Nathani champion

MUMBAI, Oct 24: Junaid Nathani strolled in the first two games, realised he was winning too easily and then lost the other two to take hi...

MUMBAI, Oct 24: Junaid Nathani strolled in the first two games, realised he was winning too easily and then lost the other two to take his under-16 squash final to the decider.

But the contest then went his way and Nathani collapsed on the court following his 9-3, 9-3, 5-9, 5-9, 9-3 50-minute win over Mahesh Verma in the WMI Cranes Little Masters Indian Junior Open tournament at the Willingdon Sports Club today.

The Bombay Scottish student joined Ritwick Bhattacharya under-19, Sidharth Suchde under-14, Tricia Chuah under-19, under-16 and Rhea Bhandare under-14 on the winners8217; podium.

The four-member Malaysian contingent can return happy on Sunday with two titles, both by Chuah, who completed a 9-7, 9-2, 9-6 rout of Deepali Anvekar in the under-19 final, an hour and half after she had pocketed the under-16 prize. Rhea Bhandare, however, stopped a Malaysian sweep.

Bhandare avenged her loss to Teng Ooi Ean in the under-16 semi-finals and a 0-3 loss in Malaysia last year with the final outburstof 9-0, 6-9, 6-9, 9-7, 9-4. Bhandare, playing in her last year of the under-14, trailed 1-2 before she clinched the issue. She even led 6-0 in the third game before squandering the advantage.

Suchde faced his Cathedral class-mate once again and proved that his loss to Sheth in the National under-14 final was an aberration. Suchde won 9-2, 9-6, 10-8 to avenge the only loss he has suffered against Sheth.

NATHANI STRUGGLES: Verma, who travels 75 kilometres one-way from Vashim, where he lives, to the Club, had to go back empty handed once again. He has finished runner-up the third time in any tournament, losing to Nathani again following his defeat in the inter-schools championships. Verma, the under-19 National quarter-finalist, did not lose out on stamina, but on finishing power.

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Nathani, the under-16 National champion, slackened his grip on the match after the second game, crumbling to fatigue. Both were level 5-5 in the third game before Verma sped away. But only for two games.

KIND GESTURE:Amitpal Kohli, who will require surgery for the shoulder injury he suffered yesterday in his quarter-final match, has been lent a kind shoulder. The sponsors WMI Cranes are likely to take care of his medical expenses and the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra will also chip in. Kohli had injured his collar bone when he collided with his opponent Bikram Uberoi

Results

Boys8217; under-19 final: Ritwick Bhattacharya bt Bikram Uberoi 4-9, 9-5, 9-2, 9-1. Semi-finals: Bhattacharya bt Parth Doshi 9-4, 9-6, 9-0; Uberoi bt Abhijit Kukreja 9-4, 9-1, 9-1.

Under-16 final: Junaid Nathani bt Mahesh Verma 9-3, 9-3, 5-9, 5-9, 9-3. Semi-finals: Verma bt Amjad Khan 9-0, 9-4, 9-1; Nathani bt Abhimanyu Jain 9-3, 9-2, 9-6.

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Under-14 final: Sidharth Suchde bt Mihir Sheth 9-2, 9-6, 10-8. Semi-finals: Sheth bt Auloke Mathur 9-4, 9-4, 9-1; Suchde bt Wong Kim Lee 9-3, 2-9, 9-0, 3-9, 9-4.

Girls under-19 final: Tricia Chuah bt Deepali Anvekar 9-7, 9-2, 9-6.Under-16 final: Tricia Chuah bt Teng Ooi Ean 9-3, 9-5,9-4. Semi-finals: Teng bt Rhea Bhandare 6-9, 9-0, 9-4, 9-0; Chuah bt Joshna Chinappa 9-0, 9-1, 9-4.

Under-14 final: Rhea Bhandare bt Teng Ooi Ean 9-0, 6-9, 6-9, 9-7, 9-4. Semi-finals: Bhandare bt Joshna Chinappa 9-1, 3-9, 9-5, 9-4; Teng bt Supriya Balsekar 6-9, 9-5, 9-1, 9-1.