The SSC Open Squash Championship which commenced from the 23rd of November concluded yesterday at the SSC Squash complex amidst a huge gathering of squash enthusiasts.
This National Ranking tournament which was the final tournament before the Senior National Squash Championship was to serve as a warm up tournament for all the top ranked players while giving an indication as to who will be the top contestants to clinch the National title this year .After going past many hurdles Gihan Suwaris and Mihiliya Methsarani emerged the worthy Champions in the Mens Open and Womens Open categories respectively.
In the Womens Open final Mihiliya Methsarani beat Naduni Gunawardena in straight sets with the scores on 13/11, 12/10 and 11/6. First two sets were fiercely contested with both the players heading for a tie breaker though Mihiliya took the final set quite easily. The Girls U-19 final too was played between these two players and Mihiliya emerged victorious winning the match in straight sets.
Bottom seed Gihan Suwaris took on Dilshan Gunawardena in the Mens Open Final after overcoming Navin Samarasinghe in the semi finals. Dilshan qualified for the finals upsetting top seed Ravindu Laksiri in the other semi final. Gihan who played a well controlled game kept his opponent busy running around the court making full use of his cross court volleys and straight drops .Dilshan too played an attacking game changing the direction of the ball more often with cross court volleys and drives, but still was unable to stop Gihan from taking the first two sets at 11/8 and 11/7.The third set saw Gihan taking an early lead of 6-0 and making way for an easy victory. But too many fancy shots and unforced errors by Gihan changed the whole direction of the game costing him the third set .After taking the third set at 11/8 Dilshan played a cool game with confidence and pressurized Gihan to make mistakes and took the fourth set at 11/9 tallying the set scores. Dilshan kept the momentum going and kept the lead till midway of the final set. But Gihan who made quick five points with his magical cross court volley nicks took the lead again and did not give any more chances to his opponent. Gihan finished the final set at 11/8 to clinch the Mens Open Championship.
Earlier in the semi finals Dilshan Gunawardena took on the top seed Ravindu Laksiri .Ravindu , who performed really well over past few tournaments, could not continue the good form as Dilshan took control of the match from the beginning. Both the players who were anxious for a win played a very cool, controlled game and after some long rallies Dilshan took the first set at 11/7.The second set saw both the players fighting hard with the scores being equal most of the time and it was Ravindu who had the luck to finish the second set at 12/10.Dilshan continued to play a cool game with less unforced errors and took the the last two sets at 11/9 each to clinch the match 3 sets to 1.
The other semi final saw bottom seed Gihan Suwaris taking on defending National Champion Navin Samarasinghe. Navin who returned to the National Squash arena after about six moths took the first set at 11/8 proving his experience together with his talent is no easy combination to compete with. Gihan Suwaris who had other thoughts kept changing the pace of the game and went for winner shots whenever possible, making things hard for Navin. Gihan kept his strategy alive throughout the match and took the last three sets at 11/4, 11/4 and 11/6 to qualify for the finals.
The junior events too saw some major upsets being created. Shamil Wakeel playing in the U-19 category for the first time qualified for the finals after taking down the bottom seed Udantha Hewage in a 4 setter. However Shamil lost his pet event, the U-17 final to K U Udantha in another 4 setter.
The results of the finals area s follows
Mens Open – Gihan Suwaris beat Dilshan Gunawardena- 11/8, 11/7, 8/11, 9/11, 11/8
Womens Open-Mihiliya Methsarani beat Naduni Gunawardena-13/11, 12/10, 11/6
Boys U-19-Ravindu Laksiri beat Shamil Wakeel- 11/4, 11/5, 11/8
Girls U-19- Mihiliya Methsarani beat Naduni Gunawardena-11/1, 11/4, 11/7
Boys U-17- K U Udantha beat Shamil Wakeel- 11/7, 12/10, 8/11, 11/7
Girls U-17- Wasundara Suwaris beat Saduni Gunawardena-11/3, 11/9, 5/11, 6/11, 11/7
Boys U-15-Senindu Induwara Dharmathilaka beat K U Udantha- 11/2, 7/11, 11/4, 13/11
Girls U-15- Fathoum Issadeen beat Saduni Gunawardena-11/8, 11/8, 12/10
Boys U-13-Druwinka Perera beat Osanda Nilakshana
Girls U-13- Kasuni Gunawardena beat Sameera Deen- 11/4, 11/0, 11/2
Boys U-11-M I F Asmone beat P R Koralage- 11/5, 11/8, 9/11, 11/4
Girls U-11- Sameera Deen beat D Chamindrika -11/8, 11/3, 11/7
Boys U-09-D H Thinura Randima beat Nevindu Lakman- 11/6, 2/11, 11/2, 6/11, 11/6
Girls U-09- C Sinaly beat A Perera-
