Daly College Open RD1: Wildcard Mishra Among India Winners

The opening day of the Daly College & SquashXtreme SRFI Open saw several Indian winners on home soil, with wildcard Krishna Mishra among a number of surprise victors.

17-year-old Mishra took on World No.239 Laouenan Loaec in the opening round of the final event of the year, and came through the test with flying colours. He won out in straight games, beating the Frenchman 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 to book his spot in the second round.

Velavan Senthilkumar, who featured at the Commonwealth Games for his country, also caused an opening day upset. The Indian defeated Egypt’s Abdelrahman Abdelkhalek in straight games. Kanhav Nanavati was the third Indian surprise winner on day one in Indore, beating Switzerland’s Sven Stettler in four games, coming from a game down to take the win.

The other two shocks on the first day in the men’s event saw the Egyptian pair of Mohamed Gohar and Seif Ashraf take victories. The former overcame Jaideep Singh Sethi in straight games, while Ashraf went the distance to beat Kuwait’s Athbi Hamad in a five-game thriller.

There was just the one surprise in the women’s event, as India’s Nirupama Dubey got the better of compatriot Radhika Rathore in four games. The pair were level after two games, but a crucial third game tie-break gave the momentum back to Dubey, who went on to win the fourth 11-5 to seal the deal.

She will be joined in the second round of the Challenger 10 level competition by fellow Indians Khushi Puranik, Sanika Choudhari and Janet Vidhi, with the former winning in five games. Egypt’s Karma Allam was the other woman to win on the opening day, making her way into the last 16 of the tournament.

The second day of the Daly College & SquashXtreme SRFI Open will see the seeds come into the tournament at the second round stage. All the action will take place on Sunday, December 18.

Men’s First Round Results: Daly College & SquashXtreme SRFI Open
Baptiste Bouin (FRA) bt Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 (42m)
Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt Abdelrahman Abdelkhalek (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (22m)
Rahul Baitha (IND) bt Ravi Dixit (IND) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 11-6 (25m)
[WC] Krishna Mishra (IND) bt Laouenan Loaec (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (32m)
Mohamed Gohar (EGY) bt Jaideep Singh Sethi (IND) 3-0: 13-11, 11-2, 11-5 (26m)
Kanhav Nanavati (IND) bt Sven Stettler (SUI) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (44m)
Seif Ashraf (EGY) bt Athbi Hamad (KUW) 3-2: 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-9 (47m)
Brice Nicolas (FRA) bt Yusuf Elsherif (EGY) 3-2: 11-4, 13-11, 7-11, 7-11, 11-6 (84m)

Men’s Second Round Draw: To Be Played Monday, December 19
[1] Zahed Salem (EGY) v Baptiste Bouin (FRA)
Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) v [5] Ravindu Laksiri (SRI)
[8] Veer Chotrani (IND) v Rahul Baitha (IND)
[WC] Krishna Mishra (IND) v [3] Aly Hussein (EGY)
[4] Khaled Labib (EGY) v Mohamed Gohar (EGY)
Kanhav Nanavati (IND) v [7] Maceo Levy (FRA)
[6] Abdelaziz Hegazy (EGY) v Seif Ashraf (EGY)
Brice Nicolas (FRA) v [2] Abhay Singh (IND)

Women’s First Round Results: Daly College & SquashXtreme SRFI Open
Khushi Puranik (IND) bt Chazerina Benjamin (IND) 3-2: 3-11, 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 (33m)
Sanika Choudhari (IND) bt Bijali Darvada (IND) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (15m)
Janet Vidhi (IND) bt Aishni Pathak (IND) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (17m)
Karma Allam (EGY) bt Aaryaa Belsare (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (19m)
Nirupama Dubey (IND) bt Radhika Rathore (IND) 3-1: 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-5 (33m)

Women’s Second Round Draw: To Be Played Monday, December 19
[1] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) v Khushi Puranik (IND)
Sanika Choudhari (IND) v [8] Habiba Hossam (EGY)
[5] Urwashi Joshi (IND) v Anjali Semwal (IND)
Mahak Talati (IND) v [3] Tanvi Khanna (IND)
[4] Lojayn Gohary (EGY) v Janet Vidhi (IND)
Karma Allam (EGY) v [6] Ingy Hammouda (EGY)
[7] Amina El Rihany (EGY) v Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (IND)
Nirupama Dubey (IND) v [2] Menna Hamed (EGY)