RESULTS: Men's Indian Squash Challenger No7, Kolkata, India
1st round:
[1] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7 (60m)
[8] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (42m)
[3] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-2, 11-9, 11-7 (28m)
[5] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9 (59m)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Max Lee (HKG) 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8 (48m)
[4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Siddharth Suchde (IND) 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (42m)
[6] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (33m)
[2] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [Q] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6 (59m)
Women's WISPA Indian Challenger No5, Kolkata, India
1st round:
[1] Sharon Wee (MAS) bt Nada Elkalaawy (EGY) 12-10, 11-1, 11-6 (23m)
[7] Aparajitha Balamurukan (IND) bt Harshit Kaur Jawanda (IND) 11-2, 14-12, 11-4 (15m)
[4] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt Zephanie Curgenven (ENG) 11-3, 11-2, 12-10 (24m)
[5] Anaka Alankamony (IND) bt Surbhi Misra (IND) 8-11, 14-16, 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (38m)
Gaby Schmohl (SUI) bt [8] Anwesha Reddy (IND) 2-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-2 (27m)
[3] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Maggy Marshall (AUS) 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6 (36m)
[6] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt Catalina Pelaez (COL) 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 (37m)
[2] Emma Beddoes (ENG) bt Ankita Sharma (IND) 11-2, 11-7, 11-6 (20m)
India's Saurav Ghosal marked a successful return to the city of his birth today (Wednesday) when he beat Australian Aaron Frankcomb in straight games in the first round of the Men's Indian Challenger No7, the $50,000 PSA World Tour squash event at The Calcutta Racket Club in Kolkata.
It took the country's 23-year-old national champion just 42 minutes to win 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 and book a berth in the quarter-finals – Frankcomb simply having no answers to his winners and precise drop-shots.
The first game was just a mere formality as Frankcomb was all at sea, adjusting to the pace and bounce of the court before committing plenty of unforced errors. The world number 43 from Hobart did put up a fight in the second game to take a 4-2 lead. But the Australian squandered the advantage, while Ghosal lifted his game during crucial periods to pile on the agony.
However, Ghosal’s real test lies in the next round when he locks horns with top seed Adrian Grant, the Englishman who beat fellow countryman Chris Simpson 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7 in 60 minutes.
"I need to play much better than how I did today," explained Ghosal. "It’s important not to let Adrian gain his rhythm. I will have to create a structure that puts Adrian out of his comfort zone," he stressed.
Second seed Cameron Pilley eased into the last eight with an 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6 win over Malaysian qualifier Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan. The Australian will now face England's sixth seed Jonathan Kemp.
There was a sole upset in the Women's $8,000 WISPA Indian Challenger No5 when unseeded Swiss player Gaby Schmohl defeated local hope Anwesha Reddy, the No8 seed from Chennai, 2-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-2.
But both local favourites Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal had easy rides in the first round. Pallikal, the 18-year-old fourth seed from Chennai, made short work of England’s Zephanie Curgenven, brushing her aside 11-3, 11-2, 12-10 in just 24 minutes.
Third seed Chinappa, the reigning Indian women's national champion from Chennai, had a minor hiccup in the second game, but went on to beat Australian Maggy Marshall 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6.
Men's quarter-final line-up:
[1] Adrian Grant (ENG) v [8] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[3] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) v [5] Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
[4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) v [7] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[2] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [6] Jonathan Kemp (ENG)
Women's quarter-final line-up:
[1] Sharon Wee (MAS) v [7] Aparajitha Balamurukan (IND)
[4] Dipika Pallikal (IND) v [5] Anaka Alankamony (IND)
[3] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Gaby Schmohl (SUI)
[2] Emma Beddoes (ENG) v [6] Milou van der Heijden (NED)