India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu beat Rhys Dowling of Australia 11-8, 12-10, 11-4 in the final to lift the South Australian Open squash title in Adelaide on Saturday.
Sandhu was down 1-7 after winning the first game comfortably as the Australian fought back strongly.
He mounted a comeback to win it on extra points. The third game was a no-contest as the Sandhu, a former national champion, shut out Dowling’s challenge 11-4 to wrap up the victory.
On Friday, Sandhu had upseted the top seed, Netherlands’ Piedro Schweertman. 11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 11-9 in the semifinal of the PSA World Tour event.
“It has been a tough week as playing in cold climates is never easy. I have been to Australia a couple of times and it feels good to win a PSA tournament here for the first time,” Sandhu said after the triumph.
“Had a tough semi-final with the top-seed and managed to stay strong and get the win. And, just stayed composed and focused today,” he added.
It was Sandhu’s eighth title at the PSA level and the third this season after winning two in Malaysia in the month of May. He had reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Individual Squash Championship in Chennai in April.