The first day of the three-day KK Sharma memorial state ranking squash tournament witnessed a commanding performance by athletes from Dhampur and Prayagraj. The event, hosted at TSH in Kanpur on Friday, saw a total of 33 ties being played, with the majority proving to be one-sided affairs.
One-Sided Encounters Mark Opening Day
Out of all the matches held, only one encounter extended beyond a straight-games victory. In that singular competitive tie, Samar Jaisalmer of Varanasi managed to overcome his city mate Aryan Prajapati with a 3-1 scoreline. The local crowd had reason to cheer as Kanpur's own Tejswa Dahia secured a convincing 3-0 win over Dhampur's Aniit Kumar.
Tournament Inauguration and Key Results
The tournament was formally inaugurated in the presence of Vinay Pandey, Secretary of the UP Squash Racket Association. Susheel Sharma, President of the Kanpur Squash Racket Association, welcomed the guests, while P K Srivastava, Director of Operations, delivered the vote of thanks.
The results from the opening day clearly illustrated the dominance of certain contingents:
- Udayveer Bharti (Dhampur) beat Ankit Patel (Prayagraj) 3-0.
- Anuj Kumar (Vns) defeated Brajesh (Noida) 3-0.
- Abir Khullar (Lkw) won against Sufian Mohd (Dhampur) 3-0.
- Arjun Maheshwari (Noida) triumphed over Rishabh Kumar (Dhampur) 3-0.
- Arnav Tomar (Dhampur) beat Ankit Kumar (VNS) 3-0.
- Abhishek Kumar (Prayagraj) defeated Dheeraj Patel (Mirzapur) 3-0.
- Ansh Kumar (Dhampur) won against Veer Pratap (Dhampur) 3-0.
- Aryan Prajapati (Vns) overcame Krishna Jaiswal (Prayagraj) 3-1.
- Nitish Patel (Prayagraj) beat Abhishek Kumar (Prayagraj) 3-1.
- Raghav Vashisth (Dhampur) defeated Saubhagya Raha (IIT Knp) 3-0.
Trials for Economically Weaker Section Children
In a parallel development aimed at grassroots development, 256 children from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) participated in trials for free coaching. The trials, also held at TSH on Friday, covered 9 different sports events.
P K Srivastava provided details, stating that approximately 424 applications were initially preferred before a screening committee. The trials themselves were supervised by a 7-member coordination committee, which assessed individual sports skills and physical endurance of the aspirants.
The final list of selected trainees will be announced on January 3, 2026. Those who make the cut must complete all necessary formalities, including proving medical fitness, by January 4, 2026. The training for this 7th batch of trainees is scheduled to commence from January 7, 2026.
