In a year that witnessed two sporting spectacles in the Common wealth Games and Asian Games, Indian squash had some hits as well as misses with the country's highest-ranked performer Saurav Ghosal winning the second Asiad bronze medal of his career in Guangzhou.The 2006 Doha Asian Games bronze medallist waged a grim battle against top-seed Mohammad Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia in the semifinals of the men's singles squash occasion before losing the match in four games and settling for bronze.Indian men's and women's teams also settled for bronze medals in the team event of the quadrennial event after losing to Pakistan and Malaysia correspondingly in the semifinals.
The Indian men's team comprising Ghosal, Siddharth Suchde and Harinder Pal Sandhu lost 0-2 to top-seed and arch-rivals Pakistan while the trio of Joshna Chinappa, Anaka Alankamony and Dipika Pallikal went down to imaginary Malaysia with an identical scoreline in the women's event. India could not win a medal in the women's singles event as Chennai girls Pallikal and Chinappa fought their hearts out but eventually ran out of steam against top-ranked Malaysians in the quarterfinals to bow out of the individual contest. In the Common wealth Games here in October, Indian racqueters once again failed to break the jinx of not having won any medal ever since the opening of the sport in the quadrennial event in 1998.
The notable omission of former India number one Ritwik Bhattacharya from the final squad made the task a lot harder for the Indian contingent in both singles and doubles event where the field comprised of England, Malaysia and Australia, considered to be conventional powerhouses in the sport.India's hopes of winning its first medal also received a severe blow when country's top female player Pallikal pulled out of the women's and mixed doubles events due to mild fever which she had developed before the start of the October 3-14 occasion.Pallikal, world ranked 29th, was to partner her Chennai team-mate Chinappa in the women's doubles and Ghosal in the mixed doubles event.
The Indian men's team comprising Ghosal, Siddharth Suchde and Harinder Pal Sandhu lost 0-2 to top-seed and arch-rivals Pakistan while the trio of Joshna Chinappa, Anaka Alankamony and Dipika Pallikal went down to imaginary Malaysia with an identical scoreline in the women's event. India could not win a medal in the women's singles event as Chennai girls Pallikal and Chinappa fought their hearts out but eventually ran out of steam against top-ranked Malaysians in the quarterfinals to bow out of the individual contest. In the Common wealth Games here in October, Indian racqueters once again failed to break the jinx of not having won any medal ever since the opening of the sport in the quadrennial event in 1998.
The notable omission of former India number one Ritwik Bhattacharya from the final squad made the task a lot harder for the Indian contingent in both singles and doubles event where the field comprised of England, Malaysia and Australia, considered to be conventional powerhouses in the sport.India's hopes of winning its first medal also received a severe blow when country's top female player Pallikal pulled out of the women's and mixed doubles events due to mild fever which she had developed before the start of the October 3-14 occasion.Pallikal, world ranked 29th, was to partner her Chennai team-mate Chinappa in the women's doubles and Ghosal in the mixed doubles event.
No comments:
Post a Comment