Squash: Top seed Sachika, Urvashi to clash for women's crown

The top two seeds in the women's competition, Sachika Ingale of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra's Urvashi Joshi sailed into the final of the 42nd Maharashtra State Open Squash tournament.
The tournament, organised by Bombay Gymkhana here, is being held under aegis of SRFI and Maharashtra Squash Rackets Association.
In the semi-finals, the number one seed Sachika with a steady performance, managed to beat back the strong resistance from Maharashtra's Sachika Balvani before clinching a 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 victory.
Urvashi too faced an initial struggle in her semi-final, but gradually got into groove, and thereafter, asserted her dominance to complete a deserving 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 win over opponent Riya Sisodia.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra's Aditya Jagtap, the second seed in the men's event, continued his march to the final.
Jagtap was in complete control as he sidelined Delhi challenger and joint third-fourth seed Gaurav Nandrajog 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 in the first semi-final.

Later, Maharashtra's 24-year-old Abhishek Pradhan, who had sent top-seeded Englishman Robert Downer packing in the earlier round, maintained his fine winning momentum to overcome a spirited fight from compatriot Abhishek Agarwal posting a 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 win.
Results - Women's - (semi-finals): Sachika Ingale beat Sachika Balvani 11-8, 11-8, 11-5; Urvashi Joshi beat Riya Sisodia 11-9, 11-7, 11-4.
Men's - (semi-finals): Aditya Jagtap (Mah) beat Gaurav Nandrajog (Del) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6; Abhishek Pradhan beat Abhishek Agarwal 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.

Men's Over 55 (semi-finals) Vaman Apte beat Lalit Kumar Agnihotri 11-5, 11-2, 11-4; Ashun Bahl beat Vijay Jaini 11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4.
Men's Over 45 (semi-finals) Raja Parthasarathy beat Avinash Bhavnani 11-7, 7-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-3; Ashutosh Pednekar beat Aashish Kamat beat 11-9, 11-9, 2-11, 11-6.
Men's Over 35 (semi-finals): Amitpal Kohli beat Jatin Bery 14-12, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6; Karan Mirchandani beat Aditya Maheshwari 11-7, 11-7, 11-8.
Pro Coach (semi-finals) Sanjay Pawar beat Suraj Bhatt 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8; Parmeet Singh beat Virendra Pawar 11-6, 11-9, 11-8.