National Squash: Malhotra in last four after hard-fought win

Hartford-based Vikram Malhotra endured anxious times before he prevailed over rising star Kush Kumar in the quarterfinals of the Otters Club 73rd senior National Squash championship on Friday. The 26-year-old Malhotra scraped home in five games.

The top seed Saurav Ghosal, second seed Mahesh Mangaonkar and the joint third seed Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu won in straight games which confirmed the belief that the pack outside the top four have a long way to go to make a bigger impact on the national squash scene.

In the women’s section Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik scored comfortable wins in the pre-quarters and quarterfinals and proved that they are well on their way towards the summit clash.

Results

Men (quarter-finals): Saurav Ghosal bt Vijay Kumar 11-8,11-2,11-6; Vikram Malhotra bt Kush Kumar 11-5, 8-11,10-12,11-9,11-7; Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu bt Ravi Dixit 11-6,11-7,11-3; Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Velavan Senthilkumar 11-4,11-6,11-6.

Women (quarter-finals): Joshana Chinappa bt Jui Kalgutkar 11-5 11-6 11-4; Akanksha Salunkhe bt Urwashi Joshi 12-10 11-9 11-5; Sachika Ingale bt Adya Advani 11-5,11-4,11-8; Dipika Pallikal Karthik bt Lakshya Ragavendran 11-3 11-4 11-4;