Sandhu only Indian to reach PSA squash qualifying final

Kolkata: Harinder Pal Sandhu was the only Indian to enter final of the qualifying round of PSA Indian Challenger No 7 Squash tournament while all his compatriots, including Ritwik Bhattacharya, crashed out of the event being staged here. Sandhu quelled some late challenge from compatriot Naresh Kumar before beating him 13-11 11-4 10-12 11-7 in a 50-minute encounter. But the other Indians -- Sandeep Jangra, Vivek Dinodia, Gaurav Nandrajog, Ravi Dixit, Ramit Tandon, Abhishek Pradhan failed to clear the preliminary qualifying hurdle yesterday. Pulling off the day`s biggest upset, Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan of Malaysia defeated higher placed Ritwik 7-11 11-8 11-7 11-8 in 69 minutes, while England`s Chris Simpson humbled Nandrajog 11-9 11-8 9-11 11-6 in 73 minutes. Dick Lau of Hong Kong got the better of Jangra 11-13 11-9 14-16 11-4 11-4 in 63 minutes and then Malaysia`s Ivan Yuen ended the challenge of Tandon 10-12 9-11 11-1 11-3 11-2. Adrian Waller of England trounced Dinodia 11-6 11-0 11-4 in 20 minutes, Max Lee of Hong Kong defeated Dixit 12-10 5-11 6-11 13-11 11-6 in 65 minutes and Malaysian Muhd Asyraf Azan outplayed Pradhan 11-4 9-11 11-7 11-6. Saurav Ghosal and Siddharth Suchde have got direct entry into the main round of men`s section while Joshna Chinnapa, Dipika Pallikal, Aparajitha Balamurukan, Anaka Alankamony, Surbhi Misra and Anwesha Reddy are the Indian women who will play directly in main draw of the tournament. The main round of the tournament commencing today. PTI