Saurav Ghosal seeded three in strong Kolkata draw
By SEAN REUTHE
The draw for the 2015 Kolkata International JSW Indian Squash Circuit, PSA M35 tournament has been confirmed with a host of mouthwatering match-ups set to take place at the historic Calcutta Rackets Club when the event begins on Thursday September 24.
Indian number one Saurav Ghosal, who was runner=up in the Colombian Open final to Alfredo Avila at the weekend, is seeded three and meets a qualifier in the first round.
Spectators will be looking to the highly-anticipated all-Indian fixture between Mahesh Mangaonkar and former Indian National Champion Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu in what is sure to be one of the most exciting ties of the opening round as both players fight for supremacy in front of a partisan home crowd.
The top seed is Egypt’s Marwan Elshorbagy, who meets a qualifier in the first round. Chris Simpson is up against Indian wildcard Ramit Tandon, while Finland’s Olli Tuominen meets Rex Hedrick, who performed well in the Australian Open, in a testing encounter for a place in the quarter-final.
Stephen Coppinger, the South African World No.17 who was one of last season’s best performers, is also in action with an intriguing battle against Greg Lobban on the cards in a draw that could produce a number of upsets from the get go.
“We are delighted that a number of big names will be appearing at the Calcutta Rackets Club, one of the oldest squash clubs in the world,” said Tournament Promoter Raj Arora.
“It is hoped that seeing such luminaries of the sport in action will help to inspire a new generation of Indian players.”
2015 Kolkata International JSW Indian Squash Circuit – Main Draw:
[1] Marwan Elshorbagy [EGY] v [Qualifier]
Rex Hedrick (AUS) v [6] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[7] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) v [Qualifier]
[WC] Ramit Tandon (IND) v [4] Chris Simpson (ENG)
[3] Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [Qualifier]
Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) v [8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
[5] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Greg Lobban (SCO) v [2] Stephen Coppinger (RSA)
The 2015 Kolkata International JSW Indian Squash Circuit will take place at the Calcutta Rackets Club from Thursday September 24 – Sunday September 27.
Pictures by IRENA VANISOVA and MARIAN KRAUS