PANAJI
Goan squash star Akanksha Salunkhe won the 8th Indian Junior Open Squash Tournament in Jaipur on Sunday. The Asian ranking international tournament was held from August 31 to September 4 under the aegis of Surbhi Mishra Squash Foundation, an initiative of Ms Surabhi Mishra, a former squash champion.
Akanksha, who was the top seed in the tournament, beat Sunaina Kuruvilla of Tamil Nadu 3-1 (6-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8) in the finals. She had earlier beaten Sanika Choudhary of Maharashtra 3-0 in the quarter-finals and another Maharashtrian Ridhi Sampat 3-0 in the semi-finals en route to the summit clash. The Goan ace has now made it a a hat trick of titles by winning the Indian Junior Open Squash Tournaments thrice in a row - 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Meanwhile, another rising Goan talent, Yash Fadte, secured the Boys Under-15 title in the tournament. He did not drop a single game in all the six matches he played, winning the final against Prithvi Singh 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-6). Yash Salunkhe, Akankhsa’s brother, lost in the pre-quarterfinals to Prithvi, the eventual runner-up. Other Goan players who played the tournament are: Aryan Naik, Sairam Wani, Arman Chowfin, Apoorva Sardesai and Shouvik Naique.
Akanksha will now lead the Indian Junior Team in Malaysia at the Asian Junior Individual Championship scheduled from September 20 to 24. She has been also selected in the Senior Women’s Team that would play the World Women’s Team Championship in Paris, France in November.
