Ritwik, Joshna triumph

Top seeds Ritwik Bhattacharya of Delhi and Joshna Chinappa of Tamil Nadu fashioned impressive victories to successfully defend the men's and women's titles respectively, at the 62nd CCI-Western India Open Squash Tournament 2005, co-sponsored by Lifebuoy, at the CCI in Mumbai on Saturday.

The much-accomplished Bhattacharya ignored the loss of the third game to beat second seed Vikas Jangra of Services Sports Control Board 9-4, 9-2, 5-9, 9-6.

Bhattacharya, ranked No.59 in the world, unravelled his rich repertoire of strokes to rest on a comfortable 2-0 cushion. Using his vast experience he engaged Jangra in long rallies while waiting for the latter to commit the errors. Jangra, who is no pushover, fell into the trap as Bhattacharya lapped up crucial points.

World junior No. 2 Chinappa overcame a late challenge from compatriot and third seed Dipika Pallikal before cruising to a 9-5, 10-8, 9-1 win in a keen women's final between quality players.

Chinappa denied Pallikal a third title, after the latter, who bagged the under-15 crown on Friday, took just half an hour to prevail over Mumbai's Shivangi Paranjpe 9-4, 9-4, 9-0 for the under-19 title that completed the double.

After running Chinappa close in the opening game, Pallikal surged to a surprise 8-6 lead after trailing 0-4 in the second game. But a 'let' call that did not go in Pallikal's favour gave Chinappa the opportunity to win back her serve and snatch the game for a 2-0 lead. Chinappa tightened her grip in the crucial third game before sealing her third consecutive CCI-Western India title.

"I tried to keep the scores at a minimum," explained 19-year-old Chinappa. "While I played basic squash, Dipika played very well today, especially in the second game where she surprised me by taking the lead. I gave her too many openings to get back, something that I shouldn't have done. But in the end the victory was sweet."

"I couldn't believe I was leading against Joshna, especially after being down 0-4 in the second game. I just went into the match hoping to play my best and I was happy with my performance," reasoned 14-year-old Pallikal.

Results (Finals):

Men's: Ritwik Bhattacharya (Delhi) bt Vikas Jangra (Services) 9-4, 9-2, 5-9, 9-6.

Boys U-19: Sandeep Jangra bt Manek Mathur 1-9, 7-9, 9-6, 9-0, 9-6.

Boys U-17: Vikram Malhotra bt Naishad Lalwani 9-2, 9-3, 9-0.

Boys U-15: Karm Kumar bt Mahesh Mangaonkar 9-0, 9-6, 9-3.

Boys U-13: Abhishek Pradhan bt Mahesh Mangaonkar 9-7, 9-7, 9-5.

Boys U-11: Ishaan Advani bt Arjun Kochhar 9-6, 9-5, 9-5.

Under-9: Kunj Rawani bt Yohan Pandole 9-2, 9-4, 3-9, 9-6.

Professionals: Rohit More bt Sanjay Pawar 9-1, 9-3, 4-9, 9-1.

Women's: Joshna Chinappa (TN) bt Dipika Pallikal (TN) 9-5, 10-8, 9-1.

Girls U-19: Dipika Pallikal (TN) bt Shivangi Paranjpe 9-4, 9-4, 9-0.

Girls U-15: Dipika Pallikal (TN) bt Ankita Sharma (Mumbai) 9-1, 9-0, 9-3.