KIYG: Pooja Arthi R, Tavneet Singh emerge champions in Squash

Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s R Pooja Arthi and Tavneet Singh Mundra (MP) emerged as the girls’ and boys’ individual champions respectively in the Khelo India Youth Games squash here on Tuesday.

Squash made its debut in the ongoing sixth edition of the national-level KIYG, and hosts Tamil Nadu underlined their dominance by powering into the final of both the boys’ and girls’ team events after securing five out of eight medals (one gold & four bronze) in the individual category.

In the girls’ singles final, top seed Pooja edged out Maharashtra second seed Nirupama Dubey 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 in a thriller at the Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy.

Runner-up at last year’s National Games, Pooja won the opening game with ease, before Nirpumama levelled with some deft drops and volleys.

Pooja improved her width to move her opponent and win the third game, but was undone by a string of unforced errors in the fourth.

The Tamil Nadu lass, however, had to fight back from 1-5 in the decider to emerge as the inaugural champion.

In the boys’ singles final, top seed Tavneet rallied to beat second seed Aryan Pratap Singh (UP) 5-11, 8-11, 11-1, 13-11, 11-4 in a nail-biting title round after saving two match points in the fourth game.

In the team competition, Tamil Nadu will take on Uttar Pradesh in the boys’ final and lock horns with Maharashtra for the girls’ crown on Wednesday.