Ahead of the new PSA season, World No. 10 squash ace Joshna Chinappa will be taking part in the inaugural Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) Invitational 2016 that will see six of the world’s top 20 players battling it out at the Nicol David Arena in the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. The event, that has already started on Wednesday, will continue till July 31.
Squash legend Nicol David, currently ranked fourth, herself is leading the Malaysian charge at this invitational tournament along with compatriot and World No. 18 Delia Arnold. The rest of the players participating are the India No. 1 Chinappa, the World No. 8 Omneya Abdel Kawy, the World No. 9 Joelle King and the 14th ranked Jenny Duncalf.
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The top two seeds – David and Kawy – head two groups in which the rest of the players have been divided. Group A has David along with Chinappa and Duncalf while Group B features Kawy, Arnold and King. After three days of group matches, the four best players will progress to the knock-out stage.
The event kicked off on Wednesday with a dominant win for the eight-time world champion David. The former World No. 1 produced a spirited display to beat Duncalf, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4. The second match was a contrasting one where the eighth-ranked Kawy of Egypt needed 52 minutes to edge past Arnold, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11.
The top-ranked Indian Joshna Chinappa will begin her campaign on Thursday against David and the day’s other match will see Kawy taking on King.
About the upcoming clash with Joshna, Nicol David has said: “I’ve been training hard to be prepared for the new season, I just want to do well. I’m really excited to play Joshna, who I haven’t played for a while. I’m looking forward to it.”
