Indian women settle for silver at Asian team squash championship

Indian women settle for silver at Asian team squash championship

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©Joshna Chinappa Facebook

After beating India in the league earlier, Malaysia repeated the show with a 2-0 win in the final and won the women's gold medal in the Asian team squash championship in Chinese Taipei on Sunday. India had to settle for the silver, which is an improvement on the bronze they won in 2014.

After Sachika Ingale lost in straight games to Sivasangari Subramaniam, the focus was on the number one player Joshna Chinappa to provide success. She had lost to Delia Arnold in the earlier meeting between the two teams, but as Joshna powered her way in the first game, there was a promise of a changed scenario. But the cool Malaysian avoided making mistakes and the duo were neck and neck for a long time.

The turning point came in the second game when Joshna erred on game-ball and Delia grabbed that opportunity with both the hands. She found her way to grab the second game and from there she kept a low pace and concentrated more on her returns to test Joshna's patience. The Indian fell for the bait and that ended her valiant effort. Dipika Pallikal, who was all geared up for the possible third match, had to watch Joshna's fall from the sidelines.

After the match, national coach Cyrus Poncha said it was a pleasing performance by his team. “The boys lost a close tie against Pakistan and that too without Saurav Ghosal and the girls made steady progress, even took out the top seed Hong Kong. Yes, the final in the end proved heartbreaking but there is promise that this team will bring more laurels in the year,” he said.

Women's final result:

Malaysia bt India 2-0 (Sivasangari Subramaniam beat Sachika Ingale 11-7, 11-6, 12-10; Delia Arnold beat Joshna Chinappa 9-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9; Rachel Arnold v Dipika Pallikal (not held))

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