Staying calm and maintaining composure was the key to Aashi Shah's success as she won a close encounter against Manya Sanghavi in a 3-1 verdict for the crown in the Mumbai Schools Sports Association under-13 squash, at the Bombay Gymkhana here on Wednesday.
Scoreline is not a reflection of how the encounter went about. Aashi had to work hard for her victory. She was focused and took the fist game 11-9.
But Manya came back strongly to take the second game 14-12 to level 1-1. Aashi stayed calm and focused on the task at hand without panicking, taking the lead in the third game 11-9.
There was much in store in the fourth game as the athletes went about challenging each other evenly and went to the wires as Aashi who was adjusting on her strategies pulled out a 12-10 win and the championship.
Winning a close encounter can be a satisfying experience, but it's also essential to maintain a healthy perspective and learn from both victories and defeats.
Shanaya Roy and Diva Shah emerged winners in the under-11 and 16 respectively, while Viraj Wadhwani, Krishiv Mittal, Yusuf Pardiwala and Pirav Rambhia took honours in the boys section.
Girls
Under-11: Shanaya Roy defeated Shanaya Parasrampuria 11-8, 11-6 (Retired hurt)
Under-13: Aashi Shah bt Manya Sanghavi 11-9, 12-14, 11-8, 12-10
Under-16: Diva Shah bt Prithika Deb 11-5, 11-5, 11-5
Boys
Under-9: Viraj Wadhwani lost Shaurya Bakshi 11-4, 7-11, 7-11, 4-11
Under-11: Krishiv Mittal bt Tilakvir Kapoor 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7
Under-13: Yusuf Pardiwala bt Reyansh Chheda 11-8, 11-3, 11-5
Under-16: Pirav Rambhia bt Rachit Shah 11-9, 11-4, 11-7
