Unseeded Naresh Singhva of Maharashtra pulled off the biggest win of his career when he knocked out top seed Adith Achpal of TN in the boys Under-19 pre-quarter-finals of the 6th Cello NSCI Open National Circuit squash tournament, hosted by NSCI at their glass backed squash courts, here, on Saturday. The tournament is co-sponsored by Rubicon Consumer Healthcare and Hbits.
Singhva, an Adivasi lad from Kalote, in Khopoli, ranked No. 64 in the country, trains at the Start Squash Academy in Khopoli, a free training facility under the mentorship of former India No. 1 Ritwick Bhattacharya. Singhva retrieved every ball the top seed, Achpal, India No. 8, could hit at him and finally wore down the resistance to win the grueling five-game encounter 11-9, 8-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-7.
In other upsets, unseeded Sharan Punjabi defeated MP’s Adarsh Banodha (5/8) 11-3, 11-4, 11-5, while unseeded Suraj Chand of Maharashtra knocked out Vedash Kushwaha (9/16) 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 in the men’s pre-quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, top seed Rahul Baitha and Janet Vidhi (3/4) of Maharashtra advanced into the quarter-finals with no-fuss wins in the men’s and women’s singles respectively. Baitha defeated Secundrabad’s Ajit Sharma 11-8, 11-7, 11-7, while Janet got the better of Mona Chauhan 11-7, 11-5, 11-3.
Results:
Men’s (Round of 16): Rahul Baitha (1) (MH) bt Ajit Sharma (SC) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7; Shaan Dalal (MH) bt Aran Thawani (MH) 12-10, 11-5, 11-9; Sharan Punjabi (MH) bt Adarsh Banodha (5/8) (MP) 11-3, 11-4, 11-5; Veer Chotrani (MH) bt Harshit Jain (DL) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6; Vaibhav Chauhan (3/4) (SC) bt Kunal Singh (MP) 11-9, 11-4, 11-3; Jamal Sakib (SC) bt Yashwir Singh Hooda (9/16) (CH) 11-5, 11-7, 11-5; Vikas Mehra (5/8) (TN) bt Avinash Sahani (MH) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6; Suraj Chand (MH) bt Vedansh Kushwaha (9/16) (MH) 11-3, 11-5 11-7.
Women’s (Round of 16): Janet Vidhi (3/4) (MH) bt Mona Chauhan (MH) 11-7, 11-5, 11-3; Nirupama Dubey (MH) bt Khushi Puranik (DL) 11-7, 11-2, 11-2; Anjali Semwal (5/8) (MH) bt Reiva Nimbalkar (MH) 12-10, 11-6, 11-8; Sunita Patel (MH) bt Khushi Jaspal (MH) 11-5, 11-2, 11-3; Mehak Gupta (MH) bt Mahak Talati (MP) 11-9, 12-1, 11-9;Bijali Darvada (5/8) (MH) bt Chazerina Benjamin (MP) 11-8, 11-5, 11-5; Anahat Singh (DL) bt Nanki Grewal (MH) 11-0, 11-2, 11-1.
Boys U-19 (Round of 16): Naresh Shingva (MH ) bt Adith Achpal (1) (TN) 11-9, 8-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-7; Tavneet Singh Mundra (9/16) (MP) bt Dhairya Shah (MH) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7; Hunarpal Kohli (5/8) (MH) bt Narayan Manohar Lachka (MH) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6; Bhagwan Das (9/16) (MH) bt Rachit Kumar Shailya (UP) 11-9, 11-8, 11-8; Adhish Kancharla (9/16) (MH) bt Vivaan Bhatia (MH) 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9; Yuvraj Wadhwani (MH) bt Prakash Aujhi (MH) 11-9, 11-4, 11-2; Krish Dembla (MH) bt Raaed Kotwal (MH) W.O.
Boys U-17 (Round of 16): Aditya Chandani (1) (MH) bt Shravin Jain (TN) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3; Vedant Chheda (9/16) (MH) bt Rudra Lakhani (MH) 11-8, 5-11, 11-9, 11-3; Priyaan Thakker (5/8) (MH) bt Vedan Maheshwari (MH) 11-1, 11-3, 11-2; Ayush Verma (9/16) (MH) bt Popat Jainu Darvada (MH) 11-3, 11-5, 11-7; Arjun Somani (3/4) (MH) bt Ravi Lachka (MH) 11-6, 11-8, 11-4; Dev Sharma (MH) bt Mitansh Jain (9/16) (MH) 12-14, 13-11, 11-4, 15-13; Raj Yadav (5/8) (UP) bt Anshuman Jaising (MH) 11-4, 11-7, 15-13; Aryaveer Dewan (DL) bt Rachit Shah (MH) 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-3.
Boys U-15 (Round of 16): Ishaan Dabke (MH) bt Aaditya Ghodke (9/16) (MH) 11-3, 11-9, 11-8; Aatik Yadav (5/8) (MH) bt Ramesh Datta Shingava (MH) 14-12, 11-5, 12-10,Purav Rambhia (3/4) (MH) bt Agastya Rajput (MH) 11-9, 11-3, 11-2; Siddharth Narang (MH) bt Ketan Sambare (MH) 11-0, 11-1, 11-3; Mihir Bopana (TN) bt Rohan Kejriwal (MH) 11-9, 11-7, 11-3; Kamlesh Dama Dore (5/8) (MH) bt Mithun Mahadu Darvada (MH) 11-5, 12-10, 11-8; Saharsh Shahra (MP) bt Shayon Roy (9/16) (MH) 11-4, 11-5, 11-4, Arjun Morey (MH) bt Kavanpal Kohli (9/16) (MH) 11-3, 11-6, 11-3.