Mahesh Mangaonkar and Aishwarya Khubchandani, both from Maharashtra, were crowned men’s and women’s champions of the Bombay Gymkhana 47th Maharashtra State Open All India Squash Tournament 2024, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Parfums and co-sponsored by Indian Oil, and played at the Gymkhana’s courts, on Wednesday.
Defending champion and 3/4-seed Mangaonkar was in great nick and quashed the aspirations of compatriot and the number one seed Veer Chotrani, winning in four fiercely contested games.
Mangaonkar and Chotrani slugged it out and with some crafty play and clinical strokes they tried to outsmart each other as they battled hard in every rally and struggled for every point. Mangaonkar stayed focused and managed to pull through by recording an 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, and 11-6 win to extend his hold on the trophy.
On the other hand, unseeded Khubchandani, who had defeated top seed Anjali Semwal in a five-game thriller in the semi-final, played with the same intensity against the second seed Sunita Patel also from Maharashtra in the women’s final. Showing excellent touch and control with her shots she wrapped the match in three quick games at 11-6, 11-5, and 11-5 to seal her triumph.
The boys’ under-19 finals, contested between 3-4th seed Aditya Chandani and unseeded Arjun Somani, both from Maharashtra witnessed an exciting and absorbing tussle for supremacy. Both the talented youngsters fought hard for every point and were engaged in long rallies in the match that went to the wire.
After they shared the opening four games, the decider was a close affair as the scores ran close to 9-all. Arjun wilted under pressure and made two unforced errors to hand Aditya the match, with the game scores reading 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 6-11, and 11-9 in favour of the latter.
The girls’ under-19 final was a tame affair as Delhi’s Aradhya Porwal defeated Akanksha Gupta of Maharashtra 11-4, 13-11, and 11-6 to emerge champion.
In the under-17 competition contested between Maharashtra players, top seed Rudra Singh overcame second seed Karina Phipps 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, and 11-8 to win the girl’s title, while Purav Rambhia easily defeated Agastya Bansal 11-5, 14-12, and 11-6.
Results (all finals) - Girls' U-17: 1-Rudra Singh bt Karina Phipps (MH) 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8.
Boys’ U-17: Purav Rambhia (MH) bt Agastya Bansal (MH) 11-5, 14-12, 11-6.
Girls' U-19: Aradhya Porwal bt Akanksha Gupta (MH) 11-4, 13-11, 11-6.
Boys’ U-19: 3/4-Aditya Chandani (MH) bt Arjun Somani (MH) 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-9.
Women: Aishwarya Khubchandani (MH) bt 2-Sunita Patel (MH) 11-6, 11-5, 11-5.
Men: 3/4-Mahesh Mangaonkar bt 1-Veer Chotrani (MH) 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6.
