Mahesh, Aishwarya, Aditya, Purav, Rudra, Tilakvir and Riyaa crowned champions

By Ashok Dhamija

‘Maharashtra players led by Mahesh Mangaonkar and Aishwarya Khubchandani dominated the proceedings, by winning seven of the twelve age  group and open titles at stake, at the expense of higher ranked players in the championships round of the 47^th Maharashtra State Open All India Squash Tournament 2024,  that was organised by Bombay Gymkhana at its state of the art courts in Mumbai.

Touted as one of the most competitive tournament on the national squash circuit held under the aegis of Squash Rackets Federation of India, that was sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Parfums and co-sponsored by Indian Oil, defending champion and 3/4-seed Mangaonkar continued his good form in the tournament and quashed the aspirations of compatriot and the number one seed Veer Chotrani, winning the Men’s crown in four fiercely contested games that lasted close to an hour mark. The duo slugged it out on the court with some crafty play and clinical power packed strokes on either flanks during the course of the rally and struggled for every point. The experienced campaigner Mangaonkar who was part of the Indian squash team that won the Asian Games team gold medal at Hangzhou, China last year however stayed focused and managed critical winners against the 22 year old Indian junior , to extend his hold on the trophy with match score line of 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6.

On the other hand, unseeded Khubchandani, who had defeated top seed Anjali Semwal in a five-game thriller in the semi-final, played with the same intensity against the second seed Sunita Patel also from Maharashtra in the Women’s final. Showing excellent touch and control with her shots she wrapped the match in three quick games at 11-6, 11-5, and 11-5 to seal her triumph.

The Boys’ Under-19 finals,  that was contested between 3-4^th seed Aditya Chandani and unseeded Arjun Somani, both from Maharashtra witnessed an exciting and absorbing tussle for supremacy. Both the talented youngsters fought hard for every point and were engaged in long rallies in the match that went to the wire. Tied at two games all, the decider was a close affair too as the scores ran close to 9-all. Arjun wilted under pressure and made two unforced errors to hand Aditya the match, with the game scores reading 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 6-11, and 11-9 in favour of the latter.

The Girls’ Under-19 final was a tame affair as Delhi’s Aradhya Porwal defeated Akanksha Gupta of Maharashtra 11-4, 13-11, and 11-6 to emerge champion.

In the Girls’ Under-17 summit clash played between Maharashtra players, top seed Rudra Singh overcame second seed Karina Phipps 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, and 11-8 for the elusive title, while the high profile Boys’ U-17 final proved to be a tame affair between the two Maharashtra players Purav Rambhia and Agastya Bansal who earlier in the semis had stunned the top two seeds Darshil Parasrampuria of Tamil Nadu and Ishaan Dabke of Maharashtra respectively in the semi-finals earlier. Rambhia showed enough fire in his belly and easily defeated Agastya Bansal 11-5, 14-12, and 11-6 in a battle of unseeded in the end.

On the other hand second seed Tilakvir Kapoor of Maharashtra showed nerves of steel in his final Boys’ Under-11 final match against top seed Vihaan Chandhok of Delhi, before emerging champion in five hard fought games 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9. On the other hand in another all-Maharashtra final, second seed Riyaa Dalal dominated the proceedings against top seed Isha Shelke, before emerging champions in straight games 11-7, 11-7, 11-5.

Karnataka’s Aryaman Singh and Jharkhand’s Aadya Budhia clinched the Boys’ and Girls’ under-15 crowns respectively. In the Boys’ final, the 3/4-seed Aryaman warded off a strong fight from Maharashtra’s Shreyansh Jha to record a closely contested wim im f11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 5-11, and 11-7 victory. The Girls’ summit clash saw top seed Aarika Mishra retire hurt after trailing 2-3 in the third game. She won the first game 11-4 before second seed Aadya took second at 11-7 to level the scores before Aarika conceded the match.

Tamil Nadu’s Diva Parasrampuria easily defeated 3/4-seed Raayisha Naik of Maharashtra 11-5, 11-3, and 11-3 in the Girls’ Under-13 final, while Rajasthan’s top seed Fareed Andrabi brushed aside Maharashtra’s 3/4-seed Prabhav Bajoria winning at 11-8, 11-3, and 11-8 to claim the Boys Under-13 crown

Earlier in the semis Maharashtra lads Purav Rambhia and Agastya Bansal scored stunning wins against the top two seeds Darshil Parasrampuria of Tamil Nadu and Ishaan Dabke

A student of Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu, Purav seeded 5^th-8^th, played brilliantly to quash the title hopes of the top-seeded Darshil by clinching a clinical 11-9, 11-8, and 11-7 win. On the adjacent court, the unseeded, but fitter Agastya, who studies at the Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, exhibited tremendous fighting spirit and stamina as he came back from two games down to dash the aspirations of second-seeded Ishaan by snatching a satisfying 5-11, 3-11, 11-3, 11-7, and 11-9 victory.

Meanwhile, Siddhant Rewari of Maharashtra and Kushal Vir Singh of Chandigarh, the top two seeds in the Boys’ under-19 competition also crashed out in the penultimate round. The number one seed and fancied Siddhant, a Bombay Gymkhana member, paid dearly for making many unforced errors and went down fighting to Maharashtra’s 5-8^th seed Arjun Somani in five engrossing games. Somani, who was steadier, managed to secure a grueling 6-11, 11-5, 3-11, 11-7, and 11-8 win.

 In contrast, the Chandigarh challenger Kushal succumbed to a straight game defeat at the hands of Maharashtra’s 3-4^th Aditya Chandani who charged to a 11-2, 11-8, 11-4 win with a degree of comfort.

 In the Girls Under-19 category Maharashtra unseeded girl Akanksha Gupta also produced an impressive performance to cause another major upset as she knocked out the top seed Reiva Nimbalkar also from Maharashtra winning at 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, and 11-8.

 In the final Akanksha will meet Delhi’s unseeded player Aradhya Porwal who on the other hand toppled second seed Aryaa Dwivedi 11-3, 11-8, and 11-1.

 Women’s top seed Anjali Semwal was also shown the exit door by unseeded Aishwarya Khubchandani who won a closely fought all-Maharashtra contest in a five game thriller 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-1. However, second seed Sunita Patel of Maharashtra progressed to the summit round defeating Uttar Pradesh’s Sachika Ingale 6-11, 11-8, 11-4, and 11-6.

Results

# All Semi-finals:

 Girls' U-11: 1-Isha Shelke (MH) bt 3/4-Arunima Chaubey (KA) 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4; 2-Riyaa Dalal (MH) bt Jerusha Jebindran (TN) 11-3, 11-2, 11-3.

Boys’ U-11: 1-Vihaan Chandhok (DL) bt Aritra Debnath (KA) 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3; 2-Tilakvir Kapoor (MH) bt 3/4-Krishiv Mittal (MH) 11-7, 11-4, 11-9.

Girls' U-13: 1-Diva Parasrampuria (TN) bt Nehmat Nayar (CH) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7; 3/4-Raayisha Naik (MH) bt 2-Aashi Shah (MH) 11-6, 14-12, 11-6.

Boys’ U-13: 1-Fareed Andrabi (RJ) bt Advit Taneja (JH) 11-7, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8; 3/4-Prabhav Bajoria (MH) bt 2-Ruan Tadanki (HR) 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5

Girls' U-15: 1-Aarika Mishra (MH) bt 3/4-Bria Sharma (JH) 11-6, 5-11, 11-3, 11-6; 2-Aadya Budhia (JH) bt 3/4-Drishti Pawar (MH) 11-5, 11-3, 11-3.

Boys’ U-15: 2-Shreyansh Jha (MH) bt Pradeepsingh Rathore (KA) 11-7, 11-9, 11-8; 3/4-Aryaman Singh (KA) bt 1-Adithya K. (TN) 11-7, 12-14, 11-7, 14-12.

Girls' U-17: 1-Rudra Singh (MH) bt 3/4-Vyomika Khandelwal (TN) 11-2, 8-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-1; 2-Karina Phipps (MH) bt Aelina Shah (MH) 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4.

Boys’ U-17: Purav Rambhia (MH) bt 1-Darshil Parasrampuria (TN) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7; Agastya Bansal (MH) bt 2-Ishaan Dabke (MH) 5-11, 3-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-9.

Girls' U-19: Akanksha Gupta (MH) bt 1-Reiva Nimbalkar (MH) 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8; Aradhya Porwal (DL) bt 2- Aryaa Dwivedi 11-3, 11-8, 11-1.

Boys’ U-19: Arjun Somani (MH) bt 1-Siddhant Rewari (MH) 6-11, 11-5, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8; 3/4-Aditya Chandani (MH) bt 2-Kushal Vir Singh (CH) 11-2, 11-8, 11-4.

Women: Aishwarya Khubchandani (MH) bt 1-Anjali Semwal (MH) 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-1; 2-Sunita Patel (MH) bt Sachika Ingale (UP) 6-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-6.

Men: 1-Veer Chotrani (MH) bt 3/4-Om Semwal (MH) 11-8, 11-6, 11-9; 3/4-Mahesh Mangaonkar (MH) bt 2-Rahul Baitha 11-7, 11-3, 11-7.

#All Finals:

Girls' U-11: 2-Riyaa Dalal (MH) bt 1-Isha Shelke (MH) 11-7, 11-7, 11-5.

Boys’ U-11: 2-Tilakvir Kapoor (MH) bt 1-Vihaan Chandhok (DL) 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9

Girls' U-13: 1-Diva Parasrampuria (TN) bt 3/4-Raayisha Naik (MH) 11-5, 11-3, 11-3.

Boys’ U-13: 1-Fareed Andrabi (RJ) bt 3/4-Prabhav Bajoria (MH) 11-8, 11-3, 11-8

Girls' U-15: 2-Aadya Budhia (JH) bt 1-Aarika Mishra (MH) 11-4, 7-11, 2-3 (Retired)

Boys’ U-15: 3/4-Aryaman Singh (KA) bt 2-Shreyansh Jha (MH) 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 5-11, 11-7

Girls' U-17: 1-Rudra Singh (MH) bt 2-Karina Phipps (MH) 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8.

Boys’ U-17: Purav Rambhia (MH) bt Agastya Bansal (MH) 11-5, 14-12, 11-6.

Girls' U-19: Aradhya Porwal (DL) bt Akanksha Gupta (MH) 11-4, 13-11, 11-6.

Boys’ U-19: 3/4-Aditya Chandani (MH) bt Arjun Somani (MH) 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-9.

Women: Aishwarya Khubchandani (MH) bt 2-Sunita Patel (MH) 11-6, 11-5, 11-5.

Men: 3/4-Mahesh Mangaonkar (MH) bt 1-Veer Chotrani (MH) 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6.

Photo Cover : Women and Men Champions Aishwarya Khubchandani and Mahesh Mangaonkar ensured Maharashtra’s dominance at the  47th Maharashtra State Open All India Squash Tourney

Photo Above :  Finalists of the 47th Maharashtra State Open Squash Tournament pose for a group photo with their respective winners and runners up trophies