Challenger Tour Round-Up: Labib Suffers Early SODIC Exit, Arthi Wins JSW Title

SODIC Squash Open 

Top seed Khaled Labib suffered an early exit at the SODIC Squash Open, losing out to Yassin Shohdy on a busy second day in Egypt. 

Labib was playing Shohdy in what was the first of 23 matches to take place on day two of the competition, with both round two and the quarter-finals all completed. 

That first match would prove to be the biggest surprise, as Shohdy won 3-0 in 45 minutes, setting up a quarter-final matchup with No.7 seed Omar Azzam, which he also won to reach the final four. 

There were no such issues for women’s No.1 seed Menna Walid, who beat Shahd Shahen and then fifth seed Nour Megahed to reach the semi-finals, dropping only one game across the two matches. 

She will now face Habiba Hossam, who knocked out the No.6 and 4 seeds on day two in what is her first PSA Tour event of 2023. 

The bottom half of the women’s draw will see No.2 seed Nour Khafagy play third seed Malak Fathy for a place in the final, but the men’s semi-finals are matchups that few could have predicted. 

Second seed Kareem El Torkey is the only seeded player among the semi-finalists, with Ziad Ibrahim standing in his way, while the first semi-final will see two unseeded players face off, in Yassin Shohdy and Marwan Tamer. 

JSW 9th Sunil Verma Memorial Open 

Unseeded teenager Pooja Arthi completed a fairytale run at the JSW 9th Sunil Verma Memorial Open, beating Sunita Patel 3-1 in the women’s final. 

18-year-old Arthi was playing just her second ever PSA Challenger Tour event, almost exactly four years after first, but defied the odds and the seedings throughout the week to get her hands on the trophy. 

The men’s event is a day behind the women’s competition, meaning the winner is yet to be decided. 

The final is set, though, with top seed Ravindu Laksiri and No.3 seed Rahul Baitha each winning their semi-finals. 

Laksiri swept aside Sandeep Jangra 3-0 in just 18 minutes, but the other semi-final was a far closer affair, with Baitha needing all five games to see off second seed Suraj Chand, eventually winning 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7 in just under an hour. 

You can stay up to date with all the results on the PSA Tour here.