Second seed Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa cantered into the quarterfinal with a good show on Saturday in the Asian Senior Individual squash Championship being held in Kuwait.Dipika was flawless against the Malaysian Vinessa Raj. Reaching the ball early she dominated the contest to come out 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 winner. Joshna however was tentative to start with against Li Dong Jin, even losing the first game. But that was just a passing phase as the Indian was soon dictating the returns, according to National coach Cyrus Poncha, who witnessed the contests. With superb drop shots, Joshna finished the match in style with scores of 10-12, 11-7, 11-4, 11-4.
The men had mixed luck with Harinder Pal Sandhu falling in five games to Farhan Zaman of Pakistan but Saurav Ghosal lived up to expectation as the second seed with a fluent win over Danish Atlas Khan even if the match went a long way. Harinder started on a sprightly note winning the first two games but soon developed pain in his legs and this hampered his movement.
Farhan made the most of the situation to win 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3. Saurav’s was easier at 11-4, 11-9, 11-4. The other Indian in the fray Mahesh Mangaonkar too fell against the fast moving Yim Tsz Fung in straight games 10-12, 4-11, 2-11.
