Youthful exuberance prevailed over experience, as former junior star Sanya Vats from Delhi pushed out seasoned and higher seeded Urwashi Joshi of Maharashtra for the day’s notable upset while ensuring a semi-final berth for herself in the 77th Senior National Squash Championship at the ISA courts on Thursday.
Another notable moment came in the men’s quarter-final where a steady and smooth moving Harinder Pal Sandhu of Tamil Nadu gave a lesson in stroke-play to the young Goan Yash Fadte, whose foray into the senior ranks did not prove a happy hunting ground.
Else it was a day when seeds generally had a smooth sailing none displaying this more than the two top seeds Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa. Left handed Sanya showed a glimpse of her capability when she matched stroke for stroke against Urwashi. Both players traded two games each but what turned things in the Delhi girl’s favour was her ability to send returns that Urwashi struggled to cope with.
This was particularly so in the deciding fifth game where Sanya raced to a 5-0 lead to ensure a comfortable sign off. Harinder, on the other hand, hardly gave Yash any opportunity to exploit. Not only was this ISA trainee’s returns sharp and accurate but varied in direction that Yash more often showed symptoms of despair. Harinder finished it off in three straight games.
Results
Men: Saurav Ghosal (1) TN, bt Rutvik Rau (17/24) MH, 11-3, 11-3, 11-1; Abhay Singh (5/8) TN, bt Abhishek Agarwal (3/4) MH, 11-7, 11-5, 13-11; Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (3/4) TN, bt Yash Fadte (5/8) GA, 11-7, 11-2, 11-7; Abhishek Pradhan (2) MH, bt Gaurav Nandrajog (5/8) DL, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6
Women: Joshana Chinappa (1) TN, bt Sachika Balvani (5/8) MH, 11-4, 11-2, 11-4; Sanya Vats (5/8) DL, bt Urwashi Joshi (3/4) MH, 11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3; Tanvi Khanna (3/4) DL, bt Aparajitha Balamurukan (5/8) TN, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8; Sunayna Kuruvilla (2) TN, bt Sanika Choudhari (5/8) MH, 11-5, 11-2, 12-10.