Local lad Utkarsh Baheti and Delhi Sanya Vats registered contrasting wins to be crowned the U-19 boys and girls national champions respectively in the National sub-junior and junior squash championship which concluded in Jaipur on Saturday.
The ¾ seed Baheti downed second seed Rahul Baitha in a match that not only went the full distance but to extra points as well as fortunes fluctuated right till the last point. Both have been mates in the Indian team but this was a rivalry that lit up the final day as the local boy got the better of his Maharashtra opponent 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 5-11, 16-14.
Earlier Delhi’s Vats, clinched the girls U-19 title on a commanding note beating the emerging talent Jannia Singh of Chandigarh 11-6, 11-6, 11-7.
Overall the nationals reflected the deep talent reserve in Maharashtra with the state’s players figuring in five title wins. For Tamil Nadu there was some cheer with Diksha Aurobindo, the Salem girl, winning the U-15 title. A top player earlier in the U-13 category, Diksha, the second seed had made steady progress in the higher category and confirmed her rise with this win over top seed Yuvna Gupta of Maharashtra over five games.
Results (all finals):
Boys: U-19: Utkarsh Baheti (Rj) (¾) bt Rahul Baitha (Mah) (2) 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 5-11, 16-14; U-17: Neel Joshi (Mah) (1) bt Yash Fadte (Goa) (¾) 11-5, 11-5, 11-7; U-15: Shreyas Mehta (Mah) (1) bt Paarth Ambani (Mah) (¾) 11-5, 11-9, 11-9; U-13: Yuvraj Wadhwni (Mah) (1) bt Rohan Arya Gondi (Telng) (¾) 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11; U-11: Ritwik Singh (Rj) (¾) bt Anshuman Jaisingh (Mah) (2) 11-7, 11-8, 11-9.
Girls U-19: Sanya Vats (Del) (¾) bt Jannia Singh (CH) (¾) 11-6, 11-6, 11-7; U-17: Yoshna Singh (Mah) (2) bt Ananya Dabke (Mah) (1) 11-7, 12-14, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10; U-15: Diksha Aurobindo (TN) (2) bt Yuvna Gupta (Mah) (1) 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-1; U-13: Kaavya Bansal (Mah) (1) bt Tiana Parasrampuria (Mah) (2) 11-2, 11-7, 11-6; U-11: Anahat Singh(Del) (1) bt Ipsa Mishra (Mah) (¾) 11-4, 11-2, 11-6.