Egyptian Open: Joshna Chinappa books spot in quarter-finals in her first event in six months

Cairo: India’s leading squash player Joshna Chinappa, playing her first tournament in six months, has reached the quarter-finals of the CIB Egyptian Open in Cairo. The world number 11 was pushed to the limit by 38th ranked Farida Mohamed who staged a valiant comeback after losing the first two games to level the match. In the decider, the Indian managed to see off the Egyptian for a 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 10-12, 11-9 win in the third round. Joshna meets world number two Nour El Sherbini in the quarter-finals.

“She takes a little time to warm up, but once she gets going, it’s hard to stop and contain her. She played some great winners, maybe there were a few rallies that weren’t that nice to look at, I don’t know, I got knocked out a few times,” Joshna was quoted as saying in the tournament website. “I’m relieved to be through, it could have been either of us. But in the 5th I tried to keep it simple, she was in full confidence having come back from 2/0 down, I didn’t want to open it too much for her, and I think that I was just a bit more consistent at the end of that game.” India’s highest-ranked male player, Saurav Ghosal, lost his third round match against Egypt’s Mezan Hashem 8-11, 9-11, 8-11. It was the first event too for Ghosal since March when the COVID-19 outbreak led to a nationwide lockdown.