Indian challenge ends in Hong Kong Squash Open
It was curtains for India in the Hong Kong Squash Open after national champion Saurav Ghosal went down fighting to world number three Egyptian Amr Shabana in the first round men's singles match of the $147,500 PSA event at HK Squash Centre.
In the women's section, country's top ranked players Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal too lost their respective first round matches to crash out of the $74,000 WISPA World Tour squash event.
The third seed from Cairo, looking for his sixth title in a row, was stretched by the unseeded Indian but Amr held his nerves to win in 53 minutes.
World ranked 26th Ghosal lost 12-14 11-3 8-11 11-7 3-11 in the decider of the PSA World Tour squash event - the fifth PSA Super Series championship of the year in Hong Kong.
"That's what it's about, a win's a win. He stepped up and kept in front of me in the second, he had a game plan and stuck to it.
I lost my way in the fourth, and the fifth is always anyone's, you just hope to get a few points ahead at the start and hang on to it," said the relieved 31-year-old Shabana.
"I managed to do that, and he lost his way a bit at the end," he added.
In the seventh WISPA Gold championship event of 2010, Chinappa after being a game up, went down to 10th seed and world number 12 Engy Kheirallah of Egypt 11-9 6-11 4-11 10-12 in 36 minutes.
Pallikal, earning a place in the main draw after winning the qualifying finals, went down fighting to Vanessa Atkinson of The Netherlands in the opening round.
India's second ranked player Pallikal lost 9-11 7-11 11-6 7-11 in 34 minutes.
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