Otters Club on a winning roll, records third consecutive win

Maintaining their superb winning run of form, Otters Club, Bandra easily defeated Goregaon Sports Club by a 4-1 margin, for their third consecutive win in the Group-A round-robin league of the Hyatt Regency - Mumbai Inter-Club Squash League 2018, organised by the Indian Squash Professionals and played at the Hyatt Regency courts.

The Bandra club had earlier defeated JVPG Club 3-2 and IIT Bombay 4-1, and with this win, they now have a total of 110 points and are firmly placed in top position in this group and have qualified for the semi-finals. Goregaon SC, who finished their matches with a solitary win and two defeats tally 60 points and are currently in the second position. Meanwhile, JVPG Club, who have 50 points, but with a match in hand against bottom-placed IIT Bombay, could move up to the second spot and qualify for the semis.

In a group-B encounter, Khar Gymkhana was dominant in their 4-1 win against Navi Mumbai Squash. Khar Gym has completed their group fixtures with two wins and one loss to their credit and with a tally of 90 points are assured of a place in the last four round. The outcome of the concluding league match between Jindal Squash Academy (60 points) and hosts Hyatt Regency (50 points) will decide the second team from this group that will progress to the knockout round. Navi Mumbai, who lost all their three league matches sit at the bottom.

Otters Club were in complete control and had things much their own way. Anshul Goyal provided them with a solid start as he easily sidelined Anil Bhagat 11-2, 11-6 in the opening rubber. Later the Bandra club’s doubles combination of Advait Shetty and Manish Chotrani conceded a walkover to the Goregaon pair of Chetan Singh and Paras Berawala in the second rubber. However, Otters in convincing fashion won the remaining three ties to complete a satisfying victory.

Ansh Shetty and Tanay Panjabi combined nicely to tame Kamal M and Ramesh Singh 11-2, 11-4, before Ganesh Kadam overcame a spirited fight from Pradeep Singh before winning at 13-11, 11-6 in the fourth rubber. In the fifth and final tie, Dipesh Jadhav and Sanjay Pawar got the better of the Goregaon duo of Deepak Tiwari and Pradeep Singh by an 11-10, 11-8 scoreline to seal their win.In the final round of group matches, JVPG Club takes on IIT Bombay in Group-A and Jindal Squash Academy face off against hosts Hyatt Regency in a Group-B match next Sunday, April 29.

Results
Group-A: Otters Club beat Goregaon Sports Club 4-1 (Anshul Goyal bt Anil Bhagat 11-2, 11-6; Advait Adik/Manish Chotrani lost Chetan Singh/Paras Berawala (walkover); Ansh Shetty/Tanay Panjabi bt Kamal M/Ramesh Singh 11-2, 11-4; Ganesh Kadam bt Pradeep Singh 13-11, 11-6; Dipesh Jadhav/Sanjay Pawar bt Deepak Tiwari/Pradeep Singh 11-10-11, 11-8).

Group-B: Khar Gymkhana beat Navi Mumbai Squash 4-1 (Dipesh Borhade bt Arun Sharma 12-10, 7-11, 11-8; Kishore Vanwari/Mahesh Chandnani lost Inderpal Singh/Vijay Darak 11-9, 0-11, 6-11; Prashant Mohite/Vijay Waghela bt Arun Sharma/Kailash Bhatt 11-7, 11-3; Aishwarya Khubchandani bt Rahul Arora 11-8, 12-10; Dipesh Borhade/Pranay Gianchandani bt Mr. Singh/Praveen Nair 6-11, 11-6, 11-8).