Maharashtra runs away with title

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 5. The final of the all-India inter-state squash championship was anti- climatic, Maharashtra not having much trouble in beating Delhi `A', at the Gymkhana Club courts here on Tuesday.

Maharashtra went 2-0 up through Amit Chinoy and Saket Wali, and Bikram Oberoi got a walk-over from Arjun Khanna in the fourth match of the rubber, after Ritwik had pulled one back for the host. Amit Pal Kohli conceded his match in a dead rubber, and second-seeded Maharashtra took home the trophy.

The Delhi outfit's 3-2 win over Maharashtra earlier in the league, was thus useful only to the extent that it got an easier semifinal and made the final. The will seemed to be lacking today and the host went down tamely.

Maharashtra fielded Amit Chinoy instead of Neeraj Shirgaonkar, who had lost a match in the league tie against Delhi, and the difference showed. Chinoy scored a straight-games win over P. Mahajan in the first match of the final, while Saket Wali repeated a win over Yogendra Singh. Ritwik's easy win over Manish Chotrani did not bring any cheer to the host, as its next match was to be a no show.

But it was still a good outing for Delhi and its best player, Bhattacharya, was happy with the team having made the final.

The results (final): Maharashtra bt Delhi `A' 3-2 (Amit Chinoy bt P. Mahajan 9-2, 9-3, 9-0; Saket Wali bt Yogendra Singh 9-0, 7-9, 10-9, 9-4; Manish Chotrani lost to Ritwik Bhattacharya 1-9, 4-9, 0-9; Bikram Oberoi w/o Arjun Khanna; Amit Pal Kohli conceded w/o to Sanjeev Anand).

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : AIFF-IPFA truce brings back top clubs to NFL