The Hindu : Sport / Squash : Impressive Ghosal reaches final

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 24, 2004

Sport

Sport - Squash

Impressive Ghosal reaches final

By K. Keerthivasan

CHENNAI, JULY 23. Moving exceedingly well and executing some out-of-the world shots, 17-year-old Saurav Ghosal, the sixth seeded Indian, reached the final with a 11-15, 15-8, 15-8, 15-9 victory over the top-seeded Frenchman Jean-Michel Arcucci in the ICL-Chennai Open, a Super Satellite PSA men's squash tournament at the TNSRA courts here on Friday.

The hopes of an all-Indian final, however, were dashed when National champion Ritwik Bhattacharya bowed out without much of a fight to second seed Mohamed Essam A. Hafiz of Qatar, the score being 15-10, 15-9, 15-14.

Today Ghosal showed how much he has improved in a short span of time. Agility is his forte. He came up with stunning winners when one thought Arcucci would run away with the points.

Arcucci showed his skill and prowess in the first game. Not allowing Ghosal the leeway to unleash his shots, Arcucci kept him at the back.

By pinning him down to the backhand, Arcucci produced some fine forehand strokes and drop volleys. But as the match progressed, Arcucci's legs slackened and Ghosal's got better. And that was the decisive factor.

This is Ghosal's second PSA final after the loss he incurred in September last year to Australian Mike Corren in the Kuala Lumpur Open.

Too late a fightback

Ritwik, the third seed, put up a better fight only in the third game. Down 13-14, Ritwik was awarded a `stroke'. With the scores at 14-all, Ritwik put a forehand into the tin and let out a shrill shriek to convey his disappointment.

Hafiz would be keen to bag his second title, the first being the Chartres Open in May 2004.

Ghosal, who was named the top-seed in the World junior championship to be held in Islamabad next month said, "I was more consistent. After the first game, I kept up the pressure by moving him around. My boast shots were one of the keys to the victory."

Arcucci, on the other hand, said that he was not disappointed with the result and that he was looking forward to playing in tournaments in Hong Kong after training for a few days in Egypt.

About the match, he said, "He (Saurav) played very well, was very fast on the ball all the time. Moreover, my legs were getting a bit tired."

The results (semifinals):

Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra) 11-15, 15-8, 15-8, 15-9; Mohamed Essam A Hafiz (Qat) bt Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) 15-10, 15-9, 15-14.

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