Junior Open Squash Championship 2023: Rohan Gondi, Pooja Arthi Emerge Champions

Indian Rohan Arya Gondi and Pooja Arthi R. emerged supreme winning the boys’ and girls’ under-19 crowns in the 13th Bombay Gymkhana Jaguar-Indian Junior Open Squash Championship, organised under the auspices of the SRFI and SRAM and played at the Bombay Gymkhana courts on Wednesday.

In the boys’ summit clash, Rohan of Telangana continued with his impressive winning run and dashed the aspirations of second s3d Yuvraj Wadhwani of Mumbai, charging to a 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 13-11 win. Pooja after losing the first game against 3/4-seed Nirupama Dubey recovered strongly to win the next three to carve out a 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, and 11-7 victory in the girls final.

In the under-17 category, Unnati Tripathi of Uttar Pradesh defeated Maharashtra’s Akanksha Gupta 11-5, 10-12, 11-7, and 11-9 to clinch the girls’ title, while top seed Gurveer Singh of Delhi tamed Dev Sharma of Maharashtra in three quick games at 11-3, 11-3, and 11-6 to claim the boys gold medal.

Malaysian talent and top seed Dakshayani Thangaraja bagged the girls’ under-15 crown defeating Maharashtra’s Anika Dubey 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, and 11-8, while Aryaveer Dewan of Delhi outplayed Subhash Choudhary of Rajasthan easily cruising to a 11-3, 11-1, and 11-5 victory.

In the girls’ under-13 finals, Uttar Pradesh’s 3/4-seed Fabiha Nafees got the better Tamil Nadu’s 3/4-seed D. Nitiyasree 11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, and 11-4, while Karnataka’s 3/4-seed Shresht Iyer defeated Shreyansh Jha of Maharashtra 11-7, 14-12, and 11-7.

Meanwhile, India’s second seed Divyanshi Jain of Rajasthan stunned top seed Kareena Sashi Kumar of Singapore 11-8, 11-3, and 11-4 in winning the girls’ under-11 title, while the boys gold medal was won by Delhi’s Abhyuday Arora who defeated Telangana’s Thanuj Reddy Puli 11-5, 11-9, and 11-7.

Results

Girls’ U-11: 2-Divyanshi Jain (IND) bt 1-Kareena Sashi Kumar (SIN) 11-8, 11-3, 11-4; U-13: 3/4-Fabiha Nafees (IND) bt 3/4-D. Nitiyasree (IND) 11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4; U-15: 1-Dakshayani Thangaraja (MAS) bt Anika Dubey (IND) 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8; U-17: Unnati Tripathi (IND) bt Akanksha Gupta (IND) 11-5, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9; U-19: 2-Pooja Arthi R. (IND) bt 3/4-Nirupama Dubey (IND) 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7.

Boys’ U-11: 3/4-Abhyuday Arora (IND) bt 3/4-Thanuj Reddy Puli (IND) 11-5, 11-9, 11-7; U-13: 3/4-Shresht Iyer (IND) bt Shreyansh Jha (IND) 11-7, 14-12, 11-7; U-15: 1-Aryaveer Dewan (IND) bt Subhash Choudhary (IND) 11-3, 11-1, 11-5; U-17: 1-Gurveer Singh (IND) bt Dev Sharma (IND) 11-3, 11-3, 11-6; U-19: Rohan Arya Gondi (IND) bt 2-Yuvraj Wadhwani (IND) 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 13-11.