Lalitpur, October 22

Defending champion Arahant Keshar Singh and Bhawana Sunuwar claimed the titles of the fourth Civil Bank Open Squash Tournament here at Squash Academy today.

In the men’s singles final, Singh registered a 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-1 victory over Amrit Thapa to defend the title. Veteran Hira Bahadur Thapa, who failed to make it to the final for the first time in his 28-year career and retired from the sport during the presentation ceremony of the tournament, finished joint third along with Prabin Bir Singh. Singh earned a purse of Rs 15,000, while Magar received Rs 8,000. Third-place finishers Thapa and Singh got Rs 3,000 each.

In women’s singles category, Sunuwar came from a set down to beat Bipana Blon 8-11, 11-3, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4 in the final. Sunuwar received Rs 9,000 and Blon earned Rs 5,000. Sapana Blon and Swosthani Shrestha finished joint third and they got Rs 2,000 each.

Amir Blon became the U-19 boys’ champion with a 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7 victory against Deepak Thapa. Bijay Magar and Roshan Lama finished joint third. The top three players received Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,500 respectively. In the U-13 boys’ final, Gopal Thapa defeated Ranjit Thapa 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5. The winner and runner-up got Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively.

Sudeep Bahadur Singh defended the veteran singles title beating Yam Rana of British Gurkha 11-2, 11-9, 11-5. A total of 85 players took part in the five-day event organised by Nepal Squash Rackets Association.