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Indian squash ace Joshna Chinappa celebrated her return to the top 20 rankings by stunning the seventh seed and World No. 13 Emma Beddoes 4-11, 16-14, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 in the first round of the Carol Weymuller Open in New York on Thursday. The win sealed her place in the quarter-finals of this prestigious $50,000 PSA meet.
Joshna had a 0-2 record against Beddoes before this
It was a tough match-up for Joshna as she had never beaten the Englishwoman before. With a 0-2 head-to-head record, Chinappa was up against the wall. But the Indian national champion had been having some good wins on the Tour in the recent few months and she used that confidence to steer the match successfully in her favour.
The match began with Beddoes totally in control of the opening game. With quick pace, she wrapped up the first game 11-4.
Joshna, who had qualified for this tournament, smartly started prolonging the rallies in the second game. That disrupted the Englishwoman’s normal rhythmmanaged to squeak out the tense second game 16-14.
The Indian World No. 20 was in total command in the forecourt and she grabbed the third game as well, by a score of 11-7. But 30-year-old Emma Beddoes is known for her fierce competitive spirit and had reached her best-ever ranking of 11 only in September this year. The Englishwoman refused to go down without a fight and she stormed back to take the fourth game 11-8 by virtue of an aggressive display.
However, Joshna was unfazed by Emma’s fightback. The determined Indian squash champion attacked ruthlessly as Beddoes fell into a slightly defensive mode. She kept up her barrage of attacking shots till the end and thus was able to secure her first ever win over Beddoes.
Joshna Chinappa quotes
An elated Joshna said after the match: ‘’I’m happy of course. It was a tough match and it could have gone either way. With Emma being on form and at her highest ranking I’m really glad I pulled through.”
Chinappa’s next opponent is a qualifier
The day saw a series of upsets as the second seed Laura Massaro and the third seed Alison Waters also fell. After Macau Open champion Massaro’s defeat, Joshna’s quarter-final opponent will now be fellow qualifier Salma Hany of Egypt. The match is scheduled to be held on Saturday afternoon.
Chinappa had defeated the World No. 31 in their last meeting at the Macau Open qualifiers in September this year.
Pallikal takes on the World No. 1
Meanwhile on Friday evening, India No. 1 Dipika Pallikal will take on the World No. 1 Raneem El Welily in her opening round at the Carol Weymuller Open.
