Baitha clinches men’s squash title

Dev Mour, director of Skuccii clinic, presents the NSCI winner’s trophy to Rahul Baitha (right) on Wednesday

Thane-based Rahul Baitha justified his top seeding by clinching the men's title at the 7th NSCI Squash Open on Wednesday. Interestingly, Baitha, 24, was given top billing after Hangzhou Asian Games team gold medal-winning player Abhay Singh withdrew due to a twisted ankle last week. In the final, Baitha registered a 3-2 win over third seed Om Semwal. In the semi-finals, he defeated fourth seed Vaibhav Porwal 3-2.

Baitha felt Singh's presence in the tournament would have been great for the juniors and him too. "All my matches were okay, no one troubled me but they were all good matches. Of course, playing Abhay [Singh] in the tournament would have been great, not just for the juniors, but me as well," Baitha, a JSW academy kid, who now trains at the Top Squash Academy under Kunal Singh, told www.mid-day.com.

Also Read: Injured Abhay Singh withdraws from NSCI Squash Open

Baitha, who completed his B Com from the William Carey University in Shillong via correspondence, said his ultimate aim is to represent the country at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. Talking about his journey, Baitha said: "I started playing when I was 10. I have represented India 12 times, played Asian Juniors, World Juniors, British Juniors, World Team, Asian Senior individual, Asian Senior Team Championship. But now I wish to represent the country at the Commonwealth Games and Olympics."

When asked about his favourite player, he replied: "It has to be [Egyptian-English player] Mohmmad El Shorbagy. He is the best in the world. The qualities that I like about him the most are that he is a real fighter and has motivated so many players in their journey. He never gives up and is the real beast,"explained Baitha.