Saurav Ghoshal and Shameena Riaz, both representing Tamil Nadu, emerged the men’s and women’s champions, respectively, in the four-star Willingdon Sports Club Squash Classic Open 2025, which concluded at the WSC Squash courts.
Ghoshal, the 39-year-old former Indian squash star, now retired, proved he still has it in him to teach a lesson or two to the newer generation of players as he dispatched off the top seed Suraj Chand of the Jindal Squash Academy, Vashind 11-3, 11-2, 11-2.
The younger and, probably fitter Chand was never a given a chance by Ghoshal to engage in long rallies as the former ace kept finding the corners with incredible accuracy to close points and finish off the match in short time.
The women’s final, though a bit longer and with its moments, was still a one sided affair between the two unseeded players, with Shamima getting the better of Maharashtra’s Akanksha Gupta 11-7, 11-8, 11-4.
Tamil Nadu players had further success, with Sandesh P R and Shiven Agarwal winning the Boys U-19 and U-17 titles respectively. While Sandesh P R rallied after a shaky start to get the better of UP’s Karan Yadav 5-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-9, Shiven Agarwal was given a fight for his money by Maharashtra’s Jigar Rambhia. Rambhia, who trains and plays at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana went toe to toe with Agarwal, before losing steam in the decider to go down 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7.
Results (all finals):
Men: Saurav Ghoshal (TN) bt Suraj Chand (Mah) (1) 11-3, 11-2, 11-2
Women: Shamima Riaz (TN) bt Akanksha Gupta (Mah) 11-7, 11-8, 11-4.
Boys U-19: Sandesh P R (TN) bt Karan Yadav (UP) 5-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-9.
Boys U-17 final: Shiven Agarwal (TN) bt Purav Rambhia (Mah) 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7.
