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World No. 115 Kush Kumar became the only Indian to book his berth in the main draw of the $35k Kolkata International – the third leg of the JSW Indian Squash Circuit on Wednesday. In a match between two young upcoming talents, the 19-year-old Kush emerged as the victor when the 20-year-old Jordan player Ahmad Al-Saraj retired at 1-2 in the second game due to pain in his side. Kush had earlier edged Al-Saraj 15-13 in a thrilling first game.
Thus, the impressive run of Kush continues. The 2014 Junior World Championship bronze medallist, who had clinched his maiden PSA title few weeks back at the Tasmanian Open, had qualified for the second leg of the Indian Squash Circuit as well at the CCI International.
Kush will go on to face the fifth seed Zahed Mohamed of Egypt in the first round.
Ravi Dixit loses
It was, however, not the same fate for the other Indian Ravi Dixit. He did put up a brilliant effort to grab the third game though, winning it 12-10 but his opponent, the 110th ranked Sanjay Singh Chal proved to be too strong and too determined. The Malaysian progressed to the main draw with an 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-2 win.
Sanjay Singh Chal will meet the top seed Marwan Elshorbagy of Egypt in the first round.
Lake, Altamimi in main draw
The other two qualifiers who secured their places in the main draw are the 122nd ranked Ammar Altamimi of Kuwait and the 116th ranked Nathan Lake of England. Altamimi, who was the top seed in qualifying, came through a tough encounter against the fifth seed Robert Downer of England 11-7, 14-12, 11-9. Meanwhile, the third-seeded Lake defeated the sixth-seeded Spaniard Edmon Lopez Moller 12-10, 11-6, 11-5.
While Lake will face the third seed Saurav Ghosal of India, Altamimi will square off against the eighth seed Greg Lobban of Scotland in the opening round.
Full Results:
Kush Kumar (IND) beat Ahmad Al-Saraj (JOR) 15-13, 2-1 in 24 min (Al-Saraj retired injured)
Nathan Lake (ENG) beat Edmon Lopez Moller (ESP) 12-10, 11-6, 11-5 in 46 min
Sanjay Singh (MAS) beat Ravi Dixit (IND) 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-2 in 38 min
Ammar Altamimi (KUW) beat Robert Downer (ENG) 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 in 46 min
Saurav Ghosal leads a total of five Indians in the main draw
The main draw gets underway on Thursday with World No. 15 Saurav Ghosal leading four other Indians – Mahesh Mangaonkar, Harinderpal Sandhu, Ramit Tandon and Kush Kumar. The Kolkata boy Ghosal who has reached the finals thrice in his last four PSA events will look to win the title at home. He is the third seed.
The top two seeds are World No. 12 Marwan Elshorbagy of Egypt and World No. 14 Stephen Coppinger of South Africa.
The seedings:
1. Marwan Elshorbagy (Egypt), 2. Stephen Coppinger (South Africa), 3. Saurav Ghosal, 4. Chris Simpson (England), 5. Zahed Mohamed (Egypt), 6. Olli Tuominen (Finland), 7. Mahesh Mangaonkar, 8. Greg Lobban (Scotland).
