Dipika Pallikal of Chennai, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Aditya Jagtap of Mumbai annex titles of squash tournament near Stuttgart.
MUMBAI: Indian junior squash players turn up at the German Open Junior Squash Championship every year for a bit competitive exposure against the Europeans. This year, three budding Indians taught the Europeans a few lessons on the game by winning three gold medals.
Mahesh Mangaonkar and Aditya Jagtap of Mumbai led the Indian charge by winning the under-13 and u-15 (B tournament) titles of the tournament held near Stuttgart. Chennai’s Dipika Pallikal continued her magic run at the tournament claiming her third title in four years.
“This championship has been a stepping-stone for many young Indians. My case is no different, but winning three gold medals is something which has never happened,” Dipika told DNA from Chennai.
Dipika, the world No 2 junior player, set the ball rolling clinching the girls’ under-15 title by beating Millie Tomlinson of England in straight games. Dipika, who recently signed up with Mittal Trust, was flawless in her third visit to the Germany city as she did not lose a single game on her way to the title. She beat the English girl 9-1, 9-3, 9-3.
“It is nice as I have won a title just after signing up with Mittal Trust,” said Dipika, who returned from Germany on Tuesday. “My next target will be the Malaysian Open later this month,” added the new squash sensation of the country.
Mahesh Mangaonkar led the Mumbai assault at the tournament by blanking French boy Samuel Roche 3-0. “The months of work-out at the CCI and Bombay Gymkhana have helped me,” said the Don Bosco boy. Mahesh will play in mini-Olympics in Mumbai this month before boarding plane to Malaysian Open.
Aditya signed off the Indian challenge on a victorious note winning the ‘B’ tournament (under-15). The IX standard student from Bombay Scottish defeated Ricky Penders of Netherlands 9-1, 9-7, 10-9.
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