The Indian women’s squash team knocked out defending champion Malaysia to enter the finals of the team squash event at the ongoing Asian Games.
Jakarta: The Indian women’s squash team knocked out defending champion Malaysia to enter the finals of the team squash event at the ongoing Asian Games. The Indian team, comprising of Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Sunayna Kuruvilla and Tanvi Khanna defeated Malaysia 2-0 to assure itself of at least a silver medal.
En-route to the Indian team winning the tie, Joshna Chinappa caused a huge upset by defeating the legendary Nicol David who is currently world no. 6, and widely regarded as one of the greatest women’s players ever. She beat David 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 9-11. Incidentally, Chinappa had defeated David for the first time in her career in April earlier this year, at the El Gouna International Squash Tournament in Egypt. It was then Dipika Pallikal Karthik’s turn to take over the mantle from Chinappa, as she beat Malaysian Open champion Low Wee Wern 2-11, 9-11, 6-11. Karthik’s win sealed the tie for India, who will now meet either one of Hong Kong or Japan in the final. Before this, Malaysia had never failed to win the women’s team gold at the Asian Games, ever since the event was introduced at the Guangzhou 2010 games. The Indian men’s squash team will play Hong Kong in the semifinals later in the day
Prasanta Patnaik