The Hindu : Sport / Squash : Double delight for TN

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 12, 2004

Sport

Sport - Squash

Double delight for TN

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, DEC. 11. When Ritwik Bhattacharya groped in vain to return another one of those innumerable cross-court drives from Saurav Ghosal the curtains came down on the inter-State competition of the senior National squash championship with the defending men's champion, New Delhi, bowing out and a new powerhouse, Tamil Nadu, taking its place.

Significantly it was a Saturday to remember for the host with the women too cornering glory to make it a complete sweep. An elated national coach, Cyrus Poncha, who handles the Tamil Nadu teams in the ICL Academy, put the state's success to the systematic and structured training.

The difference was there for all to see be it in stamina or in the exhibition of skills. If A. Parthiban signified staying power then Ghosal gave an insight of his precocious talent with a stand out show against Ritwik Bhattacharya.

Barring an occasional drop or a drive that eluded Saurav, the Tamil Nadu collegian was the master on court. There were the delicate drops, the stiff drives both straight and cross-court, the clever lobs and the amazing reflexes to keep the small audience spellbound.

Probably the moment of the match came in the first game which he won without conceding a point, when he glided back to pick the ball virtually millimetres from the floor and what is more win the point.

At no stage could Ritwik challenge the young rival for so sure was Saurav's court movement and anticipation. The end result achieved in 47 minutes must rank as one of Saurav's best displays in his career.

That win came after Harinder Pal Singh had put Tamil Nadu ahead with his win over Amjad Khan in under 30 minutes. Then came Parthiban who gave a glimmer of hope to Delhi by his waywardness to start with against Yashvardhan Singh. But Parthiban is a great retriever and thrives on rallies. Yashvardhan was not made of that stern stuff. With Saurav getting the winning margin the tie ended without the need of the remaining two singles.

In the women's section the competition was a friendly affair with Tamil Nadu `A' side beating the `B' side.

Ms Lorraine Harding, Administrator, World Squash Federation, gave away the prizes in the presence of the Secretary-General, SRFI, N. Ramachandran among others.

The results: final:

Men: Tamil Nadu bt New Delhi 5-0 (Harinder Pal Singh bt Amjad Khan 9-5, 9-0, 9-4; A. Parthiban bt Yashvardhan Singh 3-9, 9-5, 9-5, 9-7; Saurav Ghosal bt Ritwik Bhattacharya 9-0, 9-6, 9-2; Rajat Johar w/o Naresh Kumar; Bala Murugan bt Gaurav Nandrajog).

Women: Tamil Nadu `A' bt Tamil Nadu `B' 3-0 (Harita Omprakash bt Jesheila Mani 9-7, 9-5, 9-10, 7-9, 9-6; V. Anvesha Reddy bt Shibani Philip 9-2, 9-2, 9-1; Ritika Reddy w/o Sruti Ashok).

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