14/08/2007
CHENNAI OPEN
Reda Beats Bhattacharya For Chennai Title
Chennai Open 2007 - Circuit 2
13-18 August |
Round One
15 Aug |
Quarters
16 Aug |
Semis
17 Aug |
Final
18 Aug |
[1] Ritwik
Bhattacharya (Ind)
11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (28m)
Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind) |
Ritwik Bhattacharya
11-7, 7-11, 11-10 (2-0) (41m)
Sayed Mahmoud Ali |
Ritwik Bhattacharya
11-10 (2-0), 4-2 ret.
Omar Tarek Mahm Aly |
Ritwik Bhattacharya
2-11, 11-6,
11-5, 7-11, 11-6 (56m)
Mohd Ali Anwar Reda |
[7] Parth Sharma (Ind)
11-3, 11-8, 3-11,
9-11, 11-7 (40m)
[Q] Sayed Mahmoud Ali (Egy) |
[3] Dick Lau (Hkg)
11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (32m)
Karim AGA Samy (Mas) |
Dick Lau
9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 (41m)
Omar Tarek Mahm Aly
16.30 |
[8] Jonas Laursen (Den)
11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (20m)
Omar Tarek Mahm Aly (Egy) |
[Q] Hitham Ashoush (Egy)
11-3, 8-11, 11-4,
5-11, 11-2 (43m)
[5] Naresh Kumar (Ind) |
Naresh Kumar
11-10 (2-0), 10-11 (15-17), 7-11, 11-6, 11-1 (79m)
Harinderpal Sandhu 16.15 |
Harinderpal Sandhu
11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (41m)
Mohd Ali Anwar Reda |
Siddarth Suchde (Ind)
11-2, 11-4, 7-11,
3-11, 11-9 (51m)
[4] Harinderpal Sandhu (Ind) |
[Q] Akshay Deepak (Ind)
11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (12m)
[6] Parthiban Ayappan (Ind) |
Parthiban Ayappan
11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (28m)
Mohd Ali Anwar Reda
17.00 |
[Q] Andrew Wagih (Egy)
-6, 11-5, 11-10 (3-1)
(30m)
[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) |
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Qualifying
Finals, 14-Aug:
Akshay Deepak (Ind) bt Ali Miski (Leb) 11/5, 11/9, 7/11, 11/5
(24m)
Andrew Wagih Shoukry (Egy) bt Max Lee (Hkg) 11/8, 11/4, 11/3 (18m)
Mohd. Sayed Mahmoud Aly (Egy) bt Ahmed Khalil (Egy) 11/8, 11/8, 11/8
(29m)
Hitham Ashoush (Egy) bt Cheng Yao Huang (Tpe) 11/9, 11/7, 2/11,
8/11, 11/8 (41m)
First Round, 13-Aug:
Max Lee (Hkg) bt Paramit Singh (Ind) 11/6, 11/7, 11/2 (18m)
Andrew Wagih (Egy) bt Ravi Dixit (Ind) 11/6, 11/5, 11/9 (22m)
Akshay Deepak (Ind) bt Masoud Gharehzyaldini (Iri) 9/11, 11/7, 12/10
(28m)
Ali Miski (Leb) bt Ramit Tandon (Ind) 11/8, 8/11, 12/10, 11/9 (34m)
Sayed Mahmoud Aly (Egy) bt Shakti Singh (Ind) 11/1, 11/8, 11/7
Ahmed Khalil (Egy) bt B Balamurugan (Ind) 11/7, 11/7, 11/5 (24m)
Hitham Ashoush (Egy) bt Hariom Tripathi (Ind) 11/1, 11/7, 11/6 (12m)
Cheng Yao Huang (Tpe) bt Karan Malik (Ind) 11/3, 11/2, 12/10 (19m)
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Reda Beats Bhattacharya For Chennai Title
Egypt's second seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda beat India's top seed Ritwik
Bhattacharya in an absorbing five-game final of the 5th ICL Chennai Open -
Circuit 2 to win the PSA Tour event at the ICL Squash Academy in the Indian
city of Chennai in almost an hour.
The match started at an aggressive phase with 27-year-old Bhattacharya, from
New Delhi, controlling the ‘T’. Pinning his Egyptian opponent to the back with
his aggressive drives and forcing him to play several loose shots to the front,
Bhattacharya used his drops and delayed drives to collect numerous points. It
was almost a walk in the park for the Indian favourite in the first game.
The second game started rather differently with 18-year-old Reda slowing down
the game with beautiful lobs and maintaining his straight and cross court
drives for which he is now renowned. Bhattacharya appeared overconfident and,
in the process, lost focus and made several unforced errors. It was the same
story in the third game as the Cairo teenager moved 2/1 ahead.
However, Ritwik came back in the fourth once again with aggressive shots and
waited for the opening in the front which he put away brilliantly. The decider
looked even for a while, but as the match wore on, so Ritwik tired - and the
Indian started making unforced errors off Reda’s beautifully struck straight
and cross court shots.
An excited Reda gave an ear-piercing yell as he clinched the final point - and
the title - by a 2-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 scoreline after 56 minutes. The
triumph marked the fifth PSA Tour title of the teenager's career - but his
fourth this year!
"Bhattacharya, who is coming back from a long lay-off due following knee
surgery, gave a good account of himself," commented Major S. Maniam, Consultant
Coach to the Squash Rackets Federation of India .
Ritwik & Reda Reach Chennai Final
Top seeds Ritwik Bhattacharya and Mohd Ali Anwar Reda claimed their anticipated
places in the final of the 5th ICL Chennai Open - Circuit 2 after contrasting
victories in the semi-finals of the PSA Tour event at the ICL Squash Academy in
the Indian city of Chennai.
There was little to differentiate between the two players in the first
semi-final as Reda, the No2 seed from Egypt, and local hero Harinder Pal Sandhu
probed each others defences in the first game. 'Harry', the 18-year-old fourth
seed from Chennai, had shown all week his ability to put balls away.
However, at nine-all, an unforced error by the Indian and a brilliant finish in
the rally thereafter sealed the game for the much relieved Reda.
The 18-year-old from Cairo maintained his supremacy in the next two games,
ultimately winning 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 in 41 minutes to reach the seventh PSA Tour
final of his career - and his sixth of the year!
The second semi-final was also an Indian/Egyptian clash, between Ritwik
Bhattacharya, the 27-year-old favourite from New Delhi, and Omar Tarek Mahm Aly,
an unseeded 18-year-old from Alexandria.
Local squash enthusiasts had enjoyed Reda's repertoire of shots: His delays,
deception and ability to put the ball away from the most difficult of positions
had endeared him to the fans. Bhattacharya, however, remained unperturbed by
the Egyptian's brilliant skills - and kept his basic game tight, choosing his
shots aptly to win the first game after a tie-break.
But, with the score standing 4-2 in the second game, Reda conceded the match -
citing an ankle injury. "Apparently Tarek had been carrying this injury well
before the tournament started and it got worse with every match he played,"
said tournament organiser Cyrus Poncha.
The brief outcome takes Bhattacharya into the eighth PSA Tour final of his
career - but his first of the year.
Sandhu Survives Marathon Quarter In Chennai
In a dramatic match featuring one of the longest tie-break games on record,
fourth seed Harinder Pal Sandhu fought back from 2/1 down to beat Indian
compatriot Naresh Kumar in the quarter-finals of the 5th ICL Chennai Open -
Circuit 2 to claim his anticipated place in the semi-finals of this PSA Tour
event at the ICL Squash Academy in the Indian city of Chennai.
After winning the first game in a tie-breaker, the 18-year-old from Chennai saw
the second end the same way. But this time, the 40-minute game saw both players
fighting for every inch of the court - with both evenly serving for the game
before Kumar eventually prevailed 27-25!
The 19-year-old fifth seed from Delhi also took the third, but Sandhu reclaimed
the initiative and - after 79 minutes - clinched the match 11-10 (2-0), 10-11
(15-17), 7-11, 11-6, 11-1.
Omar Tarek Mahm Aly showed his repertoire of short kills en-route to upsetting
Hong Kong's No3 seed Dick Lau 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4. The unseeded Egyptian
will now face India's top seed Ritwik Bhattacharya, who survived two tie-break
games to beat Egyptian qualifier Mohd Sayed Mahmoud Aly 11-10 (2-0), 11-7,
7-11, 11-10 (2-0).
Egyptians Lead Upsets In Chennai
Teenagers
Mohd Sayed Mahmoud
Aly and Omar
Tarek Mahm Aly boosted Egyptian interest in the quarter-finals of the
5th
ICL Chennai Open - Circuit 2
after causing notable upsets in the first round of the PSA Tour event at
the
ICL Squash Academy in the Indian city of Chennai.
Mohd Sayed Mahmoud Aly became
the only qualifier to make the last eight when he beat India's No7 seed
Parth Sharma
11-3, 11-8, 3-11, 9-11, 11-7 in 40 minutes. The
17-year-old from Cairo now
faces Ritwik Bhattacharya after the top seed from India,
playing his first
match in a few months, convincingly defeated compatriot
Gaurav Nandrajog
11-6, 11-4, 11-8.
Unseeded
Omar Tarek Mahm Aly,
18, from Alexandria, despatched Denmark's No8 seed Jonas Laursen 11-4,
11-9, 11-7 to set up a clash with Hong Kong's Dick Lau, the third seed
who beat UK-based Egyptian Karim AGA Samy 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.
ICL Academy's
Harinder Pal Sandhu avenged his defeat on Sunday at the 1st SPA Classic (a
national event) when he defeated fellow countryman Siddharth Suchde in a
thrilling five-game encounter. Exceptional retrieving from both players was the
order of the day with fourth seed Harinder coming from 4-7 down in the fifth
with three amazing forehand kills to win his first match against Siddharth 11-2,
11-4, 7-11, 3-11, 11-9 in 51 minutes.
Teenager Deepak Delivers In Chennai
Akshay Deepak,
a 14-year-old trainee at the
ICL Squash Academy
who was
playing in his first
PSA Tour
event, made it to the
main draw of the 5th
ICL Chennai Open - Circuit
2
after surviving today's (Tuesday) qualifying finals.
Deepak,
playing his
characteristic unorthodox shots from all around the court, foxed his opponent
Ali Miski from Lebanon on many occasions. After just 24 minutes, the
youngster clinched the match
11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 -
and will now face Indian compatriot Parthiban Ayappan, the No6 seed,
in the first round.
The remaining qualifying
slots at the ICL Squash Academy were taken by Egyptians - two of whom,
Andrew Wagih Shoukry and Hitham Ashoush, are also celebrating
their debuts in the main draw of a PSA Tour event.
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