The Hindu : Sport / Squash : TN to clash with Services for title

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 05, 2006

Sport

Sport - Squash

TN to clash with Services for title

NEW DELHI: Harinder Pal Singh and Parth Sharma scripted a superb 2-0 win over Rajasthan and earned Tamil Nadu a place in the final of the inter-State squash championship at the Delhi Gymkhana Club on Monday.

Rajasthan was on a high after knocking out defending champion Maharashtra, but Tamil Nadu proved to be a difficult opposition.

Harinder needed just about an hour to dispose off Gautam Sharma 9-2, 9-5, 9-6 to give Tamil Nadu a 1-0 lead. Rajasthan paid the price for resting its star player Sami Johnson, who had won a marathon match against Maharashtra's Harjinder Singh on Sunday. Instead, it fielded Gunraj Singh.

Gunraj started well to take the first game but Parth rallied brilliantly to win 5-9, 9-0, 9-3, 9-0 to steer the 2004 champion into its fourth successive final.

On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu will take on three-time finalist Services, which brought an end to New Delhi's march.

The host surrendered meekly after its key player Dhruv Dhavan was forced to sit out due to an injury.

Shakti Singh gave Services a great start with a 9-0, 9-7, 9-0 win over Sohail Kapur before Navneet Narian ousted Muktiar Ali, who was drafted into the playing team at the eleventh hour.

The results:

Semifinals:

Services bt New Delhi 2-0 (Shakti Singh bt Sohail Kapur 9-0, 9-7, 9-0, Navneet Narian bt Muktiar Ali 9-3, 9-1, 9-0); TN bt Rajasthan 2-0 (Harinder Pal Singh bt Gautam Sharma 9-2, 9-5, 9-6, Parth Sharma bt Gunraj Singh 5-9, 9-0, 9-3, 9-0). — Principal Correspondent

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