HCL-SRFI India Tour Successfully Concludes its Delhi Chapter

HCL, a leading global conglomerate, today announced the successful completion of the Delhi leg of the HCL-SRFI India Tour held from August 23-27 at Jaypee Greens Stadium at Greater Noida. Vikram Malhotra won the Squash championship in the men's category of $12k; while Meena Hamed from Egypt won the women's event of $6K.

Congratulating the winners of the HCL-SRFI India Tour, Sundar Mahalingam, Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Corporation said, "I am happy to see the spectacular performance of all the participating players. The level of the game played here makes me certain that tournaments like these are the key to nurturing future Indian Squash stars. The HCL-SRFI India Tour is a key initiative under the HCL Squash Podium Program, which is our joint effort with SRFI aiming to transform the Indian squash ecosystem and give our players the opportunity to improve their international ranking by playing more tournaments. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that we are able to support Indian players to finish at the podium."

Cyrus Poncha, Secretary-General, ‎Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) said, "I would like to congratulate the winners and all the other participants. I am delighted that the Indians have performed exceptionally well in this event winning 1 Gold and 2 Silvers. I truly believe that Indian Squash has a bright future and the stars of tomorrow will emerge from these events. With the successful completion of the first leg of the HCL-SRFI India Tour, we are now looking forward to the second PSA Championship to be organized in Chennai. Our association with HCL has been truly beneficial for the sport and I am confident that through our combined efforts we will enable will help nurture talented young players."

In a riveting match that lasted 42 minutes and was fought between two Indian players, Vikram Malhotra defeated Aditya Jagtap (11-6), (6-11), (11-6) and (11-5), winning the title in the men's category. Meanwhile, the women's finale lasted 36 minutes; wherein Meena Hamed emerged victorious after defeating Sunayna Kuruvilla in (11-9), (11-4) and (11-6). The winner of the women's event will find direct entry into the World Squash Championship to be held in Egypt in October this year.

The winners were felicitated by ace Badminton player and Arjuna Award Winner Ms Nelakurihi Sikki Reddy. She started playing Badminton at the age of nine and has won many awards and accolades in the Mixed Doubles category with her partner Mr Pranaav Jerry Chopra. She won Gold in the Commonwealth Games, SAF Games and Syed Modi Grand Prix; and Bronze each in the Asian Games, Japan Super Series and Uber Cup.