The first semi-final match between BITS A and IIT Delhi kicked off the squash tournament’s final day. Only the teams and referee were present for the 10 am match. Applause heard was a bare minimum, i.e. cheers of teammates doing their part to keep the players’ morale up.

The first match was between Shrivas of BITS and Sunit of IIT Delhi. Sunit’s strategic placement left Shrivas gasping for breath as he ran across the court trying to catch up. Shrivas fumbled for the ball and hit the tin multiple times. Though Shrivas put up a good show for his first official tournament, he lost the first three sets and hence lost the match.

Arnab from BITS and Maithria from IIT D played the second match. It was an even fight but, Maithria trapped Arnab in the corners a couple of times, gaining crucial points. The first set ended with a score of 6-11 in favour of Maithria. In the second set, Arnab modified his strategy and used drops to tackle his opponent’s power shots tactic. Maithria fumbled around trying to pick up the slower ones. However, Arnab’s new tactic was not enough to secure him a win as he lost the second set as well. The third set got over quickly too and Maithria won the match.

BITS A’s captain Shreyas went up against Nirant from IIT Delhi in the third match. Nirant handled the racket like an extension of his hand, playing behind-the-back shots casually. Shreyas put up a good game and proved worthy of the title of captain but still wasn’t able to crack Nirant’s game. Shreyas played well in the second game and rallies stretched over a long time. The set ended with IIT Delhi’s player winning this one as well. The third game was a short one as with quick shots that ended with BITS A losing the fixture and IIT Delhi advancing to the finals.

Manipal beat BITS Goa in the second semi-final fixture. The bronze medal fixture was played between BITS A and BITS Goa, with BITS A securing third place in the tournament. Manipal rose as the victors in the finals against IIT Delhi.

“This year the competition is really good and we have gotten a lot of exposure. It’s not about the medal, it is all about the experience.” Shreyas said after his match.