Howzit Ma! How're you man? I'm fine.

Listen, I just wanted to tell you about what a jol I am having here in Dubai. The other night I watched these okes play squash down by the gym. Jeeez like! The first two okes were impressive Bru! But I reckon they were showing off for the cherries in the gym. Ouma (the oke's actual name) must have got his missus to pack his kit. Even his shoes matched. He reminded me of those blerrie bees that used to steek us stukkend on tant Sanna's stoep! Anyway, the other oke looked like a front row Springbok. Even the nurse was worried she might have to miss her tv soapies just in case his heart attacked him. I can't believe he lasted 5 games. Must be the padkos he's got under his shirt. Ouma bee klapped him 3-2.

Usually I don't smaak Auzzies but this one was alright only because his team got bliksemmed by the Blue Bulls at Loftus on Saturday. The game was not so lekker because the other oke played like a moffie and got klapped sommer 6 love. Maybe he needs other shoes.

I reckon Pieman's Ma and Pa were still vrot the morning they got him back from the hospital. He sings like that day we helped oom Sarel drag his ox with a chain block and a bakkie to the slaghuis. I can't remember the other oke's name. Sounds like prophet or sheikh. Never mind, I needed a siggi and charfed one from a cherrie in the gym. Mooi man! Elton klapped the other oke 3-0.

The last 2 okes were both ballies. The squash ref was chekking out the chicks so bad he forgot how to count. I think he wishes his heart attacked him so the nurse would have to give him... what's it... cpr? The oke with the beard also played like a moffie but at least he got one game. I think the ref was a doos. The other ballie klapped him 3-1.

Jaa, no look Bru. It could have gone either way. After, the okes all invited me for a dop. But I tuned them; "Nought China! I don't drink with blerrie moffies."

(English Translation of the above: Huh? (Flyers match report for 5/5/08 courtesy of Deb "D23B")

Flyers Maintain Altitude

The intrepid Flyers ventured into Bur Dubai this week for a clash with the Indian Sports Club. Old foes, the ISC, were sitting just below the Flyers in 4th spot in the league prior to the contest. The Flyers squad rotation system threw together one of the strongest teams in a few weeks (on paper anyway!!).

Pieman was first up. The first game was a pleasure to watch with some excellent squash from both players. The Pieman just edged it. This loss destroyed Ram and Pieman easily went on to record a love victory. Fist blood to the Flyers.

Next up stepped the veteran Pops. His opponent, John Eapen, was less than half his age. You could hear the groan of Pops joints as he was moved around the court by the in form Eapen. Pops succumbed to a love defeat not without a big fight. Don t call us!!

GC and Capn U played simultaneously. GC recorded a very convincing 3  0 victory, outclassing his opponent on the night. Capn U, nursing a dodgy left nether region, recorded a 3  1 victory despite some very strange let/stroke calls from Pops.

Capn U was quoted after the match saying  The Flyers are back, we are now firmly entrenched in the top half of the league after an indifferent start to the season. I have some concern over the form of the veteran Pops, he may need oiling and a visit to the recently inaugurated Moorefield s Eye Hospital Dubai at Dubai Healthcare City!!

As always the post match meal and company was superb. GC and Capn U kept up the LATB at the Somerset Arms!!

(Flyers match report for 29/4/08 courtesy of the indomitable Captain Underpants)

The Flyers soar again!

The glint was unmistakable. And it wasn't from the canine of the ever present Dr. Evil. Oh no! This was the glint of a precision instrument crafted from surgical stainless steel...

It was clinical. Much like one of those uncomfortable procedures, the mere thought of which grips all men in a clammy grasp of cold sweat. Such was the demise of the Sharjah Wanderers!

It all began with a sense of foreboding... Edouardo suggesting that there was something wrong with the ball. That was attended to lickity snip! Druncan 3, Edouardo zip! Having set the precedent any thought of mercy from the hand of Pieman was naive. Raj was deftly tied up in knots. Pieman 3, Raj 0.

Debs/D23DB (or whatever he is nowadays) sorted out the loose ends... D23DB 3, Pieter 0 but it was the masterly performance of "Pops" that sealed the deal. After a wobbly start at two games down the veteran rendered his opponent "prostrate" with an impressive performance. Pops 3, Phil 2.

All was forgiven and bruised egos restored at a very enjoyable post match fizzy hops juice!

(Meanwhile, throughout the above drama, Dr. Evil and Dr. Captain Underpants were busy (at a very close venue) diagnosing the Chairman's pulled muscle, and analysing whether "Really Cold" actually means 'REALLY COLD'. This of course, took a lot of time, so they missed much (all) of the match action, but apparently supported the Flyers as a VLATB club.)

Al Nasr Leisureland Tournaments

DUBAI, 16 April 2008 - Al Nasr Leisureland organised UAE Casamia Star Womens Open, Womens Amateur, and Junior Under-15 and Under-11 Open squash tournaments, a Press release said.

Tournaments were sponsored by Casamia Star Gesamtplanung Real Estate and Prince.

As many as 32 players in women's section and 129 in junior section participated in this mega Squash Event.

Sangeeta Surana (India) made the biggest upset yesterday night in the Casamia Star Womens Open squash tournament 2008 when she beat Erin Clarke (Australia) in the final 3-0. Erin couldn't settle because Sangeeta student of Pro Faheem Khan played good drop shots from the begging.

In the Womens Amateur squash tournaments, Dr. Jamaila Shukla (India) beat Hanan El Din Saad (Egypt) 3-1. Under-15 junior open squash tournament final was won by Shobit Gupta (India) who beat Aviroop Goshal (India) 3-1. Saif Salem beat Hady Essam 3-0 for under-11 honours.

Maqbool takes 29th National Squash Title

Just a week before his 20th birthday Abu Dhabi born, UAE national number one Khawaja Adil Maqbool celebrated his 29th National Senior title by winning the Dunlop and Sri Lankan Airlines backed UAE National Men s PSA Challenger Series No. I which was held at the Lifestyle Health Club, City Center Hotel and Residence.

Top seed Maqbool, based in Ajman, who is currently a Bachelors student of IT at the Preston University, faced UAE Number 4 Saqbib rafi in the climax of the PSA Challenger Men s Super Division Event.

The Preston University student Maqbool went on to demolish his opponent in a ons sided match which went on for less than 30 mintues, with Maqbool winning the match 11-1, 11-1 and 11-2.

 I was really very tired the day before in the semis but today I rested well and since it was my last match before I am to leave for Pakistan to play in an international championship, I gave it all I had and the score reflects one of my best scores in National Squash. I played a very tight game and all my shots worked. I am glad to win another final and hopefully will be able to perform well I Islamabad as well next week, added Adil after the final.

Maqbool now travels to Islamabad to participate in the 25000 dollar CAOS Open Championship. He is scheduled to play the World Number 25 Jonathan Kemp in the Pre. Quarter Finals.

Maqbool, formerly ranked Number one is the world in the Under 13, 15 and 17 age groups, plans on playing squash full time from June onwards after rasching a careere high world ranking of 75 this month,  I am going to Egypt in the summer again to train for the British Open and the World Open later this year.

Asif Khan beat UAE Number 2 Aamir Khan 3-1 in the 3rd and 4th place playoffs.

Division 1:

In the Men s Division 1 final Usman Basarat took a one game lead before 16 year old ADCO s Ahmed Farooq fought beak to level the match with a 11-7 win in the second. Basarat then regained his composure to take the next two games 11-8, 11-5 to win his maiden Division 1 title.

Gavin Piddington beat Ahmed Dada 3-1 in the 3rd and 4th place playoffs.

Division 2:

The Men s Division 2 final saw the most closely contested match of the evening with undeeded Mohd. Asif Bhatti toppling the top seed Hisham Badr in a thrilling five setter. The first two went to a tie break with Asif edging through to take the games 11-10(1-0) and 11-10(3-1) before Hisham fought back to level the match at 2-all taking the next two games 11-7 and 11-8. Asif came out string in the fifth winning 11-4 to take the title.

11 year old Sandeep Ramachandran finished third beating Elsharief Hassan 3-0 in the playoffs.

Commenting on the tournament, the chairman of the UAESRA Andy Stains expressed his delight on the fact that the top players of the country competed in it allowing the spectators of the use to watch some quality squash.

Umbro Isotonic Sports Drink is the official drink of the event with Sri Lankan Airlines as the main sponsor, and Jotun Paints the co-sponsor.

YEARS FIRST UAE NATIONAL JUNIOR SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP CONCLUDES

The first Dunlop and Sri Lankan Airlines backed UAE National Junior Squash Championship of the year 2008 which was being held at the Lifestyle Health Club, City Center Hotel and Residence got over with ten finals being played on the last day of the week long event.

The top ranked players of almost every age group managed to take their respective titles with Egyptian girl Cherifa abou Alghar being the only player to take home two titles. The young 8 year old got past Jaida Hammam and Diya Chopra to take the Girl s Under 11 and Under 13 titles respectively.

In the Girl s Under 9 event Jaida Hammam managed to secure the first position with Vaishvi Seth taking the second spot. Jaida also finished second in the Girl s Under 11 event ahead of Malak Elgohany who finished third.

In the Boy s Under 9 event which featured the youngest competitor of the event, 3 years old Adham Hammam, (Jaida Hamam s younger brother), Abu Dhabi s Egyptian brothers, Zeyad Hassanien and Hussein Hassanien took the first and second spot respectively with Mazen Mohsen finishing third.

The Boy s Under 11 saw Khalid Hamdy lift the title with Tanmay Das finishing second and Saif Salem third.

Sandeep Ramachandran prevented a clean sweep for the alghar family when he overcame Cherifa s older brother Adham Abou Alghar in the final of the Boy s Under 13 event. Abdul Rehman Hamdy finished third. In the Girl s Under 13, Cherifa Abou al ghar took the winner s trophy with Diya Chopra finishing second and Mennah Ayman third.

In the Under 15 Boy s Abu Dhabi s Mubarak Mohsin lifted the title defeating Adham Abou Algar while Sandeep Ramachandran finish third.

Khalid and Abdul Rehman s older sister added the Girl s Under 15 title to the Hamdy family s list beating Diya Chopra in the final. Abu Dhabi s Fatima Farooq finished third.

In the Under 17 Boy s Syed Ahmed Ali got the better of Mubarak Mohsin while Kshitig Aggarwal finished third. Trishya Reddy won the Under 17 Girl s defeating Neeraja Shankar in the final, while Basma Hamdy finished third.

One of the main attraction of the championship was that the junior players could accumulate points towards the newly launched the National Junior Squash Rankings.  We released the first UAE Junior Squash Rankings earlier this month based on the event we organized at the end of last year and looking at the entries at this year s first event one can see the positive effect the ranking has had on the players, said Maqbool Khawaja, the organizer of the championship.  We are planning on having another such event in the next two months.

 Last year Mr. Khawaja Maqbool organized four such events which grew with each time. Over 150 entries were received this time and this shows that the event is gaining popularity in the country which is a very positive sign, said Andy Stains, the Chairman of the UAE Squash Racquet Association.

Umbro Isotonic Sports Drink is the official drink of the event with Sri Lankan Airlines as the main sponsor, and Jotun Paints the co-sponsor.

Adil to play 30th consecutive National Final

16 year old Ahmed Farooq, of ADCO defeated Ahmed Dada in the Division one semi-final of the DUNLOP backed UAE National Men's PSA Challenger Series No. 1 being held at the Lifestyle Health Club, City Center Hotel and Residence.

Ahmed was very confident playing in his first senior tournament away from his home in Abu Dhabi fought till the very end to defeat Ahmed in three closely contested games. Ahmed won 11-10(1-0), 11-8, 11-7.

In the other semifinal Usman Basarat came back from two games down to beat Gavin Pinnington in five with a score of 9-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-2.

Super Division:

In the Sri Lankan Airlines backed Super Division, 19-year-old Preston University student Khawaja Adil Maqbool, the UAE men's Number 1 since 2001, got past Pakistan's Asif Khan in four games winning 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-9. Winning the final tomorrow will give Adil a record 29th National Title win.

In the other semifinal Saqib Rafi upset second seed Aamir Khan in four games winning 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-10(4-2). The match consisted of long and patient relliies, with Saqib winning at the end with a mistake from Aamir Khan.

Division 2:

Top seed Hisham Badr easily got past Elsharief Hassan 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 and Muhammad Bhatti ended the run of the talented 11 year old Sandeep ramanchadran winning in an epic five setter; 8-11, 11-3, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8.

The Chairman of UAE Squash Racquet Association, Andy Stains on this particular PSA event says, "Great to see a good level of squash played by a good mix of nationalities. And as chairman of UAE SRA, we are very pleased to have this tournament played here."

Umbro Isotonic Sports Drink is the official drink of the event with Sri Lankan Airlines as the main sponsor, and Juton Paints the co-sponsor.

Al Nasr Leisureland womens and mens Tournaments

Started from yesterday evening in AL NASR LEISURELAND squash club where different nationalities (INDIA, AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, PAKISTAN, EYGPT, ENGLAND, UAS AND UAE squash players are participating in this tournament.

Women squash Tournament Top seed player from MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA ERIN CLARKE said, I am really enjoying squash in Dubai, Dubai is beautiful and I am hoping to win and take the ANL women open squash trophy to AUSTRALIA after the tournament but I know I have to work hard for this trophy because in Q.final Lauren Brown (England) semifinal with Bernadette Freear (England) I hope I will meet tournament No 2 seeded squash player SANGEETA SURANA in the Final.

ERIN CLARKE beat Dr. JAIMALA SHUKLA From India and Doctor in Dubai.

In the ANL Amateur squash tournament top seed ASIF BHATTI will play his match today.

Tournaments are Sponsored By: CASAMIA STAR GESAMTPLANUNG REAL ESTATE DUBAI and Prince.

UAE National Junior Squash Championship gets underway.

The first national ranking junior squash tournament of the year, one of the biggest junior events in country ever with over 150 overall entries, got under way at the Lifestyle Health Club, City Centre Hotel and Residence, a Press release stated yesterday.

One of the main attractions of the junior championship is that since the UAE National Junior Ranking was launched earlier this month, this is the first event in which the junior can accumulate ranking points.

"We published the first UAE National junior ranking based on the results of the last tournament we organized in October last year and the response of juniors from all over the UAE is overwhelming. Compared to last event's 65 entries we have over 90 entries this time," said Maqbool Khawaja, the organizer. He is also coach of UAE's top men's (Khawaja Adil Maqbool) and women's players (Trishya Reddy), "I am very pleased that we have received such a positive response from the junior players in the UAE. I hope that such ranking tournaments will encourage juniors to train harder and play with more commitment as they will have a motivation of improving their ranking."

The tournament is being played in a round-robin format and will then move on to the semifinals and finals for the ten age groups, with an addition of the Boys and Girls under 9 categories this time.

There are separate age groups for boys and girls under the ages of 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17.

Dunlop is the title sponsor, Umbro Isotonic Sports Drink the official drink of the event along with Sri Lankan Airlines as the main sponsor, and Jotun Paints the co-sponsor.

Day 2 and 3: Sandeep and Hamdi continue to surprise, Farooq progresses.

11 year old Sandeep Ramachandran and 12 year old Abdul Rehman Hamdi continued their move towards a semifinal clash with each other with imposing wins over their senior opponents in the pre.quarterfinals of the Division 2 category of the UAE National Men's PSA Challenger Series No. 1 being held at the Lifestyle Health Club, City Center Hotel and Residence.

Egypt's Abdul Rehman Hamdi once again used his powerful drives and boasts to upset his Pakistani opponent, Nasim Ahmed, in a relatively short match winning 11-9m 11-3 and 11-7.

Playing in his first national men's event Hamdi overcame his nervousness in the first game once again and then dominated the next two games with his hard hitting play. "I am gaining confidence with each match. I played well today and hope I can play well tomorrow also as I have a really tough match."

A. Rehman now plays Mohd. Bhatti who upset the second seed Vettath Sukumarn in a see-saw five setter for a place in the semifinal.

India's Sandeep Ramachandram showed some of his good racquet skills in overcoming an older opponent, Mohd. Saleh Haji, in straight sets to book himself a place in the quarterfinal of his first national senior event. "I have a good chance of winning if I play well tomorrow, and I hope Abdul (Rehman) also wins so that we can play together." Sandeep and Abdul Rehman both train together with Khawaja Maqbool Ahmed, the father and coach of the UAE Men's Number one Khawaja Adil Maqbool.

In the other Division 2 matches top seed Hisham Badr got past Adham Coutry 3-0 and AUS student Elsharief Hassan overcame fellow AUS student Farhan Merchant for a place in the quarterfinal against Sarfraz Rao.

Super Division:

The Dunlop and Sri Lankan Airline's backed Men's Challenger Series started off with UAE Number 1 Khawaja Adil Maqbool brushing aside new comer Syed Hassan Ali 11-6, 11-2, and 11-8 in the first quarterfinal.

In the main round matches earlier new comer Neil Chambers beat Ahmed Jaffer 3-1 wheras Asif Khan got past Tony Webb in comfortable straight sets. Fourth seed Saqib Rafi got through to the quarters with a convincing 3-0 victory over Waqas Salahuddin and second seed Aamir Khan got the better of Moshin Mosa in straight sets in an all-Abu Dhabi tie.

Division 1:

In the Division-1 matches 16 year old Syed Ahmed Farooq, over came two hours of fatigue of coming from Abu Dhabi and got past Ashraf Amin in short but explosive 4 games which had a lot of attacking in it and then Mohd. S. Bahjat went down fighting the top seed Usman Basharat in straight sets.

Ahmed Dada and Gavin Pinnington on the other hand both had to go to the fifth to overcome their opponents Andrew Morley and Gerry Gibson, respectively, to book a place in the semifinals.

Umbro Isotonic Sports Drink is the official drink of the event with Sri Lankan Airlines as the main sponsor, and Jotun Paints the co-sponsor.

Day1: Teenagers Sandeep and Hamdi cause upsets

11 year old Sandeep Ramachandran and 12 year old Abdul Rehman Hamdi caused the main upsets in the first national junior and senior squash ranking tournament of the year as it kicked off at the Lifestyle Health Club, City Center Hotel and Residence yesterday with the Men's Division 1 and Division 2 first round matches.

Egypt's Abdul Rehman Hamdi caused the first upset of the tournament when he beat a much older fellow Egyptian, Ahmed Shindi, 11-9, 11-4 and 11-5. Playing in his first national men's event Hamdi overcame his nervousness in the first game and then dominated the next two games with his hard hitting play. "I am very happy with a win in my first match. I trained really hard and now it's helping me. I owe it to my mother's support."

Another teenager India's Sandeep Ramachandram also playing his first senior event overcame a much older opponent, Hisham Ycan with an identical 3-0 score. Sandeep seemed in control in the first game but then seemed to relax as Ycan tried to make a come back in the second and third game but eventually gave in to Sandeep's superior ball control. "I took it easy in the second a bit but then changed gear in the end of it and managed to win at the end. Just hope I can play well tomorrow as well and win, " said Sandeep after the match.

The Dunlop and Sri Lankan Airline's backed Men's Challenger Series started off with UAE Number 1 Khawaja Adil Maqbool brushing aside Muhammed Atiq in straight sets in the first match of the evening for a place in the quarterfinal of the Super Men's Division.

In the other Division-2 matches Anurag Uniyal beat Taher Surti in a closely fought match with a score of 11-10(3-1) in the fifth. American University's Elsharief Hassan beat Ahmed Zeeshan 3-1 and another AUS student Adham Courty beat Kevin O Connor 3-0. Ahmed Abou Alghar and Mohd. Bhatti beat Ali Mohsin and Sharif Waquib 3-0 respectively. Sarfraz Rao edged past AUS student Saeed al-Mazroui in a tense 3-2 match.

In the Division-1 matches Mohd. S. Bahjat got past David Cowie with a 3-1 score and Gavin Pinnington beat Fabien Maupas 3-0.

Umbro Isotonic Sports Drink is the official drink of the event with Sri Lankan Airlines as the main sponsor, and Jotun Paints the co-sponsor.

Al Nasr Leisureland Tournaments

Cherifa Abouelghar (Egypt Under 11 Champion in action at ANL)

The Dark Side

Adil Makes it to Final Qualifying of Canadian Classic

Dubai based Adil Maqbool reached the final qualifying round of his final tournament in his North American tour of 2008. Playing in the prestigious $60,000 Canadian Squash Classic being held Toronto, Canada, Adil overcame a much older and experienced opponent in a relatively short match.

The Preston University student drew Australia's Wada Johnstone who is currently ranked 81 in the world and is also a member of the Australian National Squash Team. Adil won the first game with a comfortable 11-8 margin and then went on to take the second 11-9. the third was the longest and the closest game of the match with Adil finally won on tie breaker witha final score of 13-11.

"I found my pace early in the match today and after a few points i was really confident with my shots. Winning three games to love against Wade is really a good result for me as he is quite experienced and is well known for his comebacks."
†
"I have reached the main round of all the four events i have played on this tour and hopefully tomorrow I will be able to make it through another main round."

Adil now plays the world number 40, Canadian number 2 Shawn deLiere for a place in the main round.

Adil has enjoyed a fairly successful month in the North American region finishing in the top 17 of the Tournament Of Champions, and in the top 9 of the Vancouver Open, The Washington Open and the Halifax Open, which has seen him reach a career high ranking of 76 in this months published Professional Squash Rankings.

This is Adil's last event before he heads back to Dubai for a few weeks rest† folowed by a few weeks of training before the Kuwait Open in April.

REALLY Old News...