India’s top ranked squash player Saurav Ghosal lost in the semi-final of the China Open on Saturday, going down in a thriller against Mohamed Abouelghar in Shanghai.
Seeded fifth at the tournament, Ghosal lost 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-3, 8-11 in a match that lasted 63 minutes. The Indian came back from 0-1 and 1-2 down to level the match but the sixth seed held out in the decider to reach the biggest final of his career.
Egypt’s Abouelghar will line up against New Zealand’s Paul Coll in the men’s singles final.
Fresh from his bronze medal at the Asian Games, in his first major event on the PSA World Tour, Ghosal’s impressive run ended one win short of the final.
The other Indian in the men’s singles main draw of the Gold level event on the tour, Harinder Pal Sandhu, lost in the first round.
In the women’s singles, Joshna Chinappa put together an impressive run and reached the quarter-finals before losing to the fifth seed Camille Serme of France. The unseeded Indian had pulled off an upset in the previous round as she defeated fourth seed Joelle King of New Zealand in a thrilling game, winning it 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8).
Chinappa’s compatriot Dipika Pallikal’s tournament ended in the first round as she ran into Malaysia’s Nicol David, in what was a repeat of the Asian Games women’s singles semi-final. Pallikal lost in straight games against the former world No 1.
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