Squash Player RESULTS


The World of Squash
at Your Fingertips

HOME
NEWS
RESULTS 
CALENDAR
EVENTS
PLAYERS
CLUBS
RULES
LINKS
MAGAZINE
FEATURES
GEAR
DIRECTORY
WORKSHOP
PROMOTIONS
COLUMNS
ARCHIVE
About SP
Squash on TV
Search
UK Counties
World Links

Online Store
Books, Subs, Videos

Squash Directory
Where to get it all

Classified Section
Job, Jobs, Jobs Something to sell ...

 

22/03/2009
INDIAN CHALLENGER No. 2
 

Grant Rises To The Indian Challenge

Indian Challenger No. 2 2009
16-21 Mar, Kolkata, India, $30k

Round One
18 Mar
Quarters
19 Mar
Semis
 20 Mar
Final
21 Mar
[1] Ong Beng Hee (Mas)
10-12,9-11,11-6, 11-5 (45m)
Stephane Galifi (Fra)
Ong Beng Hee
3-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6 (73m)
Saurav Ghosal
Ong Beng Hee
6-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-2, 12-10 (58m)
Hisham Ashou
Ong Beng Hee
11-8, 11-5, 11-8 (40m)
Adrian Grant
[6] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
11-8,13-11,11-0 (33m)
Naresh Kumar (Ind)
[4] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11-2,11-6,8-11,11-9 (22m)
[Q] Shaun Le Roux (Eng)
Hisham Ashour
11-5, 11-3 ,11-8 (28m)
Mohammed Abbas
[5] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
7-11,11-4,11-4, 11-5 (44m)
Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind)
[Q] Rob Sutherland
11-6,11-7,11-7 (32m)
[8] Amr Swelim (Egy)
Amr Swelim
3-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 (66m)
Adrian Grant
Adrian Grant
11-13, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (75m)
Azlan Iskandar
[Q] James Snell (Eng)
11-4,11-8,11-8 (33m)
[3] Adrian Grant (Eng)
[Q] Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)
11-8,13-11,11-5 (62m)
[8] Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)
Aaron Frankcomb
11-6, 6-1 rtd (21m)
Azlan Iskandar
Simon Rosner (Ger)
11-6,11-6,11-9 (44m)
[2] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)

Grant Rises To The Indian Challenge

 

England's Adrian Grant claimed one of the biggest squash titles of his career when he beat Egyptian Hisham Mohd Ashour in the final of the PSA Indian Challenger No2 in Kolkata, India.

 

It was a dramatic climax to the $30,000 3-star PSA Tour event at The Calcutta Racket Club which was supported by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

 

Both players had reached the final unexpectedly - third seed Grant overcoming second-seeded Malaysian Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the semi-finals and Hisham Mohd Ashour, the No4 seed, upsetting favourite Ong Beng Hee, also from Malaysia.

 

But left-hander Grant, the world No13 from London, was too strong for his opponent in the final - beating world No29 Ashour 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 in 40 minutes.

 

Ashour, suffering with leg injury, led in all three games - but Grant was in no mood allow his opponent's ailment to affect his bid for victory.

 

"I could make out that he was not fully fit, so I just kept returning while he made the mistakes," said the 29-year-old England international afterwards. 

 

"The win is quite reassuring, especially after having lost three finals so closely in the season," added Grant - runner-up this year not only in the British National Championships last month, but also in Tour events in Detroit and Kuala Lumpur.

 

The triumph takes Grant's career title tally to 16 - now making the Londoner the current Englishman with the most Tour titles, and second only in all-time to Peter Nicol, the former world number one from England who retired after collecting a total of 49 PSA Tour titles.
 

Top-Seeded Malaysians Conquered In Kolkata

 

The top two seeds Ong Beng Hee and Mohd Azlan Iskandar crashed out of the PSA Indian Challenger No2 as third seed Adrian Grant and fourth seed Hisham Mohd Ashour secured surprise places in the final of the $30,000 3-star PSA Tour squash event at The Calcutta Racket Club in Kolkata, India.

 

Malaysian favourite Ong Beng Hee led by two games and had a pair of match-balls in the third against Egyptian Hisham Mohd Ashour.  But the 26-year-old world No29 from Cairo kept his focus to record a sensational 6-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-2, 12-10 upset after 58 minutes.

 

The win takes Ashour into his sixth Tour final - where he will face England left-hander Adrian Grant, the world No13 from London.

 

Grant overcame a first game deficit to defeat second seed Iskandar, also from Malaysia, 11-13, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 in 75 minutes.  The result brings to an end a four match winning sequence by the Malaysian over the Londoner.

 

Grant is celebrating his 23rd Tour final appearance - and his third this year.

 

Saurav Stretches Ong Beng Hee In Kolkata Challenger

 

Top seed Ong Beng Hee was taken the full distance in the quarter-finals of the PSA Indian Challenger No2 before beating local hero Saurav Ghosal in a 73-minute marathon in the $30,000 3-star PSA Tour squash event at The Calcutta Racket Club in Kolkata, India.

 

The Kolkata-born sixth seed twice led Beng Hee - and took the world No11, ranked 23 places higher, to a tie-break in the fourth game before the favourite finally emerged victorious, winning 3-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6.

 

Ong Beng Hee, who like Ghosal is UK-based, will now face Hisham Mohd Ashour after the fourth seed beat fellow Egyptian Mohammed Abbas 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 in just 28 minutes.

 

The other semi-final will also feature Malaysian interest after second seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar played just a game and a half before Australian opponent Aaron Frankcomb retired injured, with the score standing at 11-6, 6-1.

 

Iskandar will meet third seed Adrian Grant, who recovered from a game down to beat Egypt's No8 seed Amr Swelim 3-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4.

 

Saurav Saunters Into Kolkata Quarters

 

Saurav Ghosal single-handedly took local interest into the quarter-finals of the PSA Indian Challenger No2 after a confident straight games win over compatriot Naresh Kumar in the first round of the $30,000 3-star PSA Tour squash event at The Calcutta Racket Club in Kolkata, India.

 

Sixth seed Ghosal withstood a strong challenge by his younger unseeded opponent who had received a wildcard entry.  Kumar, 20, from Chennai, had a game ball in the second game – but Ghosal salvaged the point and went on to win the game.  Kumar was visibly drained by his efforts and lost the third game without winning a further point.

 

The 11-8, 13-11, 11-0 victory takes Ghosal up against top seed Ong Beng Hee. The Malaysian, ranked 11 in the world, beat France's Stephane Galifi 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5.

 

India's other hope Ritwik Bhattacharya began well but lost steam as his seeded opponent Mohammed Abbas, of Egypt, stepped up his game in the later stages of the match.  The 29-year-old from Mumbai looked fit and fresh as he raced to win the first game, raising hopes of an upset.

 

But Bhattacharya began committing unforced errors at crucial points – and fifth seed Abbas took full advantage to pull off a 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 victory.

 

"Minor errors cost you the game when you are against an opponent of Abbas’ calibre," said world No60 Bhattacharya after the match.  "I was feeling fine physically and moving around the court well.  But I made too many errors in the rush to get winners."