Squash: Suraj Chand quells Menshawy challenge in PSA Challenger Tour event in Kolkata
Kolkata, Aug 11
Fresh from winning the singles title in the World University Squash Championship, fourth seed Suraj Kumar Chand overcame Egypt's Hassan Menshawy in a 73-minute-long five-game thriller 11-4, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-8 in the men's pre-quarterfinals of the HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour in Kolkata on Tuesday.
In another engrossing five-game contest, Sandhesh Palanivel Ravikumar rallied from 2-0 down to beat sixth seed Ayaan Vaziralli 6-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 and advance to the men's quarters.
In women's, top seed Tanvi Khanna moved to the quarters with a straight-games win over Vasundhara Nangare.
Earlier, Arihant K.S. defeated Switzerland's Leandro Mannhart 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4 in the men's singles opening round 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.
Results (pre-quarterfinals, Indians unless specified):
Men: 8-Om Semwal bt Ravi Dixit 11-6, 12-10, 12-14, 11-2; Sandhesh Palanivel Ravikumar bt 6-Ayaan Vaziralli 6-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7; 1-Mohamed Gohar (Egy) bt Arihant KS 12-10, 11-2, 11-6; 4-Suraj Kumar Chand bt Hassan Menshawy (Egy) 11-4, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-8; 2-Ahmed Said Sobhy (Egy) bt Deepak Mandal 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-4; 5-Hazem Hossam (Egy) bt Rahul Baitha 6-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-5; 3-Seif Refaay (Egy) bt Fabian Igelbrink (Ger) 11-1, 11-3, 11-4; Shaurya Bawa bt 7-Islam Kouritam (Egy) 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-3.
Women: 3-Sohayla Hazem (Egy) bt 8-Anjali Semwal 11-4, 12-10, 11-5; Ananya Narayanan bt Rani Gupta 11-4, 11-1, 11-5; 1-Tanvi Khanna bt Vasundhara Nangare 11-3, 11-6, 11-7; 7-Nirupama Dubey bt Vyomika Khandelwal 11-8, 11-5, 11-4; 4-Karolina Sramkova (Cze) bt Reiva Nimbalkar 11-4, 11-2, 12-10; 2-Menna Walid (Egy) bt Anika Dubey 12-10, 11-6, 12-10; 7-Unnati Tripathi bt Sahana Kalaivanan 11-1, 11-3, 11-5; 5-Rathika Seelan bt Pooja Arthi Raghu 11-1, 11-2, 11-3.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great to see so many Indians doing well at home! Sandhesh's comeback from 2-0 down shows immense mental toughness. And Tanvi Khanna cruising through as top seed is excellent. Squash is growing in India, and events like these in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai are exactly what we need to nurture talent.
Egyptians dominating as usual though — 3 of the top 4 seeds are from Egypt. But that's good for our players, they get to test themselves against the best right here at home. Suraj beating one of them in the pre-quarters is a big statement. Keep it up, champ! 💪
The prize money of $9,000 each for men and women is a good step, but honestly, for a PSA Challenger event it's still modest. Our players hustle so hard, and compared to what top international players earn, there's a long way to go. But these events are building blocks — glad to see HCL supporting the sport.
Arihant gave a good fight against the Egyptian top seed but lost 2-3 in the end. Still, competing with these international players week after week is how our guys will improve. The depth in Indian squash is clearly improving — so many names in the quarters from our country!
So happy to see the women's section getting equal prize money! 👏 And Tanvi Khanna just steamrolled through her match 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 — no messing around. The future of Indian squash looks bright, especially with these players getting international exposure right on home soil
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