Maharashtra's boys' under-13 top seed Veer Chotrani and under-17 second seed Yohan Pandole opened their campaigns with fluent wins, in the 70th CCI-Western India Open squash tournament that got under way at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) yesterday.
National champion Chotrani eased past Pranav Srinivas in straight sets to set up a quarter-final with state mate Yohann Poncha, while Pandole warmed up with a similar win over Anubhav Swara of Delhi to set up a pre-quarter-final with another Delhi lad Junaid Muzaffar.
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The other significant winners who advanced to the boys under-17 round of 16 were Vedant Baheti of MP and Pranav Bassi of Delhi who are seeded between five and eight.
“It was quite an easy first match for me, but I will have to prepare for a tougher challenge in the quarter-finals,” said Asian Junior silver medallist Chotrani. “I cannot be complacent in the future rounds because all the opponents will be formidable.”
Joining Chotrani in the last eight were Maharashtra lads Zahaan Motiwala and Vivaan Jaikishan.u00a0