Date:13/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/08/13/stories/2005081306912000.htm

Sport - Squash

Southern India squash championship

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: A package of squash events — the ICL-Southern India championship and the National doubles meet — promise some hectic activity from August 16 to 21 at the TNSRA-SDAT academy courts here.

The Rs 3.75 lakh prize money Southern India championship will feature nine age categories and a total of 111 entries have been received, according to a press release from the Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association.

National champion Saurav Ghosal is the favourite for the men's title and the Rs. 60,000 purse, and Balamurugan is a strong contender for the professionals title.

Competition is expected to be keen in the rest of the categories — boys' under-11, 13, 15, 17, girls' under-13 and 17 and Masters (above-35).

Ghosal and Harinderpal Singh are the defending National champions in the doubles category and have been top seeded. There will be a trophy and Rs. 25,000 for the winner.

The other pairs expected to give the No. 1 seeds a run for their money are Balamurugan-Parthiban and Gaurav Nandrajog-Nirad Shirgaonkar.

Surpreet Singh-Parth Sharma, Sandeep Jangra-Vikas Jangra and Srivatsan Subramanian-Cyrus Poncha are the others in the fray.