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Indian squash players will look to continue making an impact at World Series events when the third WS event of the season – the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open 2015 – will get underway on November 29. Deemed as one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year, the Hong Kong Open will see the world’s top 30 players vying for the title in its 30th year on the tour.
Here's a look at the draws of the top Indian players:
Saurav Ghosal
The top Indian trio of Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, all of whom are ranked within the top 20, have thus secured their places in the main draw. The Kolkata-born World No. 17 Ghosal will kickstart his challenge against the 31-year-old South African Steve Coppinger who is placed at No. 14 in the rankings. Saurav last met Coppinger at home in the semi-finals of the Kolkata International and prevailed in straight games.
That should give the India No. 1 a huge boost as he embarks on his journey at the Hong Kong Open. The road gets tougher from thereon for Saurav as he has the World No. 1 Mohamed Elshorbagy as his potential second round rival. However, the Egyptian recently suffered a demoralizing third round loss at the World Championships earlier this month and hence it would be interesting to see if Saurav, who reached the second round at the World Championship, can capitalize on the Egyptian’s vulnerability to progress.
Ghosal’s first round match is scheduled on Tuesday.
Joshna Chinappa
The two Indian girls – World No. 14 Dipika Pallikal and the 17th ranked Joshna Chinappa – return after a well-deserved break of about a month. The 29-year-old Chinappa has been dishing out some impressive performances lately but none was as big as the stunner she delivered against the World No. 1 Raneem El Welily in the first round of the Qatar Classic. Chinappa, who admittedly is feeling more relaxed on the court these days, should be inspired by that upset victory and look to carry on in the same vein.
She begins her campaign against the third seed Camille Serme of France. Her last meeting with the Frenchwoman did not go down well as she was sent packing in straight games at the World Team Championship last December. However, the Chennai girl is a different player now and if she can bring forth her brand of aggressive and solid squash once again, then no opponent is tough enough for her. Her second round opponent should be the winner of the contest between Annie Au and Habiba Mohamed, each of whom lost to the Indian national champion in their last encounters.
Chinappa’s opening round will take place on Wednesday.
Dipika Pallikal
Dipika Pallikal perhaps has the toughest job out of the trio as she is up against the seventh seed and World No. 8 Nour El Sherbini in the first round. One of the brightest young talents on the Tour, the 20-year-old Sherbini’s rise has been phenomenal as she has now cemented her place within the top 10.
The Egyptian has been in sparkling form lately and has won the Carol Weymuller Open, besides reaching this month’s Qatar Classic final. En route to the summit clash in Doha, she even toppled the legendary Nicol David.
Naturally, this is a huge challenge for Pallikal but the 24-year-old Indian too is slowly finding her feet on the court again. The former top 10 player has been showing flashes of her brilliance as evidenced by her quarter-final appearance at the US Open in October. Plus, Dipika managed to take a game off the Egyptian in their most recent meeting at the Texas Open in 2014.
If the World No. 14 can summon her fighting spirit to see off Sherbini, her probable opponent in the second round will be the 16th ranked Emma Beddoes.
Pallikal’s first round is scheduled on Wednesday.
3 Indians in qualifying draw
The qualifying rounds of this tournament will take place from November 29-30 which will see three Indians chasing a main draw berth. World No. 57 Mahesh Mangaonkar will take on 17-year-old local player Matthew Lai in his first round of qualifying.
Harinder Pal Sandhu comes into this tournament on the back of a confidence-boosting display at the World Championship where he qualified for the main draw. The 26-year-old, who has been training with former World No. 1 David Palmer, will hope to build on it further at the Hong Kong Open. He faces the 227th ranked David Clegg in his opener.
The third Indian in qualifying is the promising 20-year-old New Delhi girl, Janet Vidhi. The World No. 182 has a tough proposition as she begins against the 49th ranked Christine Nunn of Australia.
