The Hindu : Sport / Squash : Anwar Reda wins the ICL-Chennai Open

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Sunday, Aug 19, 2007
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Anwar Reda wins the ICL-Chennai Open

S.R. Suryanarayan

Photo: K. Pichumani

THE VICTOR AND THE VANQUISHED: The champion, Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda of Egypt, flanked by N. Ramachandran, Secretary-General, SRFI to his right and M.K. Jha, IPS, and Ritwik Bhattacharya with the runner-up trophy. —

CHENNAI: It was a moment of delight for 18-year old Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda of Egypt after he downed the top seed and former Indian national champion Ritwik Bhattacharya 2-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 to wins the ICL-Chennai Open circuit II event here on Saturday.

On the eve of the final, Reda had confessed, “I had played him in Cairo last when he came for training and he beat me 3-2 then.” To that extent, it was a win that was doubly sweet for the Egyptian. This was the fifth PSA title win for this collegian, who like most other top Egyptian players, aims high — a top 30 finish by the year-end.

Yet, it was a case of Bhattacharya flattering to deceive. Playing after a long lay off can be taxing but he had begun well, looked the player that he is with his customary style of power and precision play to start with in the final.

“I myself was surprised at the way I was playing,” the Indian said of his start. But before long Reda had tightened his game and used his racket for the kind of magic that Bhattacharya found hard to handle.

An indication of his growing stature was the way the Egyptian took in his stride not only the reverse in the first game but more importantly the referee’s calls on ‘lets’, some of which left him screaming in disbelief. Egged on by his countrymates, Reda concentrated, took control and made a wise choice of strokes. Confidence growing, Reda stepped up pace in the third, displayed anticipation that nullified Bhattacharya’s crosscourt strokes. In short, the contest became more about consistent strokeplay. The Indian slipped here, at times failing to even reach the ball on the backcourt. Still, he came back strongly in the fourth game putting Reda on the defensive.

The Indian could not sustain that as the Egyptian raced away in the decider to complete the 56-minute tussle in his way. M.K. Jha, IG of Police, gave away the prizes.

The result: Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) 2-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6.

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