The Hindu : Sport : Egypt scores a facile win over India

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Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007
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Egypt scores a facile win over India

S.R. Suryanarayan

England meets France and Australia takes on Egypt in the semifinals

— Photo: V. Ganesan

TOO HOT: Egypt’s Amr Shabana (left) had it easy against India’s Saurav Ghosal in the quarterfinals of ICL-World squash team championship on Monday.

CHENNAI: Amr Shabana and Wael Elhendy were too good for India as Egypt posted a comfortable 3-0 win to enter the semifinals of the ICL-World team squash championship at the ICL academy here on Monday.

India certainly did not have any pretensions of taking on Egypt on level terms even if Ritwik Bhattacharya tried his best to halt Elhendy. The small gathering at the centre court kept egging on Ritwik. But the contest, riddled with any number of ‘let’ calls never escaped the grip of the Egyptian, who is ranked eight in the World.

But as long as Ritwik remained in the race, that is in the first game, it looked an even contest. No matter the unintentional elbow butt into the face that irked Elhendy nor the frequent collision, the Egyptian began to grow in strength. “Strokes” came in plenty for Elhendy to progress though at 10-all, as the game went to extra points, things looked delicately poised. But experience told and then a flashy ‘double-wall boast’ came in handy for Elhendy to bag the first game.

Delicate drop shots

Elhendy played delicate drop shots with much felicity. Ritwik had a lot of running to do and slowly began to sink, unable to maintain consistency in his returns. Both the players had any number of arguments with the Referee on ‘let calls’. Yet, Elhendy kept his focus to make it a straight-game win. But Saurav Ghosal had no clue to Shabana’s brilliance. His ability to cover the courts and shots from any angle quickly put him on a plane that Saurav was not used to. A swift mover and a game trier, Saurav realised the futility of trying to match his opponent in returns. “His wristy shots and swift movements were amazing. We know why he is number one player in the world,” said Saurav after his defeat. There were brief moments still for Saurav to win applause and even a pat from his famed opponent but as the Indian put it, “just when you think you can corner him, he will come with a shot that can stun you.”

In another match, Mohammed Abbas defeated Siddarth Suchde.

Incentive

Earlier, the SRFI announced a cash incentive of Rs 2.5 lakh to the Indian team for its historic entry into the quarterfinals. The SRFI Secretary-General, N. Ramachandran, while announcing the incentive, said “the fine performance augurs well for the future of Indian squash.”

Australia showed its might to down Canada (3-0), which did not have the services of former star Jonathan Power, who sat out with a sore back while top player Gregory Gaultier, keenly looking to corner glory in Chennai after missing it in Bermuda (World open) led France’s 3-0 win over Malaysia. Defending champion England ended the Netherlands’ quest. Nick Mathew and James Willstrop came good for England.

In the semifinals on Tuesday, England meets France while Australia takes on Egypt. India will play for a slot in the 5 to 8 positions.

The results (quarterfinals): Egypt bt India 3-0 (Wael Elhendy bt Ritwik Bhattacharya 11-0 (3-1), 11-4, 11-8; Amr Shabana bt Saurav Ghosal 11-5, 11-8, 11-9; Mohammed Abbas bt Siddarth Suchde 11-6, 11-8); England bt Netherlands 3-0 (James Willstrop bt Tom Hoevenaars 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8; Nick Mathew bt Laurens Jan Anjema 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Peter Barker bt Piedro Schweertman 11-4, 11-2); Australia bt Canada 3-0 (Stewart Boswell bt Mathew Giuffre 11-4, 11-8, 11-4; David Palmer bt Shahir Razik 10-11 (0-2), 11-7, 11-6, 11-6; Cameron Pilley bt Shawn Delierre 11-3, 11-7); France bt Malaysia 3-0 (Thierry Lincou bt Ong Beng Hee 11-9, 11-6, 11-10 (2-0); Gregory Gaultier bt Mohd Azlan Bin Iskandar 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7; Renan Lavigne bt Mohd Asyra Bin Azan 11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5.)

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