Squash: Arihant, Pooja Raghu advance in PSA Challenger Tour event in Kolkata
Kolkata, Aug 10
Arihant K.S. defeated Switzerland's Leandro Mannhart 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4 in the men's singles opening round of the HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour Event in Kolkata on Monday.
In women's first-round action, Pooja Arthi Raghu rallied to beat Kaashvi Mangal 13-15, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9. Another Indian player, Ananya Narayanan defeated Aahana Singh 8-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-8 while Vasundhara Nangare got the better of compatriot Janet Vidhi 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.
The event has a prize fund of $9,000 for the men's section while in the women's section, the prize money is $9,000.
The HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour has so far organised events in Indore, Mumbai, and Chennai, and is now in the Kolkata leg.
India's hopes in the men's section will depend on Suraj Kumar Chand, who is seeded fourth, and Om Semwal, who is ranked eighth eighth while Rahul Baitha, and Sandhesh Palanivel Ravikumar, are just outside the top-10.
In the women's section, India's Tanvi Khanna is the top seed while Rathika Suthanthira Seelan and Akanksha Salunke are seeded fifth and sixth, with Nirupama Dubey seeded seventh. Unnati Tripathi is the other Indian in the top10.
Results (Indians unless specified):
Men: Hassan Menshawy (Egy) bt Vedant Patel 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6; Ravi Dixit bt Pardeep Malik 11-8, 11-8, 11-6; Arihant KS bt Leandro Mannhart (Sui) 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4; Sandhesh Palanivel Ravikumar bt Harshal Rana 11-9, 12-10, 11-9; Fabian Igelbrink (Ger) bt Adarsh Banodha 11-6, 11-5, 11-8; Rahul Baitha bt Rounak Yadav 11-6, 11-5, 11-9; Deepak Mandal bt Miguel Mathis (Sui) 11-7, 11-5, 4-11, 11-4; Shaurya Bawa bt Mohit Bhatt 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-2.
Women: Pooja Arthi Raghu bt Kaashvi Mangal 13-15, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9; Reiva Nimbalkar bt Arnaa Dwivedi 11-5, 11-8, 11-8; Ananya Narayanan bt Aahana Singh 8-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-8; Anjali Semwal bt Bria Sharma 11-7, 11-1, 11-6; Vyomika Khandelwal bt Goushika M retd; Vasundhara Nangare bt Janet Vidhi 11-8, 11-5, 11-5; Anika Dubey bt Aryaa Dwivedi 11-9, 11-7, 11-6; Sahana Kalaivanan bt Rani Gupta 11-1, 11-2, 11-2.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Pooja Arthi Raghu's 5-game thriller against Kaashvi was edge-of-the-seat stuff! Coming back from 1-2 down to win 11-9 in the decider shows incredible character. This is how champions are made. Also nice to see the prize money equal for men and women - $9,000 each. That's the way forward! 👏
Good exposure for Indian players on the Challenger circuit. The depth in women's squash in India is really improving - 8 Indians in the main draw is no small feat. Hopefully this translates into better performances at the Asian level.
Honestly, while I'm happy about the wins, I wish our male players could do better against foreign opponents. Only Arihant beat a Swiss player today, and that too after dropping a game. We need more international exposure, not just domestic Challenger events. The gap between our top players and the world's best is still quite visible.
Amazing to see Sahana Kalaivanan winning 11-1, 11-2, 11-2! That's a dominant performance. And Vasundhara didn't drop a game either. The future of Indian women's squash looks very bright. Tanvi Khanna as top seed should ideally go all the way - all the best to her! 💪
Good initiative by HCL to take squash beyond the metros - Indore, Mumbai, Chennai, and now Kolkata. But $9,000 prize money for a Challenger event is quite modest. If we really want to compete at the highest level, corporate sponsors need to step up with bigger purses and better training facilities for juniors
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