Indian trio of Chinappa, Pallikal and Ghosal perform well at US Open

Clockwise from top right – Chinappa, Pallikal and Ghosal each put in strong fights at the Open

The three leading Indian squash professionals – Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa – are indeed good ambassadors of Indian squash.

Not only are they busy plying their trade but yearn to keep the Indian flag flying high.

If it is Ghosal who catches the eye of spectators on one occasion, Pallikal and Chinappa’s achievements command attention elsewhere; for example, what happened at the US Open in Philadelphia over last week.

Pitted against the eventual winner Gregory Gaultier of France in the very first round of the 64-player draw, Ghosal was immediately under pressure. World No 3 Gaultier, however, needed close to an hour to work out his 11-5, 11-6, 12-10 win over the Indian.

However the two ladies showed a lot more resilience. Though Chinappa registered a creditable win over Hong Kong’s Annie Au for a quarterfinal berth, she was stopped in her tracks (12-10, 11-6, 11-5) by the ruthless power of Omneya Kawy of Egypt.

Pallikal brushed aside former world number 4 Joelle King (New Zealand) in an extended first round (8-11, 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9) before producing another brilliant show to defeat 4th seeded Alison Waters of England (9-11, 11-5,3-11, 11-1, 11-6) to enter the semi-finals. Another five-game battle, however, went the other way (9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 2-11, 11-3) but the Indian has given sufficient notice of her growing confidence to take on the best.