Lalitpur, August 11

Arhat Keshar Simha and Bhawana Sunuwar won the titles of the third Dhana Laxmi Maharjan Memorial National Squash Tournament here at the International Sports Complex courts today.

Simha defeated Amrit Thapa Magar 3-1 in the men’s singles final. Simha took the lead by winning the first set 11-7 before Thapa Magar levelled the scores taking the second set by the same margin. Simha then won the next two sets 11-8 and 11-6 to win the championship. Prabin Kansakar and Rajendra Shakya finished joint third.

In women’s singles final, Sunuwar beat Krishna Thapa in straight sets. Sunuwar registered a 11-5, 11-7, 11-1 victory. Bipana Blon and Swasthani Shrestha were joint third. Likewise, Sudip Bahadur Singh won the above-50 masters singles title with a 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 victory over Dilip Narshing Adhikari. Suresh Gurung and Indra Bahadur Karki were join third.

Bikash Magar and Sapana Blon won gold medals in U-15 category. Magar defeated Salim Thapa 11-4, 11-5 in boys’ section final, while Blon blew away Muskan Raut 11-4, 11-3 in girls’ category championship match. Also, Amir Blon claimed the U-19 boys’ section title with a 11-9, 11-3, 11-3 victory over Bijay Magar. Meanwhile, Amir Blon won the men’s singles plate championship title defeating Steve Francis 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8.

A total of 56 players competed in the five-day tournament that featured seven events. The tournament, sponsored by Nepal Squash Rackets Association President Kishore Maharjan in the memory of his mother, carried a total cash purse of Rs 106,000. Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevean Ram Shrestha, National Institute of Sports Department Director Rim Bahadur Ranabhat, Lalitpur Metropolitan City Chiri Babu Maharjan and NSRA President Maharjan among others handed over the prizes to the winners of the tournament.