Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana (JVPG) Club and Jindal Squash Academy, both recorded contrasting semi-final victories in the Hyatt Regency – Mumbai Inter-Club Squash League 2018, organised by the Indian Squash Professionals and played at the Hyatt Regency courts.
JVPG Team which reached the finals of the Hyatt Regency – Mumbai Inter-Club Squash League, pose for a photo.
While the Juhu side beat back a strong challenge from Khar Gymkhana to script a hard-earned 3-2 win, Jindal Squash had things much their own way as they outplayed Otters Club by coasting to a fluent 4-1 victory to set up a clash with JVPG in the final.
JVPG started on a shaky note as Ashish Mehta lost to Veer Chotrani 5-11, 7-11 in the singles, opening rubber. But the Juhu club bounced back in style by taking the next two rubbers to forge ahead at 2-1. The JVPG duo of Amitpal Kohli and Bhavesh Shah did well to overcome Kishore Vanwari and Vijay Waghela 11-5, 7-11, 11-10 to level the match scores at 1-all before their teammates Aishwary Singh and Shashi Pandey combined well to prevail over Veer Chotrani and Dipesh Borhade 11-8, 11-8 in the third rubber.
Otters Club fought back in the fourth, which was a singles tie and Aishwarya Khubchandani rallied after losing the first game to put it across Araash Mehta, winning at 8-11, 11-5, 11-6 to tie the match at 2-all.
In the deciding fifth rubber, the JVPG pairing of Amitpal Kohli and Urwashi Joshi recovered after their opponents Prashant Mohite and Vishant Salvi won the first game. But, Koli and Joshi lifted the level of their play and went on to win the next two games to complete a deserving 9-11, 11-9, 11-4 win to secure a tight 3-2 victory for their club.
In the second semi-final encounter, the talented Jindal players faced little difficulty in quashing the aspirations of the Otters Club team. Abhishek Agarwal gave Jindal a bright start when he tamed Neel Joshi 11-6, 11-8 in the first rubber. But, Otters came back with their seasoned duo of Ganesh Kadam and Santosh More defeating Avinash Yadav and Rajiv Gupta 11-7, 11-6 in the second rubber to make the scores 1-1. However, the Jindal team dominated the next two rubbers to take a commanding 3-1 lead. First, Abhishek Agarwal and Puneet Pareek charged to a 11-7, 11-7 win against Advait Adik and Anshul Goyal, before Deepak Mandal scored a hard-fought 11-9, 12-10 win against Sanjay Pawar in the singles tie, fourth rubber. The Jindal pair of Pradeep Chaudhary and Sandeep Paswan did not have to get on to the court for the fifth rubber as they were awarded a walkover from the Otters doubles combination of Ansh Shetty and Dipesh Jadhav.
Results – semi-finals: Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana Club beat Khar Gymkhana beat 3-2 (Ashish Mehta lost Veer Chotrani 5-11, 7-11; Amitpal Kohli/Bhavesh Shah bt Kishore Vanwari/Vijay Waghela 11-5, 7-11, 11-10; Aishwary Singh/Shashi Pandey bt Veer Chotrani/Dipesh Borhade 11-8, 11-8; Araash Mehta lost Aishwarya Khubchandani 11-8, 5-11, 6-11; Amitpal Kohli/Urwashi Joshi bt Prashant Mohite/Vishant Salvi 9-11, 11-9, 11-4).
Jindal Squash Academy beat Otters Club 4-1 (Abhishek Agarwal bt Neel Joshi 11-6, 11-8; Avinash Yadav/Rajiv Gupta lost Ganesh Kadam/Santosh More 7-11, 6-11; Abhishek Agarwal/Puneet Pareek bt Advait Adik/Anshul Goyal 11-7, 11-7; Deepak Mandal bt Sanjay Pawar 11-9, 12-10; Pradeep Chaudhary/Sandeep Paswan lost Ansh Shetty/Dipesh Jadhav walkover).