SENIOR NATIONAL SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP 

The ball tended to `die' on the courts of Bombay Gymkhana more than Saurav Ghoshal is used to back home on the courts of the ICL Academy, Chennai. The result was that he could not quite come to terms with the game of top seed Ritwik Bhattacharya of Delhi who dethroned the defending champion to regain the men's crown at the Senior National Squash Championship. 

Joshna Chinappa ensured Tamil Nadu would not go back empty-handed retaining her women's title. 

Ritwik, winner in 2003, brushed aside the loss of the second game to cruise to a convincing 9-3, 3-9, 9-4, 9-5 victory in a quality championship round that involved the country's best exponents. 

The formidable Ghoshal, seeded No.2, struggled to keep his hopes alive against an opponent who was enjoying a good season and is in a roll. Bhattacharya, who recently beat Ghoshal in the quarterfinals in the Athens Open, was supremely confident and always-in command. He played to a plan and executed it to perfection. 

“I am certainly enjoying my squash. I think playing the CCI  Western India Open last week was a nice way to warm up for the big occasion,” revealed a delighted Bhattacharya, ranked No.59 in the world. “Of course, it wasn't easy. Saurav is a good player and he did well. But I played a tactically good game, though I shouldn't have committed the errors I made especially when I was in complete control.” 

“But it is always good to compete with quality players like Saurav. He's the next strong player and it's good for India,” Bhattacharya added. World junior No. 2 Joshna continued her domination of the sport as she crushed second seed Dr Shruti Parikh of Maharashtra 9-4, 9-0, 9-2 to clinch the women's crown for the successive year. Joshna now has a tally of five national titles. 

It was the first time Bombay Gymkhana held the Nationals at their five glass-back courts and it was a huge success. 

RESULTS FINALS

Senior Nationals

Men:Ritwik Bhattacharya (Del) bt Saurav Ghosal (TN) 9-3, 3-9, 9-4,9-5.
Women:Joshna Chinappa (TN) bt Dr. Deepali Anwekar Parikh (Mah) 9-4, 9-0, 9-2.
Professionals:B. Balamurugan (TN) bt Dalip Tripathi (Ben) 9-2, 2-9, 9-7, 9-2.
35-39:Darius Surti (Mah) bt Bobby Bajaj (Mah) 9-2, 9-2, 9-1.
40-44:Raj Arora (Mah) bt Deepak Kochhar (Mah) 2-9, 9-4, 9-3, 9-1.
45-49:Vaman Apte (Mah) bt V Laxman (TN) 9-7, 9-1, 9-3. 

SEMIFINALS

Men:Ritwik Bhattacharya (Del) bt Gaurav Nandrajog (Del) 1-9, 9-3, 9-2, 9-3;
Saurav Ghosal (TN) bt Harinderpal Singh (TN) 9-2, 9-3, 9-0.

Women:
Joshna Chinappa (TN) bt Surbhi Mishra (Raj) 9-3, 9-3, 9-3;
Deepali Parikh (Mah) bt Shivangi Paranjpe (Mah) 9-3, 9-1, 9-2.

Prof: B. Balamurugan (TN) bt Rohit More (Mah) 9-2, 9-2, 9-2 
Dalip Tripathi (WB) bt Vijay Sonawane (Mah) 9-2 9-1. 9-5

MAHARASHTRA STATE OPEN SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP

All winner of Maharashtra State Open Squash Championship held at Bombay Gymkhana 

The 30th Maharashtra State Open saw some good matches but the under-19 final took the cake. Second seed A. Parthiban of Tamil Nadu upset top seed Sandeep Jangra of Maharashtra 9-7, 8-10, 9-3, 5-9, 9-6 in an 85-minute thriller to clinch the title. 

Sachika Balwani of Maharashtra experienced mixed fortunes following her victory in the girls under-15 final and defeat in the under 13 final. 

As the under-15 second seed, Balwani overcame unseeded Saumya Karki 9-1, 4-9, 9-2, 9-7 in a keen contest, but No. 2 Ankita Sharma denied top seed Balwani a double when she powered her way to a shock 9-6, 10-8, 9-5 in the under  13 championship round. 

Balwani's effort was overshadowed by boys under-13 second seed Mahesh Mangaonkar's pulsating 6-9, 2-9, 9-3, 9-2, 9-7 triumph over arch-rival and top seed Abhishek Pradhan, who frittered away a 2-0 lead. 

The championship was co-sponsored by Westside, Lee, ICICI, Lombard, Godrej and Lipton.

In action at Bombay Gymkhana glass back court Joshna and Deepali