Indian No.1 in shock defeat on home soil
By Squash Mad Reporter
India’s No.1 squash player Saurav Ghosal, the number four seed for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has been stunned in the opening round of the CCI PSA International Championship in Mumbai, losing 3-2 to 22-year-old Egyptian qualifier Ali Farag.
Ghosal, the World No.16 who is aiming to medal on the sport’s grandest stage later this month, surrendered a 2-1 advantage to the World No.192 to eventually lose 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 in a 77-minute encounter.
“Saurav’s got a reputation and I knew what to expect,” said a delighted Farag. “I was worried when I was down 1-2 but I played with no pressure at all, and
that made the difference.”
Elsewhere on the opening day of main draw action, there was disappointment for another local hope Kush Kumar, who lost a battling encounter against Jamie Haycocks of England in a 73-minute 12-14, 13-11, 3-11,
11-4, 13-11.
However, there was joy for Indian pairing Harinderpal Singh Sandhu and Mahesh Mangaonkar who pulled off surpass victories against fourth seed and World No. 47 Mohd Ali Anwar Reda of Egypt and seventh seed Christopher Gordon of USA, respectively.
CCI PSA International Championship 2014 – First Round Results:
[Q] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4
[8] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-5
[6] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt Ammar Altamimi (KUW) 3-1: 11-5, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10
[WC] Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt [4] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 3-2: 8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9
[3] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) bt [Q] Shehab Essam Hosny (EGY) 3-1: 11-1, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9
[5] Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) bt [Q] Kush Kumar (IND) 3-2: 12-14, 13-11, 3-11, 11-4, 13-11
Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [7] Christopher Gordon (USA) 3-1: 11-9, 11-2, 10-12, 11-4
[2] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-1: 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 11-4