After swine-flu cancelled the nationals, the ISP Open squash championships attracted the best players in the country.
The trophies were shining and the winners were smiling. No threat of a swine-flu, at least there was something to play for at the Indian Squash Professionals-organised Open meet at Delhi's Habitat Centre. Interestingly, ISP is a Mumbai-based NGO.
Over 250 players from all over the country participated in the 4-day tournament. This event had become the all-important competition, after the nationals were cancelled due to a swine-flu scare.
Top seed Gaurav Nandrajog took the honors in the men's division. The final was a lop-sided affair as the Delhi lad crushed No. 2 seed, Amjad Khan 11-6, 11-4, 11-5. Karam Kumar was the winner in the boys' under-19 section. He made short work of Pehlaj Bajwa, beating him 11-7, 11-3, 11-7.
Bajwa, though came out winner in the boys' under-17 category. The Chandigarh lad, regarded by many as the player to watch out for in the future, started off slowly, but picked up his game in the second set to see off Abhijeet Malik 4-11, 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-6 in a hard-fought title clash.
In the girls' under-17, second seed Janet Vidhi beat top-seeded Pankhuri Malhotra 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 15-13. Vidhi controlled the match from the word go. Her movement and down-the-line hitting had everyone spell-bound. She was clearly the better player, but loss of concentration in the third set forced the match into the fourth set. The Delhi girl, pipped to be the future national champion, was pushed hard in the fourth set but she found the winners to snatch victory.
In the girls' under-13 final, Pankhuri crushed Adya Advani 11-4, 11-3, 11-5. And in the men's over 35, Anil Bhagat of Delhi eased past Khushwant Singh 11-9, 11-3, 11-6.
The chief guest on Tuesday evening was former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Digvijay Singh. Known mostly as a shrewd politician, Singh was also an avid squash player, having reached the semi-finals of the squash nationals on two occasions.
The veteran Congressman congratulated the winners and encouraged the young sportsmen. He said squash may not be a "TV sport" but is definitely a sure shot way of keeping oneself fit.
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