Alisha, Joshna and Saurav do India proud

By Raju Chainani

KUALA LUMPUR, JUNE 3. The Indian brigade finished with a flourish at the Milo Malaysian Junior Squash International. In the main age group events there were wins for Alisha Mashruwala (girls under-13), Joshna Chinappa (girls under-17) and Saurav Ghoshal (boys under- 15). Mumbai's Jay Dalal took fifth place in the boys under-11. In the Classic Plate events, Ramit Tandon (boys under- 11), Manek Mathur (boys under-13) and Supreet Singh (boys under- 17) emerged victorious whilst Chandigarh's Harinder Pal Singh finished seventh in the boys under-13.

For the third day in a row, it was Saurav Ghoshal who held the spotlight. Watched by a packed gallery which included Malaysia's Head Coach Maj.S. Maniam and Elite Coach Jamshed Gul, the 14 year-old Kolkata boy outplayed the number two seed Kapil Nesan (Malaysia) 9-4, 9-3, 9-3 in 34 minutes. He mixed his game intelligently and the lanky Nesan was on the backfoot for most part of the match.

``It was an impressive win'', suggested Maj. Maniam, ``Saurav was in command. He has improved a lot since last year''. There was no doubt that he was the best player in the under-15 and his performance here augurs well for the future. Just for the record, he did not figure in the top eight seedings.

Alisha Mashruwala was fancied to win the girls' under- 13 event. She needed a wake-up call after Malaysia's Nabilla Ariffin had won the opener. The Mumbai junior showed her mettle, taking the next three games with a stamp of authority, 6-9, 9-4, 9-0, 9-3 to Mashruwala, in 39 minutes. She was the top seed and justified her position. Bearing in mind the opposition, particularly the challenge from the Australians in the earlier rounds, this was a very good win.

The Chennai derby between Joshna Chinappa and Vaidehi Reddy could have gone either way. Chinappa won the first game over extra points after having trailed 5-8. She drew away from 3- 3 in the second and the two game cushion looked comfortable. Her long, lazy strides were good enough to cause problems for her opponent who was relatively slow in getting to the drops and volleys.

Like the Kuala Lumpur weather, there came a dramatic transformation. Chinappa began making mistakes and as Reddy grew in confidence, using the down the line passing shots to repeatedly to catch out her opponent and the third and fourth games became a different story. The decider saw the national champion put her act together and she went 8-1 up and closed the match with a clinical backhand drop.

Later, it was learnt that she had not been well for the last week. A chest congestion and dehydration had not helped her cause, but on the day she had provided the finish when it mattered. It gave India three titles and a very creditable overall performance.

The results (final):

Boys under-15: Saurav Ghoshal bt Kapil Nesan (Malaysia) 9-4, 9-3, 9-3.

Girls under-13: Alisha Mashruwala bt Nabilla Ariffin (Malaysia) 6-9, 9-4, 9-0, 9-3.

Girls under-17: Joshna Chinappa bt Vaidehi Reddy 10-8, 9-5, 5-9, 1-9, 9-2.

lPlay- offs/Plate events: Boys under-11: For fifth place: Jay Dalal bt Adeep Arif (Malaysia) 9-2, 9-7, 1-9, 9-5.

Classic Plate final: Ramit Tandon bt Wong Xi Liang (Singapore) 4- 9, 9-2, 9-0, 9-6.

Under-13 (Classic Plate final): Manek Mathur bt Sandeep Jangra 8- 10, 9-7, 9-6, 9-4.

Under-17 (Classic Plate final): Supreet Singh bt Todd Noon (Australia) 9-1, 9-0, 9-5.

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