Top seed Ashita Bhengra, and second seed Aaradhana Kasturiraj, both of Tamil Nadu, registered contrasting wins to progress to the girls’ under-19 semi-finals, in the 74th CCI-Western India Open Squash Tournament, at the Cricket Club of India. Sparshi Mattas defeated Mira Kamat 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 and Radhika Rathore bat Ira Gosavi 11-4, 11-5, 11-1 to complete the semi-final line-up.
Favourite Bhengra tamed West Bengal’s Tanaya Parakh in straight sets, while Kasturiraj rallied from the loss of the opening set to beat Abhilasha Bhasin of Maharashtra 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7. Bhengra will next meet 5/8 seed Sparshi Mattas of Goa, who upset 3/4 seed Mira Kamat of Maharashtra 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 in a tight match, while Kasturiraj will face 5/8 seed Radhika Rathore of MP who halted unseeded Ira Gosavi of Maharashtra in straight sets.
In the girls under-17 quarter-finals, unseeded Ananya Dabke of Maharashtra shocked second seed Amira Singh of Delhi 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10 in a four-set thriller that ended over extra points. Top seed Jannia Singh of Chandigarh escaped to a 11-6, 11-7, 14-16, 9-11, 11-4 win over 5/8 seed Avani Nagar of Maharashtra, in another gripping contest that went down to the wire.
