Kathmandu (Hamro Khelkud) – Former champions Arhanta Keshar Singh and Bhawana Sunuwar won the 2nd Dhan Laxmi Maharjan Memorial National Squash Tournament.
Arhanta and Bhawana defended their titles winning their singles final on Saturday. Arhanta defended his title by defeating Amrit Thapa Magar in a straight set of 13-11, 12-10, 11-5 in the Men’s Singles Final. Arhanta received a cash prize of 18 thousand Rupees while Amrit received 10 thousand Rupees. Likewise, Bhawana won Krishna Thapa 6-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 to defend her title. Bhawana and Krishna received 11 thousand and 6 thousand Rupees respectively.
Gopal Thapa defeated Salim Thapa Magar 11-2, 8-11, 11-3, 11-3 in the U-15 Boys Singles to win the gold medal. Earlier, Amir Blon had won the title in U-19 boys singles. In the above 55-age veteran Men’s Singles category, Indra Bahadur Thapa claimed the first spot. He won Kishor Maharjan in a straight set of 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 in the Final. In the final of Masters 44 to 55 age Men’s single category, Sudip Bahadur Singh defeated Prajjwal Prakash Pradhan 11-5, 11-6, 11-4. Likewise, Aakash Sunuwar won the Men’s singles plate title defeating Ratna Kaji Shakya 11-13, 12-10, 11-8, 11-13, 15.
The winners were awarded amid a program by the mayor of Lalitpur municipality Chiri Babu Maharjan. The Nepal Squash Rackets Association had organised the tournament in memory of the mother of Association’s President Kishor Maharjan, Dhana Laxmi Maharjan. The six-day long tournament saw 85 players taking part in 7 different categories. The tournament had a cash prize of Eighty one thousand Rupees. All the categories included cash prizes except the Veteran and Plate categories.
