It was one of India’s biggest and unprecedented moments of high in squash and it happened here on Sunday when both Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa emerged as champions in the Asian Individual Squash Championships.
Asian Championships winners Saurav (left), Joshna
Kuala Lumpur:
It easily was one of Joshna’s most memorable matches. Only last month in the Macau Open, Annie had beaten her in straight games for her 12th win in 20 meetings. In fact, since September 2017, Joshna had not tasted success against the Hong Kong player. All that was set aside as the Indian played with a fixity of purpose and with a lot of conviction.
In the men’s final, Ghosal looked the master straightaway and never allowed anything to go astray as he meticulously worked his way to a convincing win. Except for the first and to some extent in the third, there was little the Hong Kong lad could do in terms of a fight as Ghosal covered himself with glory, his maiden success at this level.
“I really played well, in the final. I had lost to Annie few times prior to this. So I had come prepared, and the court and the conditions helped. More importantly, I found the length and that was the key. Yes, I am very happy to defend the title,” gushed Joshna after the success.
Ghosal was equally upbeat and said, “Happy to win the Asian title for the first time. I had come close in the past but did not cross the line then. So it is hugely satisfying to finally win it for India. Overall, a good week of squash for me. Great day for India and hopefully this will lead to further success in the near future.”
An occasion that was missed in Chennai two years ago became a glorious reality. Joshna, the second seed, successfully defended her title by beating top seed Annie Au of Hong Kong 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 in the final. Soon after, further joy came when Ghosal, the top seed, downed fourth-seeded Hong Kong player Leo Au Chun Ming in straight games, by a scoreline of 11-9, 11-2, 11-8.
It easily was one of Joshna’s most memorable matches. Only last month in the Macau Open, Annie had beaten her in straight games for her 12th win in 20 meetings. In fact, since September 2017, Joshna had not tasted success against the Hong Kong player. All that was set aside as the Indian played with a fixity of purpose and with a lot of conviction.
In the men’s final, Ghosal looked the master straightaway and never allowed anything to go astray as he meticulously worked his way to a convincing win. Except for the first and to some extent in the third, there was little the Hong Kong lad could do in terms of a fight as Ghosal covered himself with glory, his maiden success at this level.
“I really played well, in the final. I had lost to Annie few times prior to this. So I had come prepared, and the court and the conditions helped. More importantly, I found the length and that was the key. Yes, I am very happy to defend the title,” gushed Joshna after the success.
Ghosal was equally upbeat and said, “Happy to win the Asian title for the first time. I had come close in the past but did not cross the line then. So it is hugely satisfying to finally win it for India. Overall, a good week of squash for me. Great day for India and hopefully this will lead to further success in the near future.”