Saurav Ghosal makes history

Chennai: Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian to win the coveted British Open (under-19) squash title in Sheffield, England. According to information received here, the 17-year-old Saurav beat Egyptian Adel El Said 9-0, 9-6, 9-1 in the final.

Saurav, seeded fifth, thus broke the stranglehold of Egypt and Pakistan players at this championship became the first Indian champion since the tournament started in 1980. An Indian featured in the girls’ final too, but Joshna Chinappa ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline. The third-seeded Joshna fought hard against Egyptian top seed Omneya Abdel Kawy but lost 4-9, 0-9, 7-9.

Nel’s plans go awry

Cape Town: South Africa fast bowler Andre Nel is facing a last-minute rearrangement of his wedding plans, having booked a January 17 date which clashes with the Saturday of the fourth Test against the West Indies at Centurion. Nel finalised plans to marry fiancee Deanne several months ago when he did not consider himself part of the national team set-up. However his impressive performances in the four-match series against the West Indies have changed the picture entirely.

A new role for Kafelnikov

Moscow: Yevgeny Kafelnikov will help train the Russian Davis Cup team for their World Group first round tie against Belarus, the country’s tennis chief said on Tuesday.

“I don’t think Yevgeny is ready to coach on his own but he will assist us in our preparations,” the president of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev, who is also their Davis and Fed Cup captain, said.

“It’s a win-win situation for all of us. On the one hand, we give him an opportunity to do something while he contemplates his future, on the other we could use his expertise and knowledge of the game to help our younger players.”

Russia, 2002 Davis Cup champions, face World Group newcomers Belarus in Minsk from February 6-8.

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