Tanvi, Suraj bow out in semis of Squash PSA Challenger Tour in Kolkata
Kolkata, Aug 13
Women's top seed Tanvi Khanna and men's fourth seed Suraj Kumar Chand bowed out in the semifinals of the HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour event in Kolkata on Thursday.
Tanvi went down to Egyptian third seed Sohayla Hazem 11-6, 2-11, 7-11, 7-11, while Chand lost to Mohamed Gohar, the Egyptian top seed, winning 11-8, 11-2, 11-7.
Earlier, Chand, who won the World University Championships singles crown recently, beat eighth-seed compatriot Om Semwal in four games to reach the semifinals. He 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 pre-quarterfinals.
Earlier on Tuesday, Suraj 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.
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 the women's section, top seed Tanvi Khanna moved to the quarters with a straight-games win over Vasundhara Nangare. She then defeated sixth-seed compatriot Nirupama Dubey in straight games in the quarterfinals before falling to third seed Egyptian Sohayla in the semifinals.
In Friday's all-Egypt finals, Sohayla will take on second seed Menna Walid for the women's title, while Gohar will meet third seed Seif Refaay for the men's crown.
The event has a prize fund of USD 9,000 for the men's section, while in the women's section, the prize money is USD 9,000. The HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour has so far organised events in Indore, Mumbai, and Chennai, and is now in Kolkata in its India leg. The HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour is the second rung of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour with events spread all over major countries.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great fight by Suraj to come through those tough five-game matches earlier in the tournament. Egyptians are always strong in squash, but our players are gaining valuable experience on the PSA tour. Proud of their effort!
Egyptians dominating as usual in squash, but the encouraging part is seeing Indians like Sandhesh making a comeback from 2-0 down! That shows mental toughness. More exposure to such international events will only help our players.
Tanvi played really well to beat two Indians in straight games before meeting the Egyptian. The gap is closing, but we need more funding and better training facilities for squash in India. Kudos to HCL for organizing these events in our country!
Solid performance from both Indian players despite the semifinal losses. The all-Egypt finals show their dominance, but events like this in Kolkata are great for growing the sport in India. Progress, not perfection.
Disappointing exits, but let's be honest - the Egyptians are world-class in this sport. Suraj's run to the semis, including that epic 73-minute win, deserves a lot of applause. The future looks promising for Indian squash. 💪
While it's sad to see our players bow out,
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