Squash Nationals: Favourites qualify for main draw

The Senior National Squash Games are going on in Kerala

Day 2 of the qualifying for the Senior National Squash Games in Kerala started with Men’s Round 4. Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu did not waste any time in beating Ankit Singh (3-0). Surprise package from Manipur Keisham Tomba Meitei gave his best in the court but Rishi Jalan (Delhi) ended his winning momentum.

As the crowd constantly looking out for an upset, Sudharsannam Iyyandurai seemed like the first one to do so against Paramjeet Singh. Sudharsannam won the first set 11-7, but couldn’t keep up his good performance throughout the match. It looked like Paramjeet found a weakness on Sudharsannam as he was outplayed in the following sets to win the match 3-1 (7-11,11-3,11-5,11-6).

In the match between Mudit Pant and Siddharth Phutela, the crowd finally witness a simple but effective game play by Siddharth as he beat Delhi’s Mudit 3-1. Siddharth simply returned every single ball and defended some attacking strokes of Mudit. A frustrated Mudit ended up hitting the tin multiple times and could not stay in the match in the last 2 games. Have to say that Mudit Pant lost to Siddharth Phutela 1-3 (10-12, 11-8, 4-11, 6-11).

Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu vs Hiteshwar Singh Riar: 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-8)

Summary of the match between Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu and Hiteshwar Singh Riar

In the first game, Maninder was made to run around the court as Hiteshwar mixed his shots well. Soon Maninder got the match under his control by playing some tight shots. Maninder continued to play tight and straight subtly making the best of Hiteshwar’s loose shots. Hiteshwar lost the match eventually with multiple errors from rear court. Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu to play Kush Kumar

Rishi Jalan vs Rohan Vora: 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-9)

Summary of the match between Rishi Jalan and Rohan Vora

Maharashtra’s Rohan Vora did well to win 5 rounds, but Rishi Jalan (Delhi) who was in a good nick in this championship made it look easy. Rishi beat Rohan comfortably 3-0 and ensured a place in the main draw. Rishi Jalan to play Ravi Dixit.

Naveen Jangra vs Chiraag Khemani: 3-0 (11-7 11-7 11-7)

Summary of the match between Naveen Jangra and Chiraag Khemani

One among the Jangra brothers Naveen Jangra displayed his class. Naveen, as always a tough competitor, did not waste any time. With variety of strokes Naveen was too good for Chiraag who constantly made errors. Naveen Jangra to play Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu

Ashish Keskar Vs. Siddharth Phutela 3-2 (5-11 11-7 11-3 9-11 13-11)

All eyes were on Siddharth after creating an upset earlier in the day. There was constant buzz around the court about his position in the nain draw. Siddharth started the match well by winning the first game 11-5, but Ashish soon steadied the match by winning the 2^nd and 3^rd games. Just when we thought Ashish would finish the match Siddharth came back strong in the 4^th game and levelled the match at 2-2.

Despite fatigue, Siddharth took the lead and had a match ball at 10-7, no one expected Siddharth to loose from here but Ashish held on and levelled the game 10-10. It was a matter of time as Ashish displayed his superior fitness level to win in a tie breaker. Ashish Keskar to play the No1 seed Saurav Ghosal

A still from the match between Ashish Keskar and Siddharth Phutela

Results

Men’s Round 4

Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu, PB, def. Ankit Singh, AS, 11-3 11-8 11-8

Krishan Jaipal Singh, JH, def. Deepak? Tiwari, MH, 8-11 11-8 11-1 11-1

Hiteshwar Singh Riar, CH, def. Aditya Sunil, KL, 11-3 11-1 11-1

Jebindran V, TN, def. Ankit Acharya, KA, w.o.

Rishi Jalan, DL, def. Keisham Tomba Meitei, MN, 11-2 11-2 11-3

Dharmender Singh, MH, def. Naseem Ali, UK, 3-11 11-4 11-6 11-7

Rohan Vora, MH, def. Ansh Gupta, UP, 11-2 11-5 11-5

Pragun Khemka, TN, def. Syed Ashiq Nisar Andrabi, JK, 11-2 11-3 11-2

Naveen Jangra, DL, def. Deevaj Thapa, UK, 11-6 11-4 11-5

Shashi Pandey, MH, def. Mithun Ponnappa, MH, 11-4 11-5 11-5

Chiraag Khemani, MH, def. Sanwar Mal, RJ, 11-1 11-0 11-2

Awdesh Yadav, MH, def. Shaurya Sharma, MH, 11-6 11-6 11-0

Mudit Pant, DL, def. Gaurav Sharma, HR, w.o.

Siddharth Phutela, CH, def. Abhishek Santosh, MH, 11-5 11-6 11-4

Paramjeet Singh, MH, def. Sudharsannam Iyyandurai, TN, 7-11 11-3 11-5 11-6

Ashish Keskar, MH, def. Ajith R, TN, 11-1 11-1 11-0

Men’s Round 5

Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu, PB, def. Krishan Jaipal Singh, JH, 11-3 11-1 11-1

Hiteshwar Singh Riar, CH, def. Jebindran V, TN, 11-2 11-4 11-5

Rishi Jalan, DL, def. Dharmender Singh, MH, 11-6 11-7 11-3

Rohan Vora, MH, def. Pragun Khemka, TN, 11-9 11-8 11-8

Naveen Jangra, DL, def. Shashi Pandey, MH, 11-9 11-7 11-0

Chiraag Khemani, MH, def. Awdesh Yadav, MH, 11-3 11-5 11-2

Siddharth Phutela, CH, def. Mudit Pant, DL, 12-10 8-11 11-4 11-6

Ashish Keskar, MH, def. Paramjeet Singh, MH, 8-11 12-10 11-2 11-3

Men’s Round 6

Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu, PB, def. Hiteshwar Singh Riar, CH, 11-4 11-8 11-8

Rishi Jalan, DL, def. Rohan Vora, MH, 11-6 11-6 11-9

Naveen Jangra, DL, def. Chiraag Khemani, MH, 11-7 11-7 11-7

Ashish Keskar, MH, def. Siddharth Phutela, CH, 5-11 11-7 11-3 9-11 13-11