At the 78th CCI-Western India Slam Squash Championship 2023, Anahat Singh, Delhi's reigning national women's champion and top seed, asserted her dominance in a resounding quarter-final victory. She outplayed Maharashtra's Mona Chauhan with scores of 11-3, 11-3, and 11-3. An earlier match saw Anahat's opponent, Howrah Bhanpurawala from Maharashtra, retire before stepping onto the court for their girls' under-19 quarter-final.
In a surprising twist, USA's Diya Yadav secured a spot in the semi-finals of both women's and girls' under-17 categories. Diya pulled off a remarkable upset in the women's quarter-finals, defeating joint 3/4-seed Nirupama Dubey with an 11-4, 11-5, and 11-6 victory. Prior to that, Diya demonstrated flawless play against Delhi's Diya Dhillon, securing an 11-3, 11-0, and 11-0 win.
CCI courts' trainee Aditya Chandani exhibited excellent form, breezing through an all-Maharashtra boys' under-19 quarter-final clash against Veer Pusalkar with scores of 11-5, 11-5, and 11-8. Second seed Ayaan Vaziralli from Maharashtra also advanced to the semi-finals by defeating compatriot Arjun Somani with a 6-11, 11-8, 11-8, and 11-4 victory.
In the men's over 35 category, CCI member Akhil Daswani secured a spot in the semi-finals by easily overcoming Arun Sharma in three games with scores of 11-6, 11-7, and 11-7.
England's Varun Shah exuded confidence in a boys' under-15 quarter-final, defeating Saharsh Shahra of Madhya Pradesh with scores of 11-3, 11-5, and 17-15. Maharashtra's Divvij Dave caused a major upset in a boys' under-13 quarter-final, defeating second seed Swarit Patil in a thrilling five-game encounter with scores of 14-12, 11-8, 3-11, 7-11, and 11-5.
In a gripping girls' under-11 quarter-final clash, Maharashtra's Shanaya Parasrampuria confidently fought against Haryana's Aradhana Singh, securing an 11-6, 4-11, 11-8, 9-11, and 11-8 victory to advance to the semi-finals. The championship, organized by the Cricket Club of India (CCI) under the auspices of the SRFI (Squash Rackets Federation of India), promises more thrilling action in the upcoming rounds.
