Indian challenge ends in squash, top seeds through to last 8

Tue, Oct 05 10 10:52 PM

Sabi Hussain New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) It was curtains for India in the singles event after national champions Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa went down fighting to their respective opponents in the pre-quarters of the men''s and women''s squash in the Commonwealth Games here today. World No. 26 and the country''s top ranked player, Ghosal lost 5-11 9-11 13-11 5-11 to third seed Englishman Peter Barker in the men''s event, while Chinappa gave a glimpse of her fighting abilities before going down to world No. 1 Malaysian Nicol David 5-11 10-12 7-11 in the last-16 stage held at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. All top seeded men including world No. 2 Nick Matthew, Australia''s Cameron Pilley and Stewart Boswell and women racqueters Alison Waters, Jenny Duncalf and Jaclyn Hawkes advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles event, winning their respective matches on the second day of the championship. In the match between Ghosal and Barker, the Englishman was severly tested by the 24-year-old Kolkata player. Ghosal, who was classy in his approach and execution of shots and dead drops for winners, never let his opponent breathe easy. For a sportsman, defeat often lays the foundation for future success, and the silver lining, in this case, was that Ghosal had a great opportunity today to learn in defeat. In the first game, Ghosal showed his athleticism with soft drop shots and dying length to the back corners but that did not prove sufficient as he lost 5-11 in just 8 minutes. The secong game saw some excellent volleys and good groundstrokes, and at one stage, both players were locked 9-9. But a slight error of judgement on Ghosal''s part saw Barker take the lead and race away to a 11-9 win. At the break, national coach Cyrus Poncha was seen suggesting some drills to Ghosal, looking for his first career win over Barker, to remedy specific weaknesses and validate his ideas. That brief interaction worked as Ghosal brought to his game some innovation while adding new shots to to his repertoire. In the third game, Ghosal unleashed shots that worked for him. He made excellent use of both forehand and backhand sides and saved two match balls against the third seed before taking the third game to 13-11. But luck, it seemed, was not on Ghosal''s side, and he failed to rise to the occassion, going down fighting in a keenly-fought encounter that lasted about an hour. Such was Ghosal''s never-ending effort and dedication that, at one stage, it got to the his opponent -- during the fourth game, Barker got into a heated argument with the referee over a point that was awarded to the Indian. "It was close in the fourth, but in the end, he defended well and just ended up winning more points. I started pretty well but as the match progressed, I found the going tough," said a disappointed Ghosal. .

Source: Published>