Bombay Gymkhana JSW-46th Maharashtra State Open Squash Tournament: Anahat, Janet Cruise Into Semifinals

Top seed Anahat Singh of Delhi scored an authoritative 3-0 win against Nirupama Dubey of Maharashtra in a women's quarterfinal match of the Bombay Gymkhana JSW-46th Maharashtra State Open Squash Tournament 2023, and co-sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Parfums, at the Gymkhana’s courts on Monday.

The 15-year-old Delhi girl, who had won the girls' U-17 gold medal in the Asian Junior Squash Championship in Thailand last month, proved too good for Nirupama, who was often caught on the wrong foot. Anahat showed great touch and charged to a quick 11-2, 11-3, and 11-2 victory with a degree of comfort.

Second seed Janet Vidhi of Maharashtra also advanced to the semi-finals defeating her state-mate Bijali Darvada 11-4, 11-6, and 11-5. Tamil Nadu’s 3-4th seed Rathika Suthanthira Seelan booked her place in the last four with an easy 11-8, 11-4, 11-2 victory against Maharashtra’s Reiva Nimbalkar and will meet Janet in the next round.

Tamil Nadu youngsters D Nityasree and Goushika M stormed into the Girls’ under-13 semifinals. The top seed Nityasree defeated Manya Sanghavi of Maharashtra 11-7, 11-4, and 11-6, while unseeded Goushika recorded a stunning win against the joint 3-4 seed Soniya Waghamare of Maharashta 12-10, 11-4, and 11-8.

Rajasthan’s unseeded Gauri Jaiswal also scored a shock win over Maharashtra’s joint 3-4 seed Aashi Shah by a 11-3, 11-4, and 11-3 scoreline in the other quarterfinals.

Earlier, the top two seeds in the men’s draw won their respective round-16 matches. The number one seed Mahesh Mangaonkar of Maharashtra lost the first game against Deepak Mandal also from Maharashtra but bounced back to take the next three to clinch a 10-12, 11-8, 11-5, and 11-7 win.

In contrast, Maharashtra’s second seed Rahul Baitha had things under complete control and defeated state mate Vishal Rajbhar 11-5, 11-9, and 11-9.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu contenders Guhan Senthilkumar and Kanhav Nanavati continued with their impressive showing to advance to the quarter-finals. The unseded Senthilkumar played with plenty of resilience to overcome Madhya Pradesh’s joint 3-4th seed Adarsh Banodha 11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 5-11, and 11-5. Nanavati was more relaxed in his match against Maharashtra’s Avinash Yadav and posted a 12-10, 11-5, 13-15, and 11-4 win.

Results – Girls’ U-13 (Quarter-finals): 1-D Nitiyasree (TN) bt Manya Sanghavi (MH) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6; Gauri Jaiswal (RJ) bt 3/4-Aashi Shah (MH) 11-3, 11-4, 11-3; Goushika M (TN) bt 3/4-Soniya Waghamare (MH) 12-10, 11-4, 11-8; Raayisha Naik (MH) bt 2-Deepshika Thorat (KA) 4-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-3, 11-6.

Boys' U-13 (Quarter finals): 1-Swarit Patil (MH) bt Mayur Hiru Niraguda (MH) 12-2, 11-1, 11-2; 3 /4-Akshat Singhal (WB) bt Yusuf Pardiwala (MH) 11-6, 7-11, 11-3, 11-3; Vivaan Khanna (MH) bt 3 /4-Sahil Waghamare (MH) 11-8, 11-6, 13-11; 2-Shreyansh Jha (MH) bt Divvij Dave (MH) 11-4, 11-2,11-7;

Boys’ U-15 (Quarter-finals): Kamlesh Dama Dore (MH) bt Ramesh Datta Shingava (MH) 11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 11-4; 3/4-Purav Rambhia (MH) bt Harsh Joshi (MH) 11-5, 11-3, 11-4; 3 /4-Shiven Agarwal (TN) bt Aatik Yadav (MH) 11-4, 11-6, 11-4; Kavanpal Kohli (MH) bt 2-Ishaan Dabke (MH) 4-4 retired.

Boys’ U-19 (Quarter finals): Bhagwan Das (MH) bt Tanul Bomia (MH) 11-7, 11-6, 11-6; 2-Vivaan Shah (MH) bt Naresh Shingva (MH) 11-6, 12-10, 14-12; 3 /4-Ayaan Vaziralli (MH) bt Raju Shingava (MH) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7; Siddhant Rewari (MH) bt Narayan Manohar Lachka (MH) 11-6, 11-1, 11-6.

Women - Quarter final: 1- Anahat Singh (DL) bt Nirupama Dubey (MH) 11-2, 11-3, 11-2; Sunita Patel (MH) bt 3 /4-Anjali Semwal (MH) 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5; 3 /4-Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (TN) bt Reiva Nimbalkar (MH) 11-8, 11-4, 11-2; 2-Janet Vidhi (MH) bt Bijali Darvada (MH) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5.

Men (Round 16): 1-Mahesh Mangaonkar (MH) bt Deepak Mandal (MH) 10-12, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7; Avinash Sahani (MH) bt Ashish Keskar (SR) 11-4, 11-8, 12-10; Naveen Jangra (SR) bt Kunal Singh (MP) 11-4, 11-4, 12-14, 11-7; 3 /4-Sandeep Jangra (SR) bt Vedansh Kushwaha (MH) 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7; Guhan Senthilkumar (TN) bt 3 /4-Adarsh Banodha (MP) 11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 5-11, 11-5; Abhishek Agarwal (MH) bt Om Semwal (MH) 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5; Kanhav Nanavati (TN) bt Avinash Yadav (MH) 12-10, 11-5, 13-15, 11-4; 2-Rahul Baitha (MH) bt Vishal Rajbhar (MH) 11-5, 11-9, 11-9.