Top seed Yohan Darius Pandole of Maharashtra brooked little opposition from state mate Sandeep Paswan and romped to a straight games 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 win in a boys’ under-19 quarter-final match of the Rs 6 lakh prize-money All-India NSCI Junior Open Squash 2015, an SRFI 4-Star Ranking event, and played at the NSCI’s glass-back courts, Worli, on Tuesday.
Navmi Sharma
In contrast, second seed Aishwary Singh of Maharashtra had to work hard to overcome compatriot Pranay Jain in five long games before pulling through at 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6.
In the corresponding girl’s category, the top seed Vruddhi Doshi of Madhya Pradesh encountered a strong challenge from Rajasthan’s Riya Sisodia before scrapping through at 5-11, 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 12-10. On the other hand, second seed Aishwarya Bhattacharya of Maharashtra dropped just four points in beating Sireena Divecha also of Maharashtra 11-2, 11-1, 11-1to progress to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile in other quarter-final encounters, Goa’s Akanksha Salunkhe stunned Amaya Kothari of Delhi 11-2, 11-2, 11-3, while Maharashtra’s Jui Kalgutkar prevailed over her state matche Riddhi Sampat of Maharashtra 11-3, 11-5, 11-5.
However, both the joint third seeds in the boy’s under-19 event, Junaid Muzaffar Thoker of Delhi and Raghuvir Reddy of Maharashtra failed to get going and bowed out. Junaid, who had closely won his earlier round despite playing with a back strain, tried his best to put up a fight against Ranjit Singh of Uttar Pradesh but looked uncomfortable and went down in four games at 3-11, 11-9, 6-11, 5-11. On the adjacent court Raghuvir looked totally out of sorts against Krish and succumbed to a 7-11, 4-11, 11-13 defeat.
In one of the most exciting and absorbing contest of the day, Mira Kamat and Bhavna Goyal, both from Maharashtra, were engaged in a grim battle for supremacy and the match went the distance before the former clinched the issue by a close 3-2 margin. Mira took time to get into a rhythm and lost the first game without much of fight at 3-11. However, she raised the level of game in the second and took the fight to her opponent but lost the game over extra points (14-16). Showing greater determination and endurance, Mira bounced back by winning the next three games on the trot to snatch a hard-earned 3-11, 14-16, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 victory and a passage to the semi-finals.
Joining Mira in the penultimate round was Tamil Nadu’s Darshana Vasudevan, who knocked out second seed Abhilasha Bhasin of Maharashtra, winning quite comfortably in three games at 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 in another quarter-final match.
Meanwhile top seed Navmi Sharma, of Maharashtra defeated Sanya Vats of Delhi 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 in a girls’ under-15 quarter-final match and in the under-11 encounters, the joint 3-4 seeds Archita Singh and Saisha Gupta, both from Maharashtra crashed out. Unseeded Aasya Patel of Madhya (MP) accounted for Archita coasting to a straight games 11-0, 11-5, 11-6, while Tamil Nadu’s S. Akshaya Sri quashed the aspiration of Saisha also winning in three games at 11-9, 11-9, 12-10.
Results – Girls’ Under-11 (quarter-finals): 1-Yuvna Gupta (MH) bt Harini V (TN ) 11-4, 11-2, 11-5; S Akshaya Sri (TN ) bt 3/4-Saisha Gupta (MH ) 11-9, 11-9, 12-10; Aasya Patel (MP) bt 3/4-Archita Singh (MH) 11-0, 11-5, 11-6; 2-Pooja Arthi R (TN ) bt Nayna Taneja (MH ) 11-3, 11-1, 11-3.
Boys’ Under-11 (quarter-finals): 1-Paarth Ambani (MH) bt Rutva Samant (MH ) 11-4, 11-3, 11-5; Jaivir Singh Dhillon (DL) bt 3/ 4-Yuvraj Wadhwani (MH) 11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-2; 3/ 4-Vivaan Shah (MH) bt Sharan Punjabi (MH) 8-11, 11-4, 12-10, 5-11, 11-9; 2-Ansh Tripathi (TN) bt Arnav Tevatia (MH)11-8, 11-2, 11-5.
Girls’ Under-13 (quarter-finals): 1-Megha Bhatia (DL) bt Anjali Semwal (MH) 11-0, 11-3, 11-0; 3/4-Aryaa Ogale (MH) bt Aishwarya Khubchandani (MH) 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5; Anannya Morey (MH) bt 3/4-Avani Nagar (MH) 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8; 2-Ananya Dabke (MH) bt Sarah Vethekar (MH) 11-3, 11-2, 11-6.
Boys’ Under-13 (quarter-finals): 1-Neel Joshi (MH) bt Aakash Gupta (MH) 11-3, 11-3, 11-4; Tanay Punjabi (MH) bt 3/4-Shreyas Mehta (MH) 11-9, 11-5, 11-7; 3/4-Kanhav Nanavati (TN) bt Ishaan Singh (RJ) 11-1, 11-2, 11-5; Yash Salunkhe (GA) bt Jay Vaknalli (MH) 4-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-8.
Girls’ Under-15 (quarter-finals): 1-Navmi Sharma (MH) bt Sanya Vats (DL) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7; Mira Kamat (MH) bt Bhavna Goyal (MH) 3-11, 14-16, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; 3/4-Jannia Singh (CH) bt Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (TN) 11-6, 11-8, 11-2; Darshana Vasudevan (TN) bt 2-Abhilasha Bhasin (MH) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5.
Boys’ Under-15 (quarter-finals): 1-Veer Chotrani (MH) bt Inderjit Singh (CH) 11-3,11-6,12-10; Advait Adik (MH) bt 3/4-Pranav N Visvesh (TN) 11-2, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9; 3/4-Utkarsh Baheti (RJ) bt Yashwanth Raghav G (TN)8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-8; 2-Rahul Baitha (MH) bt Gautam Nagpal (DL) 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9.
Girls’ Under-17 (quarter-finals): 1-Nikita Joshi (MH) bt Ananya Vir (DL) 11-3,11-6,11-4; 3/4-Aakanksha Rao (MH) bt Aditi Prasad (MH) 9-11,11-8,5-11,12-10,16-14; 3/4-Diya Joukani (MH) bt Nandika Kumar (UP) 17-15,11-6,11-8; 2-Koel Shankar (MH) bt Sanika Choudhari (MH) 9-11 8-11 11-1 11-2 11-9.
Boys’ Under-17 (quarter-finals):1-Robin Singh Mann (DL) bt Yohann Surti (MH) 11-9,11-9,11-6; 3/4-Chaitanya Shah (MH) bt Rutvik Rau (MH) 11-4,11-9,11-6; 3/4-Aryaman Adik (MH) bt Tushar Shahani (MH) 11-7,11-5,11-7; 2-Yash Bhargava (DL) bt Aryan Parekh (MH) 11-8,11-7,11-3.
Girls’ Under-19 (quarter-finals): 1-Vruddhi Doshi (MP) bt Riya Sisodia (RJ) 5-11,11-7,12-10, 3-11,12-10; Akanksha Salunkhe (GA) bt 3/4-Amaya Kothari (DL) 11-2,11-2,11-3; 3/4-Jui Kalgutkar (MH) Riddhi Sampat (MH) 11-3,11-5,11-5; 2-Aishwarya Bhattacharya (MH) bt Sireena Divecha (MH) 11-2,11-1,11-1.
Boys’ Under-19 (quarter-finals):1-Yohan Darius Pandole (MH) bt Sandeep Paswan (MH) 11-5,11-6,11-7; Krish Kapur (WB) bt 3/4-Raghuvir Reddy (MH) 11-7,11-4,13-11; Ranjit Singh (UP) bt 3/4-Junaid Muzaffar Thoker (DL) 11-3, 9-11,11-6,11-5; 2- Aishwary Singh (MH) bt Pranay Jain (MH) 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6.