CHENNAI, JUN 14 (PTI) India blanked South Africa 4-0 to sail into the semifinal of the SDAT WSF Squash World Cup, here on Wednesday.
Wins for Tanvi Khanna, Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinnapa and Abhay Singh ensured that the hosts had no trouble disposing off the South African challenge.
India will now battle it out with Japan for the top spot in Pool B.
In front of a passionate home crowd at Chennai’s Express Avenue Mall, the hosts were in top form as the No 2 seeds India kept themselves top of Pool B taking maximum points from South Africa.
Tanvi Khanna looked excellent in the first match as she powered past Hayley Ward.
The 26-year-old was in good touch as she comfortably took the first two games 7-4, 7-2.
Ward came back with a 7-3 win in the third game, but could do nothing to stop a fired-up Khanna from sealing the match with a 7-2 win.
In the second match, Indian No. 1 Saurav Ghosal was put through a test by Dewald van Niekirk.
In the opening stages of the first game, the South African dealt better with the fast conditions on court – which saw the ball flying off the front wall with pace – before Ghosal adjusted to clinch the game on a thrilling sudden death tiebreak 7-6.
From here, the Indian No. 1 – whose already substantial home support had been further bolstered after informing the referee that his own point should have been a let – pushed on well.
The 36-year-old looked more comfortable as he took the second game 7-4, before driving on in the third to end the match in 25 minutes with a 7-1 win.
Up next for India, Ghosal’s fellow former World No. 10 Joshna Chinappa gave India a 3-0 lead with a 3-1 win over Lizelle Muller.
Chinappa looked the better player in the first two games as she took a 2-0 lead with 7-4, 7-3 wins, but was pegged back in the third 3-7 by Muller.
After a conversation with coach Chris Walker, Chinappa came out well in the fourth game to put the match to bed with a 7-1 win.
In the closing match of the day, Abhay Singh ensured that India would remain unbeaten with a 3-1 win against Jean-Pierre Brits.
“I want to be the best there is, and the best there ever was, but I want to do it in the right way so that I’m remembered in the right way,” Ghosal said after the match
“For me, doing it the right way is very important. It helps me sleep better at night and I think it’s the most important thing in life, to be happy in life and do things in the correct way.”
Elsewhere in Pool B, No.3 seeds Japan came from one match down to beat Hong Kong, China.
In Pool A, defending champions and top seeds Egypt continued their good form with a 4-0 win over No.8 seeds Colombia, while No.4 seeds Malaysia beat No.5 seeds Australia 3-1.
Results: India beat South Africa 4-0 (Tanvi Khanna beat Hayley Ward 7-4, 7-2, 3-7, 7-2; Saurav Ghosal beat Dewald van Niekerk 7-6, 7-4, 7-1; Joshna Chinappa beat Lizelle Muller 7-4, 7-3, 3-7, 7-1; Abhay Singh beat Jean-Pierre Brits 7-4, 3-7, 7-6, 7-5). PTI
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