Rahul Yadav of Maharashtra and West Bengal’s Urvaksh F. Mogrelia recorded easy first-round victories on the first day of the Bombay Gymkhana 47th Maharashtra State Open All India Squash Tournament 2024, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Parfums and co-sponsored by Indian Oil, and played at the Gymkhana’s courts, on Saturday.
Ansh Somani of Maharashtra rallied to beat compatriot Arhaan Lunkad 3-2 in a boys’ U-15 first-round match.
Yadav proved too good for Kapil Malhotra of Delhi coasting to an 11-1, 11-1, and 11-4 win, Mogrelia cruised past Maharashtra’s Yash Sanap by an 11-2, 11-1, and 11-3 games scores.
Meanwhile, Ansh Somani of Maharashtra lost the first two games against compatriot Arhaan Lunkad in an interesting boys’ U-15 first-round match. But, Ansh, a student of Bombay International School, showed plenty of grit and determination and staged a gallant fight back as he went on to win the next three games to carve out a well-deserved 5-11, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9, and 11-4 win.
In other men’s encounters, Chandigarh’s Sonu encountered quite a challenge from Hunarpal Kohli of Maharashtra before romping to an 11-3, 12-10, 9-11, and 11-8 victory to advance to the second round.
Uttar Pradesh’s Kailash Talati and Assam’s Dikshanta Sarma, crashed at the first hurdle losing tamely to Maharashtra challengers. Talati lost to Vishab Kotian in straight games at 6-11, 5-11, and 5-11, while Tanul Bomia also defeated Sarma in three games at 11-4, 11-5, and 11-5.
In other well-contested boys’ under-15 encounters, Goa’s Ishan Sharma recovered after dropping the first game to prevail over Maharashtra’s Sherbir Singh Poonia 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, and 11-9, while Karnataka’s Pradeepsingh Rathore easily defeated Reyansh Chheda of Maharashtra 11-4, 11-3, and 11-3 to join Ansh in the second round.
Results – Girls’ U-11 (1st round): Suhani Katariya (MH) bt Gauri Shid (MH) 11-6, 11-2, 11-3; Rishima Mahurkar (MH) bt Dia Doshi (MH) 11-2, 11-1, 11-1; Aarna Rao (MH) bt Sonali Nirguda (MH) 11-0, 11-0, 11-0; Ariana Almoula (MH) bt Inaya Andrabi (RJ) 11-3, 11-8, 11-5; Isha Ambekar (MH) bt Karuna Nirgude (MH) 11-7, 11-8, 11-6; Aditi Singh (MH) bt Arwa Shelar (MH) 11-1, 11-4, 11-2; Anushka Tandon (MH) bt Roshani Shid (MH) 11-7, 12-10, 11-8; Radhika Karnik (MH) bt Vasanti Vare (MH) 11-1, 11-0, 11-2.
Boys U-13 (1st round): Vivaan Chadha (MH) bt Ishaan Goenka (MH) 11-2, 11-4, 11-6; Viraj Saran bt Ranveer Shinde 11-3, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7; Aryan Malhotra (KA) bt Sirhaan Singhee (MH) 11-6, 11-7, 11-8; Kiaan Kulkarni (MH) bt Veer Vohra (MH) 11-5, 11-1, 11-5; Bhushan Daravada (MH) bt Rayhaan Shah (MH) 11-9, 11-3, 11-5; Agastya Jain (MH) bt Aman Jaitly (MH) 11-8, 11-3, 11-5.
Boys’ U-15 (1st round): Ansh Somani (MH) bt Arhaan Lunkad (MH) 5-11, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-4; Arnav Dharia (MH) bt Parshva Lakdawala (MH) 10-12, 11-5, 11-2, 11-9; Ishan Sharma (GA) bt Sherbir Singh Poonia (MH) 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9; Pradeepsingh Rathore (KA) bt Reyansh Chheda (MH) 11-4, 11-3, 11-3; Dhanvin Shroff (MH) bt Mudassir Patel (MH) 11-7, 11-7, 11-6.
Men (1st round): Varun Gupta (MH) bt Amit Gajria (MH) 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8; Jainendra Bhandari (MH) bt Ayush Singh (CG) 14-12, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7; Divit Poojary (MH) bt Ramesh Prasad (MH) 11-4, 11-9, 4-11, 11-3; Ratish Rao (MH) bt Siddharth Bhavsar (MH) 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3; Purav Rambhia (MH) bt Khan Shahbaj (GJ) 11-1, 11-8, 11-9; Vishab Kotian (MH) bt Kailash Talati (UP) 11-6, 11-3, 11-3; Tanul Bomia (MH) bt Dikshanta Sarma (AS) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5; Dipesh Jadhav (MH) bt Rohit Happe (MH) 11-9, 9-11, 11-2, 11-4; Rahul Yadav (MH) bt Kapil Malhotra (DL) 11-1, 11-1, 11-4; Sonu (CH) bt Hunarpal Kohli (MH) 11-3, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8; Urvaksh F. Mogrelia (WB) bt Yash Sanap (MH) 11-2, 11-1, 11-3