England’s Adrian Waller makes it a no-contest against Mahesh Mangaonkar
Joshna Chinappa smashed her way past Habiba Mohammed 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 to lift the women’s title while England’s Adrian Waller backed his reputation as the men’s top seed at the NSCI Open, a $15,000 PSA event here on Sunday. Waller’s controlled play carved out a 3-1 victory over Mumbai lad Mahesh Mangaonkar.
Joshna, seeded third and facing the top-seeded Egyptian, kept her composure even after she got hurt in bizarre circumstances. With the first game in her pocket and up 3-1 in the second, Joshna’s face come in contact with Habiba’s racquet hand on the latter’s follow-through. The Indian crumpled on court holding the side of her face, went out for medical assistance and returned to the court more alert and determined to slog for victory.
The contest between the aggressive Egyptian, ranked 19th, against the experienced Indian, ranked 28th and working the angles, kept the chair umpire busy due to frequent body checks. Habiba was warned twice, first after the follow-through into the face, then for coaching assistance in game three.
Joshna, relieved to have pulled through in the face of ferocity, said: “On the circuit, she is known to be aggressive. The trick is to play your game without thinking too much about it. I went for my shots and left it to the umpire to take charge of the match.”
Wincing from memory of that blow, she added: “Habiba has a powerful follow-through and I almost walked into it. I almost felt like getting punched in the face, luckily I could return to the court after treatment. My victory had to do with experience. I have been on the tour more than her.”
Talking about squash rivalry getting physical on court, the champion said: “I have been involved in physical finals before, but girls play clean and fair. I enjoy those contests, matches are hard but you know rivals play fair. Unlike her they do not try to block so much. I tried not to get in her way.”
In the men’s final Mahesh clawed back in the third game, 14-12, after being kept at bay in the first two by his left-handed opponent. Waller then cut out the errors in the fourth to pick up the title.
“I could not convert openings into points, he did not allow me to fight back. Adrian showed what a huge talent he is,” said the third-seeded Indian later.
The results: Final: Women: Joshana Chinappa bt Habiba Mohammed (Egy) 11-8, 11-9, 11-6.
Men: Adrian Waller (Eng) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind) 11-9, 11-2, 12-14, 11-6.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by Special Correspondent / Mumbai – September 07th, 2015
