Ontario, July 29 (IANS) India’s men and women booked their places in the quarterfinals of the World Junior Squash Team Championships with contrasting victories.
The fifth-seeded Indian men’s team overcame a spirited challenge from 11th seeds Kuwait to register a 2-1 victory in the pre-quarterfinals, while the women’s team completed the group stage in dominant fashion with a comprehensive 3-0 win over South Africa.
The men’s team recovered impressively after Yusha Nafees suffered a straight-games defeat to Abdullah Ali in the opening rubber. Aryaveer Dewan restored parity for India with a commanding 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 victory over Khaled Walead Al Fouzain before Gurveer Singh sealed the tie in emphatic style, defeating Abdul Rahman Al Sanea 11-3, 11-3, 11-4.
Reflecting on the hard-fought win, India head coach Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu acknowledged Kuwait’s strong start but praised his players’ composure under pressure.
“(Kuwait’s) Abdullah came out fighting in the opening match and didn’t let us settle in the first match, but that’s the atmosphere that comes with team squash,” India head coach Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu said.
“We were fortunate that our No 1 and No 3 strings were able to come back into the tie, staying focused, and it worked out for us in the end,” he added.
India’s reward is a quarterfinal clash against England, one of the tournament favourites. Sandhu said his side would draw confidence from recent meetings between the two teams during the individual championships.
Looking ahead, Sandhu said, “England is a very strong team. Some of our boys played them last week in the individual event. So we are ready to go back, plan well and come back strong tomorrow.”
The Indian women’s team, meanwhile, barely put a foot wrong against South Africa. Rudra Singh gave India the perfect start by defeating Makayla Naidoo 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 before Anahat Singh produced a clinical display to overpower Brianna Robinson 11-1, 11-1, 11-3.
Saanvi Kalanki wrapped up the clean sweep with an equally convincing 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 victory over Vivienne Van Der Schyff, ensuring India advanced to the knockout stage with momentum firmly on their side.
The women will next take on the United States in the quarterfinals as both Indian teams continue their pursuit of medals at the prestigious junior world event.
–IANS
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