Keskar, Ughade qualify for third round

Mumbai: Sergeants Ashish Keskar and Sachin Ughade of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) endured strong challenges in the men`s qualifying third round before advancing in the 58th Senior National Squash Championship on Sunday. Keskar initiated a gallant recovery after trailing 1-2 and stretched his gruelling encounter to the decider to beat Ranjit Singh of UP 10-12, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10, 11-2. Ughade also faced similar resistance after leading 2-0 and overcame Ravi Pandey of Delhi 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5 in another tight contest. Muhammad Nasir of Delhi and Akhil Daswani and Vicky Singh of Maharashtra also advanced after enduring close third round ties. Singh, who led 2-0 against Prabkirat Sanghera of Delhi, almost frittered away the advantage before snatching the decider with a crucial lead. Meanwhile, in an exciting action in the CCI-Western India Open for juniors, Maharashtra lads Zahaan Motiwala and Ansh Shetty registered hard-fought wins in boys` under-11 matches that went the distance. While Motiwala beat statemate Shlok Makhija, Shetty upset seeded Utkarsh Baheti of Rajasthan with the final game being decided over extra points. Maharashtra lads continued to dominate as Akshaye Wadhwa overcame Delhi?s Umam 14-12, 11-8, 7-11, 3-11, 11-4 and Raghav Mehrotra beat Naveen Kumar of Rajasthan 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8 in absorbing boys under-17 encounters. Unseeded Sumer Rao capped a rewarding day for host players when be prevailed over statemate Hasrat Mohammad 11-3, 11-3, 13-15, 12-10 in a boys under-19 tie. PTI