Men's
Open : Ramy Ashour(Egyp) bt Farhan Mehboob (pak) 11-5, 6-11,
11-5, 11-0
Boys Under-15 : Aditya Jagtap bt Abhinav Sinha 11-4, 11-4,
11-5;
Boys Under-19 : Sandeep Jangra bt Vikram Malhotra 11-8, 11-8,
7-11, 11-9
Mens Over 35 : G. S. Rathore bt Darius Surti 11-4, 11-6, 11-7
Mens Over 45 : Dr. B. I. Singh bt Rahul Kumar 11-7, 11-10,
11-10
City squash
gears up for bonanza (Article in Mid-Day,
Mumbai : 23/6/2005)
There was plenty to cheer about at the Otter’s Club, Bandra yesterday.
And for good reason too. With just four days to go for the Herald Maritime
Services Squash Open 2005. there was a clear tingle of anticipation in the
eyes of the organizers behind the nation’s biggest squash spectacle which
kicks of f on Monday.
The event received a financial boost from its sponsor Poonawala Stud
Farms and co-sponsor, Sunil Jhangiani’s Chemistry, a firm dealing in women’s
garments.
“We did not hesitate to be a part of this venture because the values of
our brand are very similar to that of the sport,” said Aseem Verma,
Chemistry’s Chief Operating Officer.
Zavaray Poonawala also willingly obliged his close friend, Captain
Jamshed Appoo, when asked to sponsor the tournament. “He (Poonawala) is a
big sports lover and we at once recognized the ambition of Captain Appoo. We
are happy to be associated with this event,” said Col S R Gidwani, Director
HR of Poonawala Engineering Group.
The increase in prize money to almost double from last year’s edition is
already a known fact, and that’s attracted not only the country’s finest
talent but several quality international players as well.
Shiv Malhotra, vice-president of Squash Racquets Association of
Maharashtra (SRAM), revealed that many entries had to be turned down. “We
received entries from players from
Kuwait, England and New Zealand but had to say no since the selection of
participants was done by invitation,” stated Malhotra.
Unseeded Gaurav Nandrajog gave a severe fright to
Pakistan’s world number 110 Khalid Atlas Khan before going down in five
games in a men’s open third round clash of the Rs.11.20 lakh prize money
Herald Maritime Services Squash Open 2005. here on Wednesday, reports PTI.
The superior strokeplay and stamina of the Pakistani
proved decisive in the end as the visitor went through to the round of eight
by squeezing past his Delhi-based Indian rival 11-7, 9-11, 11-7,9-11, 11-6
at the Otter’s Club.
In a match marred by disputed calls by both players.
Nandrajog came from behind twice in the tie to draw level before ultimately
succumbing to his more fancied and cool decider.
In contrast. Khalid’s younger brother Amir Atlas, the
Asian junior champion and sixth seed (PSA rank 86), had a relatively easy
outing against Egypt’s Mohsen Ahmed, winning 11-9, 1-9, 10-12, 11-6 to
advance into the quarter-finals against third seed Timothy Manning of
Australia.
The Australian simply carried too heavy an artillery
for former national champion Manish Chotrani to match and stormed his way
into the last eight with a 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 victory.
Win like an
Egyptian (Article in
Mumbai Mirror, Mumbai : 3/7/2005)
Junior world champion Ramy Ashour stamped his class as
he decimated Pakistani teenager Farhan Mehboob 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-10 in
the men’s final of the Herald Maritime Services Squash Open 2005. at the
Otters Club on Saturday. Farhan, ranked 65th in the world, was
leading 2-1 in previous encounters against Ramy, but the Egyptian crowd
favourite was hungry to settle scores.
He started with a signature drop-volly to catch Farhan
on the wrong foot and used his big reach and ball control to keep Farhan on
the front court while calling the shots from the back. With a string of
nicks and drops-vollys, he reach to 6-3 lead. At 7-5, Ramy and Farhan played
a brillant rally, forcing each other to scurry all over the court. But
Farhan made an unforced error, hitting the tin to go down 5-8.
Farhan came back strongly in the second game but after
losing the third game 11-5, Farhan made a flurry of unforced errors to give
Ramy 11 straight points.
Ashour outwits Mehboob for title (Article in
Times of India, Mumbai : 3/7/2005)
It was teenager from the “Land of the Pharaohs’, Ramy
Ashour, who took home the booty on the final day of the Rs.11.5 lakh Herald
Maritime Services Squash Open 2005, sponsored by Poonawala Stud Farms and
co-sponsored by Chemistry at the Otters Club.
The Egyptian was a class act as he disposed off
Pakistan’s Farhan Mehboob Khan 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-0 in the men’s final.
The match drew a jampacked gallery and everyone
expected a classic encounter. Ashour’s a prodigious talent and it showed in
the way he dismantled his opponent. The Egyptian’s play from the fore court
was par excellence, and his mastery over the drop was sight to behold. The
ball often dropped dead after hitting the front wall. For a big man, Ashour
is pretty light on his feet.
Mehboob, who is lightning quick on court, had scored
some big wins leading upto the final. However, his play on Saturday bordered
on the mundane. He was shorn off ideas and was unable to find answers to the
Egyptian’s probing play.
Farhan showed some spunk in the second but a slew of
unforced errors in the third helped the World Junior Champion regain the
initiative. It was abject surrender by the Pakistani in the fourth. With his
uncle Jansher in attendance, Farhan just gave up and did not bother
attempting to reach the ball in the final few points. Ashour earned Rs.2.17
lakh while Farhan had to settle for Rs.1.17 lakh.
“It was a tough match, the first two games were not
easy. However I knew I could wrap it up the fourth as I am fitter and have
better skills,” said the elated winner after the match.
Ashour
prevents all-Pak final (Article in
Times Sport, Mumbai : 2/7/2005)
With the Indians out of the picture in the men’s
section, it was the turn of Egypt’s Ramy Ashour and Pakistani Farhan Mehboob
Khan to hog the limelight in the Herald Maritime Services Squash Open 2005,
sponsored by Poonawala Stud Farms and co-sponsored by Chemistry at the
Otters Club.
Ashour was all class as he downed Amir Atlas Khan 11-9,
12-14, 11-6, 11-2 while Farhan ripped apart Colombia’s Bernardo Samper 11-9,
11-7, 11-9, in semi-final encounters.
The 17 year old Egyptian, the reigning World Junior
Champion, was pitted against 15 year old Amir Atlas, the Asian junior king.
The towering Ashour made full use of his reach and played delightful
volleys. His touch too was impeccable often scoring with the deftest of
drops. Amir, on the other hand, was far speedier, but committed mistakes at
vital junctures.
In the first game, he had his chances, but it was the
Egyptian who held his nerve to prevail. Though Amir recovered to win a
thrilling second, the youngster from Cairo had too much in the tank to run
through the next two to triumph. Farhan Mehboob won a breathtaking quarter
final against Australian Cameron White on Wednesday, saving five match
balls. He had a much easier time on Thursday as Colombia’s Bernardo Samper
provided little resistance. The fleet-footed Pakistani kept Samper at bay
with his midable from the forecourt scoring with inch-perfect drops.
There were two outstanding matches in the junior
section. Sandeep Jangra for the umpteenth time got the better of Manek
Mathur in a five game final. Vikram Malhotra got off to a hesitant start but
settled down to overcome Rushabh Vora in an entertaining clash.
Sud
struggles past Gurnani (Article in
Indian Express, Mumbai : 28/6/2005)
Jatin Gurnani dragged USA’s Sahil Sud to the distance
at the Otters Club on the first day of the Rs.11.50 lakh prize money Herald
Maritime Services Squash 2005, sponsored by Chemistry. The under-19 category
face off was won by Sahil Sud 6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2.
Sud, a US citizen, down for his vacation, took time to
settle down to the conditions, as well as the heat and humidity before
displaying some good stroke play to get the better of his opponent.
Unseeded in this category, Sahil Sud should give some
of the bigger names a run for their money if he manages to keep the
momentum.
In another close match, Chennai’s Ajaz Shaikh rallied
after dropping the second game to defeat Virendra Pawar in four at 11-8,
9-11, 11-6, 11-9.
The big boys of squash were yet to make an appearance,
but the buzz that surrounds a big time tournament was definitely present at
the Otters Club.
First round matches in the boys under-19 and under-15
age groups and qualifying matches in the men’s category saw some interesting
match-ups and among the spectators were the Pakistani quartet and players
from Egypt and Australia, who visited the venue to soak in the festival like
atmosphere.
Ritwik, Ramy romp home; Pakistanis advance (Article in
Indian Express, Mumbai : 29/6/2005)
Top Seed Ritwik Bhattacharya got off to a good start,
winning in straight games 11-7, 11-5, 11-2 against qualifier Abhishek Sharma
at the Hearld Maritime Services Squash Open, at suburban Otter’s Club on
Tuesday. India’s No 1 led the rest of the seeds into the second round of the
11.50. lakh prize money event, sponsored by Poonawala Stud farms and
co-sponsored by Chemistry progresses.
Egyptian second seed Ramy Ashour, the world junior
champion, was equally convincing in his 11-0, 11-1, 11-3 win over Anis
Shaikh, while Aussie Timothy Manning, seeded third swatted past the
challenge of Ramesh Singh 11-0, 11-3, 11-3.
Colombian Bernardo Samper and the other foreigners
finished their matches in similar fashion, but for fifth seed Cameron White,
who was given some semblance of a fight by unseeded Navneet Singh. The
Sardar who trains at Chembur Gymkhana came up with some unbelievable winners
in the forecourt as he ran White close in the second game before running
out of stem in the third to lose 5-11, 8-11, 1-11.
Of the foreign players, Samper and Amir Atlas of
Pakistan impressed with their agility and power and delectable touch
respectively. Samper, though hardly pressed to do so, gave glimpses of the
power and athletic abilities as he brushed aside Akshay Shrinivasan 11-1,
11-0, 11-0, 11-1 win over Jodhpur’s Varun Jain.
Big names
for squash tourney (Article in
Asian Age, Mumbai : 28/6/2005)
The big boys of squash were yet to make an appearance,
but the buzz that surrounds a big time tournament was definitely present at
the Otters Club on the first day of the Rs.11.50 lakh prize money Herald
Maritime Servises Squash 2005, sponsored by Poonawala Stud Farms here on
Monday.
First round matches in the boys under-19 and under-15
age groups and qualifying matches in the men’s category saw some interesting
match-ups and among the spectators were the Pakistani quartet and players
from Egypt and Australia, who visited the Venue to soak in the festival like
atmosphere. Though there were a couple of matches that went to four games in
the boys under-19 category, the only match that went the distance featured
USA’s Sahil Sud versus Jatin Gurnani, the former winning 6-11, 10-12, 11-8,
11-8, 11-2.
Sud, a Us citizen, down for his vacation, took time to
settle down to the conditions, as well as the heat and humidity before
displaying some good strokeplay to get the better of his opponent. Unseeded
in this category, Sud should give some of the bigger names a run for their
money if he manages to keep up the momentum.
In another close match, Chennai’s Ajaz Shaikh rallied
after dropping the second game to defeat Virendra Pawar in four at 11-8,
9-11, 11-6, 11-9.
Men’s action begins on Tuesday, with fancied names,
Ritwik Bhattacharya, second seed Ramy Ashour, third seed Timothy Manning and
the Pakistan players taking the court.
Former Junior world number one Khalid Atlas Khan and
younger brother and reigning Asian junior champion Aamir Atlas Khan survived
a scare from unseeded Gaurav Nandarajog of India and Egypt’s Ahmed Mohsen
before entering the men’s singles quarters of the Herald Maritime Services
Squash Open on Wednesday.
In the men’s singles third round, Khalid overcame stiff
resistance from Nandrajog in five long games to win 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11,
11-6. Aamir was also stretched by Mohsen before winning 11-9, 11-9, 10-10
(0-2), 11-8. Trailing 1-2, Nandrajog upped his level of the game
stupendously. At 5-5, he won four straight points to lead 9-5. Khalid
repeated Nandrajog then forced Khalid into making an error and followed it
up winning a long rally to force the decider.
Khalid used the height and width of the court to great
effect in the deciding game. Right from the start, he never lost control of
the game. Khalid will take on Egypt’s Ramy Ashour in quarters.
Sandeep
claims under-19 crown
Aditya
beats Abhinav to take boy’s under-15 title (Article in
The Hindu, Mumbai : 3/7/2005)
Sandeep Jangra wore down Vikram in four games to clinch
the boy’s under-19 title in the Herald Maritime Services Squash Open 2005,
winning 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 1-9 to take home a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000 at
the Otters Club courts on Saturday.
The local lad gained Rs.50,000 for finishing second
best in the Rs,11 lakh prize money event organised by Indian Squash
Professionals.
Sandeep had the measure of Vikram in the first two
games, happened in the third game. He, however, maintain the momentum and
kept his self belief to bag the fourth game and the title.
Aditya Jagtap (Maharashtra) picked up the boy’s
under-15 crown, worth Rs.40,000, after defeating Sinha over three games, the
latter getting Rs.20,000 in this Poonawala Stud Farm sponsored tournament,
co-sponsored by Chemistry Apparel.
Eight time world champion Jansher Khan, a special
invitee for the event, played an exhibition match against multiple partners,
including India No.1 Ritwik Bhattacharya and Mumbai’s Cyrus Appoo. The
Pakistan great’s nephew Farhan Mehboob will take on Egypt’s World junior
No.1 Ramy Ashour in the men’s open final, the winner’s purse being
Rs.2,17,500 and the runner-ups Rs.1,08,750.
Ramy romps
home in style (Article in
Indian Express, Mumbai : 3/7/2005)
If shots don’t get him, fitness will. Ramy Ashour had
learnt that in course of his three previous squash encounters against
Pakistan’s Farhan Mehboob, where the Egyptian had lost two matches and
bagged one. Unfortunately, for Farhan (17), ranked six PSA spots below his
18 year old opponent at 71, his solitary defeat had been in their last
meeting a hurting loss in a juniors tourney at Islamabad. Ashour leveled the
head to head score on Saturday, winning their fourth face off in the Herald
Maritime Services Squash Open final with a resounding 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-0
win at the Otter’s Club.
Two matches all and the Egyptian looks like he has his
opponent sorted out.
Ramy, who boasts of being the youngest ever junior
world champion, today pocketed the richest prize money kitty that Indian
Squash had to offer. And confesses that he managed to wrap up proceedings
today in the simplest way possible. “Didn’t do anything fancy; just stuck to
my basic game, since I know he comes under a lot of pressure if he’s pushed
hard early and it is easy to wear him down,” he said of his 37 minute effort
on the court later.
If that was basic, Farhan must be wondering what this
high flying lad’s advanced game would look like.
Ramy made a strong start taking the opening game but
came up against the left handed Farhan’s touch drops in the next. His second
game blip also turned out to be Farhan’s high point for the match who dug a
hole for himself in the third with a series of inexplicable unforced errors
and drooped his shoulders lower in the fourth which was an embarrassing 0-11
freefall.
Pakistani legend Jansher Khan, watching his nephew from
the stands, deepened his frown with each tame stroke that banged into the
tie.
Bounding around the court with increasing fluidity, Ramy caught his tiring opponent flat footed and in just over half an hour
was planning to celebrate his triumph on the dance floor.
While reading himself for a slightly bigger challenge
than what he faced on court. Rather, rehearsing for it. “I am going to walk
upto Jansher Khan and ask him if he liked my game,” the teenager said with
star filled eyes.
Pakistan seems to be integral to Ramy’s history making,
after he won the world juniors there and defeated a Pakistani to clinch this
one. “Yeah, I am off to Pakistan next playing a big-PSA with the world’s top
ten players.” A qualifier there, Ramy is looking to add more to his Pakistan
profile.
Everything
black and White for Suchde (Article in
Times Sport, Mumbai : 30/6/2005)
A bout of food poisoning could not keep Cameron White
off the court. The Australian hardly showed any ill effects as he played a
shrewd game to down Siddharth Suchde and enter the men’s quarter finals of
the Herald Maritime Squash Open, sponsored by Poonawala Stud Farms and
co-sponsored by Chemistry, at the Otters Club, White won 8-11, 11-7, 11-2,
11-8.
Much was expected of Suchde, who reached the PSA
Chennai Open final last week, but lack of a finishing stroke led to his
defeat.
White is no stranger to Indian having won the World
Doubles title along with Byron Davis in Chennai last year. The 28 year old,
who was at one time ranked as high as No.48 on the PSA circuit, played with
plenty of guil. His clever variations kept Suchde guessing and the Aussie
struck wonderful drops and boasts.
Though Suchde got off to a fast start, hitting pacy
shots, he was not able to keep up the tempo. Davis worked his way back into
the game slowing down the pace. After winning, the second game, he ran away
with the third with some stirring strokeplay. Suchde did make a game of it
in the fourth but the Aussie grimly hung on hitting a drop into nick and
finishing off the match with a piercing backhand into the corner.
It was not a good day for Indians as Sahil Vora, Gaurav
Nandrajog and Manish Chotrani all fell by the wayside. Nandrajog gave
Pakistani Khalid Khan a torried time before narrowly going down in five
games.
Egyptian Ahmed Mohsen suffered an unusual injury whilst
leading 8-6 in the second game during his match against Amir mouth as he
twinged a nerve which also affected his ear. The Egyptian went off for
treatment, but returned 15 minutes later, and bravely battled on saving
three match balls in the third before going down in four games.
Appoo
profits from Samper’s tips (Article in
Times of India, Mumbai : 29/7/2005)
A few tips from his Trinity College (US) teammate from
Colombia, Bernardo Samper, did the trick for Cyrus Appoo. The Otters Club
youngster won a see saw five game battle against Bipin Batra to enter the
men’s second round of the Herald Maritime Squash Open, sponsored by
Poonawala Stud Farms and Chemistry at the Otters Club.
Cyrus, the son of Jamshed Appoo, is a much improved
player. The match had plenty of ups and downs but in the end he did enough
to prevail 5-11, 11-5, 3-11, 12-10, 11-9.
Cyrus, needs a little work on his fitness and his play
from the fore court, if he is to test tougher opponents. While Bipin got off
to a fast start, Cyrus worked his way back with pounding straight fore hand
winners. He dropped the third game but he showed plenty of craft to take the
fourth and eked out a win in the decider with deceptive strokes.
Fress from his PSA title triumph in Chennai, top seed
and World No.59 Ritwik Bhattachrya had an easy work out against qualifier
Abhishek Sharma. He triumphed 11-7, 11-5, 11-2.
Colombia’s Bernardo Samper and Egyptian world junior
champ Ramy Ashour impressed in their openers. Samper dropped just two points
in his demolition of Akshay Shrinivasan while No.2 seed Ashour brushed aside
beginner Anish Shaikh 11-0, 11-1, 11-3. There was a pretty amusing incident
in the third game when Shaikh thought the ball had gone bust when it hadn’t.
Every one including Ashour had a hearty laugh and went on to quickly finish
off his opponent.
Mehbooba to
face Ashour in Summit clash (Article in
Hindustan Times, Delhi : 2/07/2005)
FOURTH SEED Farhan Mehboob of Pakistan stopped the
dream run of Colombian Bernardo Samper to book a berth in the final of the
Herald Maritime Services Squash Open on Friday. He will take on second seed
Ramy Ashour of Egypt in the final.
In the semi-finals, Mehboob outplayed Sampers to win
11-9, 11-7, 11-9 in 31 minutes. Ashour scraped past Pakistani teenage
sensation Aamir Atlas Khan to win 11-9, 12-14, 11-6, 11-2 in 47 minutes.
After ousting top seed Ritwik Bhattacharya in the
quarterfinals, Samper entered the court as favourite. However, southpaw
Mehboob, who has been Mr Consistent throughout the week, maintained his
dream run to emerge victorious. Mehboob was so consistent that he hardly
made any unforced error. Besides, his agility and unmatched pace left the
packed Otters Club gallery spellbound.
On the other hand, Samper appeared to be scratchy.
Though he produced some magic moments in brief spells, he made several
unforced errors at crucial junctures. The unforced errors forced him to lose
the first and third game despite leading 8-6.
A relieved Mehboob said after the match, “I knew I had
to keep the ball in play as long as I could and I am glad that I did it
successfully. I am hopefully of doing the same in the final.”
In the other semi-final, Ashour won the battle between
reigning world and Asian Junior Champions. Playing in front of his icon and
uncle, Jehangir Khan, Aamir, who will turn 16 this month, matched every
strokes of the burly Egyptian in the first three games, However, Ashour’s
excellent use of court and power play took the steam of out of Aamir. From
8-6 in the third game, Ashour produced a stint of amazing squash to pocket
12 points in a row.
62nd
Tournament organised by ISP
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