MSSA inter-school squash tournament: Aashi Shah, Ayaan Dalal toppers clinch girls, boys titles

The winners of the MSSA squash tournament

Aashi Shah of Utpal Sanghvi Global School IGCSE (Juhu) and Ayaan Dalal of Cathedral and John Connon School (Fort) clinched their maiden girls and boys U-16 Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school squash titles respectively at Bombay Gymkhana on Thursday.

In the girls U-16 summit clash, Aashi overwhelmed her opponent, Sameera Gorsia of JB Petit High School (Fort), defeating her 11-2, 11-4, 11-2 in straight games.

Aashi Shah (left) and Ayaan Dalal during their respective MSSA U-16 squash finals at Bombay Gymkhana on Thursday. Pics/Atul Kamble

Soon after, the boys U-16 final however, ended in unfortunate circumstances as Ayaan was awarded the championship after his opponent and good friend, Dhairvin Shroff of Aditya Birla World Academy (Tardeo), was forced to retire due to a back injury, with the score reading 4-4 in the opening game.

It was a bittersweet moment for Ayaan. "I didn't want to win the title like this today. I hope Dhairvin recovers soon as we often play against each other at NSCI [Mahalaxmi] or CCI [Churchgate]," said Ayaan.

In the girls U-13 final, Riyaa Dalal of Jamnabai Narsee School (Vile Parle) claimed the title with a dominant performance, beating Alekha Jala of Cathedral and John Connon (Fort), 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.

Meanwhile, in the boys U-13 final, Aaron Arambhan of Jamnabai Narsee School (Vile Parle) dispatched fellow schoolmate Nirvaan Parikh 11-4, 11-4, 11-4.

Other results
. Boys U-11: Viraaj Wadhwani beat Shaurya Bakshi 12-10, 11-3, 13-11
. Girls U-11: Navya Gupta beat Mysha Deora 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7
. Boys U-9: Tejvir Kapoor beat Aditya Singh 11-4, 11-2, 11-1
. Girls U-9: Janika Mehta beat Lara Dubash 11-1, 11-0