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WSF World Junior Championship, Namibia
One of the worthwhile performances this year in India’s squash came from Kush Kumar in the WSF World Junior Individual championship in Namibia. Kush Kumar became the first male player from India to reach the semifinal of a world championship and carved a special place for himself in the India’s squash history.
Kumar’s good show was the high point of India’s performance in the individual phase of the WSF World Junior Individual championship in Namibia. He was consistent throughout his gameplay.
Seeded 3/4, Kumar’s best came in the quarterfinal against George Parker of England. The way he negated his rival (seeded 5/8) with his crisp drives and deep crosscourt shots, not to mention the very tight drops, made for a thoroughly dominating show by Kumar.
In the semifinals though, the roles were reversed with Diego Elias of Peru, the Championship favourite and top seed giving his rival little space to exploit. Diego was very sharp, and that meant Kumar was left with little ideas even though he fought gamely but in vain.
PSA Challenger Open du Gard, France
19-year-old Mumbai lad, Mahesh Mangaonkar tasted success on the PSA World Tour beating Scottish top seed Greg Lobban 9-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 in the final of the Open du Gard, the PSA Challenger 5 event marking its sixth year at Squash des Arenes, France in January 2014.
Third seed Mangaonkar made his breakthrough in the semifinals when he defeated second seeded Kuwaiti Ammar Altamimiin in just 28 minutes. Now in the fourth Tour final of his career, this rising youth from Mumbai had a point to prove against the Scottish Lobban, a 21-year-old from Edinburgh enjoying his eighth Tour final. Both players now share a World No. 82 ranking.
JSW Challenger Circuit, Jaipur
Second seed and Asian Games gold medalist Mahesh Mangaonkar defeated the higher ranked Egyptian Zahed Mohamed 14-12, 15-13, 11-4, in the final of the JSW Indian Squash Challenger Circuit. Mangaonkar, who was the runner-up at the previous round in Jaipur, won the match after a 52-minute demonstration of skillful play.
Harinder Pal Sandhu secured his third title and Dipika Pallikal her second as the four-leg JSW-PSA challenger circuit and JSW-WSA event. Harinder defeated the top seeded Egyptian Karim Ali Fathi while top seeded Dipika accounted for second seed Misaki Kobayashi of Japan. Both won in straight games and claimed victory convincingly.
“Keep the opponent under a tight leash” seemed the refrain as both Dipika and Harinder effectively snuffed their opponents out with some tight play. Having had a good outing in the semi-final, Dipika was in the right frame of mind from the first point she won.
Keeping the returns long and ensuring Misaki does not get any leeway to make capital, Dipika reeled away points to get into a strong position quite early. Misaki too did not help her own cause with repeated unforced errors, mostly trying to find the area above the tin with drive or boast.
Commonwealth Games 2014, Glasgow
Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa created history at the Scotstoun Campus Squash centre as they beat the English pair of Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro to claim India's first ever gold medal in squash at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The Indian pair started positively as they dominated the early stages of the game. They eventually took the first game 11-6. England stormed back into the match in the second game as they took a 7-2 lead at one point. But Joshna and Dipika upped the ante as they conceded just one more point to the English team. They won the game 11-8, and the match too.
The 23-year-old Pallikal has been earmarked for great things since a long time. In 2012, she became the first Indian Indian woman to break into the top 10 of the world squash singles rankings, and she has hovered around the top of the game ever since then.
Chinappa, on the other hand, was also considered a very promising talent when she first burst on to the scene, but injuries and indifferent form have put stumbling blocks in her career lately.
This win could reinvigorate the 28-year-old though, and she may well go on to match her doubles partner’s accomplishments in singles as well.
Asian Games 2014, Incheon
Indian men’s squash team defeated Malaysia 2-0 in the final to win the gold medal. Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu gave India the lead after beating Iskandar Mohamad in four games. Singh took the match 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 after an impressive display on the court.
The Indian women's squash team settled for the silver medal after losing to defending champions Malaysia 0-2 in the final of the 17th Asian Games at the Yeorumul Squash Courts here Saturday. Anaka Alankamony and Pallikal lost their respective matches to Malaysian players as India had to be content with finishing second.
