Friday, Apr 26, 2024 | Last Update : 07:02 AM IST
Vikram sets squash courts on fire
The Mumbai born squash player has won PSA titles in Canada and USA after turning full time Pro at the start of the season.
Vikram Malhotra was a regular at the Mumbai squash courts in the junior tournaments and made smooth transition to senior level before moving to United States for higher education. His brush with squash which he has been playing since the age of nine continued. He wasn't regular at the PSA (Professional Squash Association) circuit but he continued to compete in odd tournaments to keep himself going.
He started the year with the Atlanta Open win and represented India at the GoldCoast Commonwealth Games. He turned full time professional at the start of new season and is setting the squash court on fire.
He has won two PSA titles in two weeks. He had won a PSA Challenger event in Canada a week earlier and added one more to his kitty over the weekend with the triumph in the Texas Open, a PSA challenger. He beat Daniel Mekbeb of Czeck Republic over five games 11-6, 2-11, 5-11, 15-13, 11-1. This was Vikram's eighth PSA title overall in his career thus far and third this year.
The fourth seeded Indian, who moved ahead after a first-round bye, got past three players enroute to the final. His second round victim was Syed Hamzad Bukhari of Pakistan, followed by Reuben Phillips of England in the quarterfinals and another Pakistani Shahjahan Khan, the 8th seed in the semi-final 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6.
Incidentally the top seed in this event was another US based Indian player Ramit Tandon but he conceded his match in the quarter final to Shahjahan Khan, Vikram's sem-final victim.
Incidentally in PSA Challenger event in Canada, seeded four, Vikram fought his way past the third seed and world junior champion Mostafa Asal of Egypt 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 to win the Aspin Cup 2018, a PSA challenger tour event at Charlottetown.
Vikram had finished semi-finalist in another PSA event just a few days earlier in Ontario.
“Really happy to have won my PSA World Tour Title. Winning the Aspin Cup 2018 was extremely special as it’s my first title as a full time Pro. I want to thank everyone from around the world who sent me messages and wished me luck through every stage of this event,” Malhotra posted on social media.
