Dixit, Japtap in Asian Junior squash semis

May 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - India's most successful squash player Saurav Ghosal reached the highest of 29 in the latest PSA world ranking. Saurav, delighted with his ranking, said: 'I hope to take Indian squash to the top and win medals for the country.' He also conveyed his appreciation to the government of India, the SRFI and his coaches.

January 22nd, 2009 CHENNAI - Sani Karim of Malaysia succeeded N. Ramachandran as the president of the Asian Squash Federation (ASF) at the Annual General Meeting here Friday.

January 22nd, 2009 CHENNAI - Indian boys finished with a silver medal as Malaysia stamped their dominance by completing a clean sweep of the titles in the team championship of the 14th Asian Junior Championship here Friday. Indian girls won the bronze in the team championship.

January 21st, 2009 CHENNAI - India entered the final in the boys section while the girls went down in the semi-finals of the Asian Junior Squash championship at the ICL Academy courts here Thursday. India defeated Korea 2-0 in the boys semi-final clash and will take on Malaysia who got past Hong Kong 2-1.

January 19th, 2009 CHENNAI - India made a winning start in the Asian junior squash championship team event that began here Tuesday. The Indian boys, led by Aditya Jagtap, Ravi Dixit and Paramjit Singh, outplayed Sri Lanka while the girls, who rested their top player Dipika Pallikal, came through 3-0 against Japan.

January 18th, 2009 CHENNAI - India's Dipika Pallikal, the second seed, blew two match points as she went down to arch-rival Low Wee Wern of Malaysia in five games in the girls singles final of the 14th Asian Junior squash championship at the ICL Academy courts, here Monday. The top seeded Wern won the 49-minute encounter 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10.

January 16th, 2009 CHENNAI - India's Aditya Japtap, Karan Malik and Ravi Dixit kept the home hopes alive by entering the quarter-finals of the boys singles in the 14th Asian Junior Squash championship at the ICL academy courts here Saturday. In the girls singles, second seed and title favourite Dipika Pallikal was the lone Indian to advance to the quarter-finals with a win over Singapore's Chua Yung Li Pamela in just 15 minutes.

January 15th, 2009 CHENNAI - British Open under-15 champion Mahesh Mangaonkar was the biggest Indian casualty as he lost in the second round of the boys singles event as the 14th Asian Junior Boys and Girls Squash Championship commenced here Friday. Mahesh put up a stirring fight against Ng Jo Wen of Malaysia who saw off the challenge to win 13-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8.

January 14th, 2009 CHENNAI - Mahesh Mangaonkar, winner of the boys under-15 title at the British Open junior championship earlier this month, will spearhead India's challenge in the 14th Asian Junior Squash Championship starting here Friday. Also in the squad is Dipika Pallikal, the finalist in the girls category at the British Open.

January 12th, 2009 CHENNAI - Hong Kong's Leo Au and Low Wee Wern of Malaysia are the top seeds in the boys and girls section respectively in the 14th biennial Asian Junior Championships at the ICL Squash Academy here from Jan 16 to 23. The event has attracted a total of 10 teams in the men's event and nine in the women's section, while the individual draw consists of 51 boys and 42 girls.

January 11th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan have refused to clear squash team's tour to India for the Asian Junior Championship citing security concerns after its request to relocate the tournament was turned down by Asian Squash Federation (ASF). Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) had requested the ASF to either move the Jan 16-23 tournament out of India (Chennai) or change the dates (Jan 16-23) as their players cannot take part because of the prevailing tension between the two neighbours.

January 4th, 2009 SHEFFIELD - Three Indians, Dipika Pallikal, Kush Kumar and Mahesh Mangaonkar reached the semi-finals in their respective sections at the British Open junior squash championship here. Kush Kumar, winner at last week's Scottish Junior, defeated higher ranked Daniel Polichunk from Israel in an enthralling five-set match in the quarter-finals of the boys under-13 category Sunday night.

January 3rd, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan and India may have suspended bilateral sporting ties because of tense relations after November's Mumbai terror attacks but their leading squash players are playing against each other on the international stage in neutral England. According to results made available here Sunday, India's top woman player Dipika Pallikal defeated Pakistan's women's champion Maria Toor Pakay in the third round of the British Junior Open squash tournament's girls' under-19 event in Sheffield Saturday night.

January 1st, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan Friday blocked its hockey and squash teams' tour of India because of the tense relations between the two countries, with Sports Minister Aftab Shah Jilani saying the authorities were concerned about the players' security in India in the current circumstances. 'We sought advice from the foreign ministry and took the decsion that it's not advisable to send the teams to India over security fears,' Jilani told reporters here.

December 29th, 2008 KARACHI - Pakistan will take a decision Friday on whether to send its hockey team to India for a quadrangular tournament, the country's sports minister Aftab Jilani said here Tuesday. Jilani told reporters that representatives of the sports ministry, foreign ministry and the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will Friday sit together in Islamabad to take a decision over the issue.