Top junior Mangaonkar to take part in Little Masters Squash

Mumbai: Mahesh Mangaonkar, who finished seventh in last year`s British Open for juniors, is among the leading participants in the Rs 2.69-lakh prize money Little Masters Junior Squash Tournament, to be held at the Willingdon Sports Club, Mahalaxmi here from January 12-16.

Mangaonkar, globally ranked 50th among under 17 boys, has been seeded number one in the under-17 as well as under-19 groups in the tournament, which has events for under-19, 17, 15, 13 and 11 for both boys and girls. India`s top junior Saumya Karki heads the seedings in the girls` under-19 section. The tournament has attracted 275 entries, with most out-of-state entries coming in from Tamil Nadu, said Ajoy Bhandare of the Willingdon Club at a press conference today. Among the fancied players from Tamil Nadu are S Velavan and R Aditya, the top and fourth seeds in under-13 boys, S Guhan and Velavan in under-15 in which they are the top two seeds, and Sai Meera and Aishwarya Nambiar – seeded two and three behind Saumya in under-19 girls group.The boys` winner of the under-19 event will take home Rs 40,000 while the corresponding girls` champion would be richer by Rs 25,000. The club will bid for the junior nationals scheduled later this year and also has plans to construct glass-backed courts, Bhandare said. PTI