club 17-16, 15-13.
The host club’s Sunil Gupta and Kishan Borade also featured among the
winning teams, shrugging off a first game deficit to beat Willingdon
Catholic Gymkhana’s Jay Thapa and Bipin Batra 10-15, 15-7, 15-6.
45th
Tournament Organised by ISP
Search for content
Indian Squash Professionals
Address:
B/705, 7th Floor, Raylon Arcade, Next to Pidilite, Kondivita Lane, Andheri -East, Mumbai – 400 059
Tel : 9122-28314425/26/27
Mobile : +919819921785
Email: squashindia@yahoo.com
