India’s Abhay Singh, the top seed, clinched the British Under -23 Open crown with a 11-3, 15-13, 11-9 win over Ben Smith, the second seed from England in the final.
The Chennai-based player, a trainee at the Indian Squash Academy, had a wonderful journey in this tournament, not dropping a game from the start.
He maintained the tempo in the final, putting relentless pressure on his opponent and forced him to mistakes repeatedly. Though there was a moment of uncertainty for Singh in the second game when Smith rose to tie the score at ten-all, he was able to wriggle out of trouble. Gaining the upper hand from then on, Singh went on to win without much fuss.
Dreams of a title win vanished for Saurav Ghosal at the hands of an Egyptian who played flawless squash in the final of the Pittsburgh Open, a PSA World Tour event.
The second seeded Indian went down to the top seeded Fares Dessouky but not before a fight. Finding the nick repeatedly, Dessouky was able to kill any promising rally that Ghosal could come up with and that was the turning point. The Egyptian won 11-7, 11-4, 11-9.