Dubai: Ahad Parekh and Hosam Al Gendy picked up the top honours in the two divisions at the end of the annual Al Nasr Leisureland (ANL) Ramadan Squash Championship 2017 that concluded at the ANL squash courts earlier this week.
Parekh, a long-time squash player, made a perfect return from a two-year injury lay-off to win 3-0 against teenager Vikram Venkat for the Division 1 title, while Al Gendy made a winning debut with his 3-1 victory over visiting Frenchman Julien Freville.
As many as 20 players participated in two separate categories in this annual competition that is sponsored by ANL and organised by ANL squash coach Faheem Khan. CT Mathew, operations manager, ANL was the chief guest and presented the medals and trophies to the winners after the two finals.
Parekh had not played for the past two years since winning the Memon Community Squash Championship in 2015. After thorough treatment of his back injury, Parekh underwent a few months of recuperation after which he slowly eased on to the squash courts for regular practice.
Venkat, who is not yet 15 years old, was one of the junior champions in the grassroots development programme of the PSA Dubai World Series Final held earlier this month at the Dubai Opera. “He has been showing signs of improvement since the past couple of years and he can have a steady career ahead of him,” coach Faheem Khan said.
This was the second appearance for Al Gendy in this competition. The Egyptian was the champion in the Division 3 last year. “And now he has come and taken the next logical step of winning a higher division,” Khan noted.
RESULTS
(Division 1) Ahad Parekh bt Vikram Venkat 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-3)
(Division 2) Hosam Al Gendy bt Julien Freville 3-1 (11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7)
