Indian squash players at the 18th Asian Squash Team Championships in Chinese Taipei had mixed fortunes on Saturday as the women upset the top seeds 2-1 to reach the final but the men lost their semi-final 1-2 to Pakistan.
The team captain Harinderpal Sandhu was the lone winner from the Indian side after prevailing 4-11, 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6 over the 55th ranked Farhan Zaman. The young Kush Kumar was not so lucky as he went down fighting 7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-13, 3-11 in a thrilling encounter against fellow 19-year-old Tayyab Aslam.
With the scores tied, it was all left to the 18-year-old Velavan Senthilkumar. The U-19 national champion fought hard but eventually succumbed to a 5-11, 5-11, 11-5, 5-11 defeat to Farhan Mehboob, who is currently 193 places higher than the Indian.
Early in the morning on Saturday, there was great delight for the Indian contingent as the country’s top two women stars combined to give India a win over the top seeds Hong Kong. After the 21-year-old Sachika Ingale lost her match, the two veterans – Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal – put in their very best for the big win.
In the summit showdown on Sunday, they will meet Malaysia against whom they lost their group match narrowly just a couple of days back.
