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Asian Junior
Team Championships,
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Men's Final:
INDIA bt [1] PAKISTAN 2/1
Ramit Tandon bt Danish Atlas Khan 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9
Abhishek Pradhan lost to Nasir Iqbal 4-11, 7-11, 3-11
Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Sadam Ul Haq 11-7, 11-2, 11-6
3rd place:
HONG KONG CHINA & MALAYSIA
5th place play-off: JAPAN bt SRI LANKA 2/1
7th place play-off: KUWAIT bt SINGAPORE 2/1
9th place play-off: CHINA bt IRAN 2/1
11th place: JORDAN
Women's Final:
[1] HONG KONG CHINA bt MALAYSIA 2/0
Tong Tsz-Wing bt Tan Yan Xin 11-5, 11-8, 11-7
Ho Ka Po bt Vanessa Raj 11-2, 11-7, 13-11
3rd place:
SINGAPORE & INDIA
5th place play-off: JAPAN bt CHINA 2/0
7th place play-off: SRI LANKA bt IRAN 2/0
India
Celebrate Historic Asian Junior Team Success In Sri Lanka
The rapid
growth of squash in India took another major step forward when the
country's boys team upset arch rivals Pakistan, the title-holders, in the
final of the Asian Junior Team Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to
win the prestigious title for the first time since the inception of the
championships in 1981.
Playing to a
packed crowd at the Sri Lankan Air Force base squash venue, the Indian players
Ramit Tandon, Abhishek Pradhan, Mahesh Mangaonkar and
Vrishab Kotian rose to the occasion as they outmanoeuvred and outplayed the
mighty Pakistanis.
Tandon put the
underdogs in the driving seat after overcoming Pakistan number one Danish
Atlas Khan 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 in a 90-minute marathon.
Top seeds
Pakistan drew level when second string Nasir Iqbal beat the Indian number
two Abhishek Pradhan in straight games.
But Mahesh
Mangaonkar stamped his authority on the decider from the outset, beating
Pakistani Sadam Ul Haq 11-7, 11-2, 11-6 as the elated Indian team jumped
for joy.
"With this
victory in hand, India now are the proud owners of three of the four Asian
junior titles," said the jubilant Squash Rackets Federation of India Secretary
General Srivatsan Subramaniam. "Six months ago, Ravi Dixit and
Dipika Pallikal won the Asian Junior (U19) Individual Championship - and
today we have won the Junior Boys Teams.
SRFI
Consultant Coach Major (R) S Maniam added: "This certainly augurs well
for India squash. All the hard work put in by the players, with the unvarying
support from the federation and the government, is producing the desired
results."
National Coach
Cyrus Poncha was thrilled with his team's performance: "This is certainly
a dream come true. I am lost for words to express my delight. Ramit was
certainly the hero of the day; he has worked so very hard for this. It certainly
is a great way to start the year."
In the women's
final, favourites Hong Kong China successfully defended their title,
beating Malaysia 2/0 in a repeat of the 2007 final in Hong Kong.
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