In scripting a maiden triumph in the National and on his second appearance, aside from conquering Ritwik for the first time, Manish completed a sweep for Maharashtra in the competition. Earlier, Mekala Subedar retained the women's title, with Bikram Uberoi and Deepali Anvekar taking the boys and girls championships respectively on the concluding day. With Manish in such irrepressible form, there was little that Ritwik could do. It must be admitted, for no palpable reason, Ritwik was phlegmatic for the major part, slipping often into a pool of errors. On the contrary, Manish was composed, consistent and crafty, minimising his mistakes, and maintaining a tight grip almost throughout barring a brief lead of 5-4 held by Ritwik in the third game. Profiting on the bad start by Ritwik, the Mumbai based businessman, Manish, seeded number two coached by Cyrus Poncha, launched a blistering attack to lead 5-0 in the opening game, and thereafter it was a smooth cruise to 9-4. In the second, Manish was the master of all he surveyed conceding just the solitary point. Egged on by a section of the crowd, Ritwik made a conscious effort to comeback into the match. True, he played a few stunning shots but the sparkle was evanescent. He did rally from 1-4 to 4-4 and then surged to 5-4, but Manish seized the initiative to push his rival into repeated imperfections both near the tin and at the back court. Mekala Subedar needed just 36 minutes to dispose of the challenge that Deepali Anvekar managed to put across. Unperturbed and utterly confident, Mekala went about her task with methodical efficiency. So upset was Deepali that at the end of the second game she threw her racquet on the court and promptly received a warning from the referee. Twice, she came in line of the ball, and sustained painful blows on her right leg. After raising some hope in the first game, Deepali was simply overpowered by the wiles and guiles of the reigning champion, Mekala Subedar. Happily, the host unit, the Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association, did not go empty handed. Rajiv Reddy ensured that with a title triumph in the veterans category (45 and above) beating B.I. Singh of Delhi in four games. Mr. Gowri Shankar, Secretary, Education, Tamil Nadu Government, presided and gave away the prizes. Mr. N. Ramachandran, President, TNSRA and Secretary General, Squash Rackets Federation of India, welcomed the gathering. The men and women champions received each Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 15,000, while the runners-up claimed Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 7,500 respectively. The results (finals): Men: Manish Chotrani (Mah) bt Ritwik Bhattacharya (Delhi) 9-4, 9-1, 9-5.
From India's # 1 squash site, Cyrus Poncha can be reached at ICQ# 37589778
Report by Cyrus Poncha. 1/14/2000
With a display that was innovative, incisive and immaculate, 29-year- old Manish Chotrani of Bombay dethroned the reigning champion, Ritwik Bhattacharya of Delhi, to step on to the pedestal as the national men's squash champion at the MRC courts in Madras India on Wednesday 12th Jamuary. The score-line, 9-4, 9- 1, 9-5, perhaps conveys the authoritative touch that Manish projected on the court enroute to a memorable victory.
Women: Mekala Subedar (Mah) bt Deepali Anvekar (Maha) 9-5, 9-2, 9-2
Boys (under-19): Bikram Uberoi (Mah) bt Mihir Kapoor (Maha) 9-4, 9-0, 9-0
Girls (under- 19): Deepali Anvekar (Maha) bt Vaidehi Reddy (TN) 9-7, 9-5, 9-2
Professionals: Dalip Tripathi (UP) bt Santosh More (Mah) 9-7, 9- 3, 1-9, 9-5
Veterans: (over 35): R.S. Brar (SSCB) bt Vaman Apte (Mah) 9-1, 9-2, 9-1
Veterans: (over 45) Rajiv Reddy (TN) bt B.I. Singh (Delhi) 4-9, 9-5, 9-6, 9-2.
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