World No. 10 squash ace Joshna Chinappa produced a remarkable show of resilience to come from behind and upset the ninth-ranked Joelle King in the semi-finals of the Women's SRAM Invitational 2016 in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday. After being two games down, the India No. 1 won the encounter, 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 in a 56-minute marathon.
She will meet the top seed and eight-time world champion Nicol David in the title showdown on Sunday.
It was indeed a huge win for the Chennai girl and one that will go miles in boosting the 29-year-old’s confidence before the new PSA season starts next month. King had been her nemesis of late and they have met thrice since September.
Each time, it turned out to be a lengthy battle but in the end, it always went in favour of the Kiwi No. 1. Joshna met King as recently as May in the final of the HKFC International where she went down in four games.
Thus, it is a wonderful effort from the 14-time national champion to finally turn the tables on the 27-year-old and that too, in such a nail-biting thriller.
David breezed through her semi-final
In the day’s other semi-final, the local superstar David had it pretty easy. The former World No. 1 made a fast start and grabbed an 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 win over the Egyptian World No. 8 Omneya Abdel Kawy in just 24 minutes.
Sunday’s final will be a repeat of the Pool A clash between Chinappa and David that happened just two days back. The World No. 4 won it 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 and will look to make it tough for Joshna once again.
There will also be the playoffs for the 3rd/4th and 5th/6th places. While the semi-final losers Kawy and King will square off in the former, World No. 14 Jenny Duncalf and World No. 18 Delia Arnold will face each other in the latter.
