Mumbai (Maharashtra)[India], March 24 (ANI): India, which had been awaiting the return of international squash to its shores, welcomed the Indian Open with a day full of fiery matches and determined performances here at the Bombay Gymkhana on Monday.
For India, it was Tanvi Khanna who stood out, while the Egyptian contingent had six winners on the day at India’s first-ever PSA Squash Copper tournament.
Day 1 of the Indian Open kicked off with Helen Tang from Hong Kong, who was up against the Japanese Erisa Sano Herring. The contest lasted 35 minutes as Tang used all her guile to win by a 3-1 margin (11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8), sealing her spot in the second round.
Next on court was India’s Nirupama Dubey, who had the Egyptian Nour Ramy standing in her way. Dubey fought hard for 50 minutes and brought the contest to level pegging at 2-2, but the Egyptian had too much in the tank on the day, as she walked away with a 3-2 (11-7, 11-1, 5-11, 8-11, 11-7) win.
In the first men’s contest on the day, Colombian Matias Knudsen had a relatively easy outing. He was on the court with the Malaysian Mohammad Syafiq Kamal and won by a 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-5) margin in just over a half-hour.
After that, Ziad Ibrahim from Egypt squared off against Switzerland’s David Bernet in what was their first-ever meeting. Ziad and David ran each other close for almost an hour before the Egyptian prevailed 3-1 (11-8, 12-14, 11-9, 11-8).
The second set of matches on the day commenced after a breather, with Egypt’s Salma El Alfy and Japan’s Risa Sugimoto taking centre stage. The Japanese found it hard to get going on the day as her opponent overpowered her in almost every play. Salma El Alfy eventually wound up the win in 34 minutes with a scoreline of 3-1 (6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9).
That contest was followed up by a show of pure domination as Egyptian Malak Fathy swatted aside the challenge from the French Lea Barbeau in 23 minutes. Fathy, who was on top of her game, won 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-7). Then it was the turn of the Malaysian duo off Ameeshenraj Chandaran and Duncan Lee, who battled it out for 45 minutes in the afternoon. Eventually, it was Ameeshenraj Chandaran who walked off the court with a 3-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-3) win.
France’s Melvil Scianimanico and Ivan Perez from Spain were then tasked with entertaining the fans present. And the duo didn’t disappoint, matching each other shot for shot. Melvil Scianimanico though had more going his way, and 53 minutes later, he came away with a 3-1 (11-7, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10) win.
However, the next two matches saw clinical performances from Egypt’s Nadien Elhammamy, who won 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-6) against Holland’s Tessa ter Sluis in 23 minutes. Giving them tough competition in terms of finishing off a game quickly was Spain’s Cristina Gomez, who stormed past India’s Anjali Semwal 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-8) in 22 minutes.
Eighth seed Veer Chotrani began his campaign against fellow Indian Suraj Kumar Chand. And it was Veer who was showing everyone why he is considered to be such a promising name, as he romped over the line in 30 minutes with a 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-2) scoreline.
However, Om Semwal would not be joining Veer in the next round, as Kareem El Torkey from Egypt had his number. Kareem played a powerful game and easily had the better of his opponent, winning 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-8) in 25 minutes.
It wasn’t all done for India on Day 1, as Tanvi Khanna played with grit and determination against Hong Kong’s Toby Tse, winning the contest 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7) in 33 minutes. She will now play the top seed Akanksha Salunkhe in the next round.
Sofia Mateos from Spain was in action in the final few hours of the day and she defeated Egypt’s Lojayn Gohary 3-0 (11-7, 12-10, 11-3) in 33 minutes.
In the final set of games for the day, Brazil’s Diego Gobbi saw off Egypt’s Seif El-Shenawy 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 12-10) in 31 minutes. (ANI)
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