HCL SRFI Chennai RD1: Three Wildcards Make Second Round

The opening day of the 4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Chennai Leg saw a trio of wildcards make it into round two, with Anahat Singh, Shameena Riaz and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu all victorious in the first round of the Challenger 10 level competition.

14-year-old Anahat Singh, who starred at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July, is featuring in her first tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour, and she got her career off to the perfect start, overcoming the challenge of compatriot Janet Vidhi in straight games.

Singh, who was given a wildcard spot for the Challenger 10 level tournament, had to come through a tight first game, winning it 11-8, before the cruising to victory across the next two games, with scorelines of 11-4 and 11-5. She will now take on the tournament’s No.4 seed, Haya Ali, in the second round.

The other wildcard to take victory in the women’s event was Shameena Riaz, with the Indian coming through her contest against Egyptian Shahd Elrefaey. Riaz took the first on a tie-break, before doubling her advantage after winning the second game 11-9. She lost the third, but bounced back strongly in the fourth to seal the deal, to move through to the second round where she will take on compatriot and No.5 seed Sunayna Kuruvilla.

In the men’s event, former World No.47 Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu was given one of the wildcard spots for the competition, and he did not disappoint on the opening day, getting the better of fellow Indian Navaneeth Prabhu in a four-game contest in Chennai.

The second round of the 4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Chennai Leg will take place on Tuesday, September 20, with the eight seeded players in both draws starting off their campaigns. You can see up to date with live scores from the tournament on the PSA World Tour website.

Men’s First Round Results: 4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Chennai Leg
Ziad Ibrahim (EGY) bt Ho Ka Hei (HKG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-1 (35m)
Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt Rounak Yadav (IND) 3-1: 14-16, 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (31m)
Lam Shing Fung (HKG) bt Seif Nasser (EGY) 3-0: 16-14, 11-6, 11-4 (26m)
[WC] Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) bt Navaneeth Prabhu (IND) 3-1: 11-2, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8 (43m)
Lewis Doughty (ENG) bt Mahmoud Abouelleil (EGY) 3-0: 11-1, 11-3, 11-0 (21m)
Naoki Hayashi (JPN) bt [WC] Arihant K S (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (22m)
Abdelaziz Hegazy (EGY) bt [WC] Yuvral Wadhwani (IND) 3-1: 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-3 (34m)
Adegoke Onaopemipo (NGR) bt Ravi Dixit (IND) 3-1: 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 11-4 (29m)

Men’s Second Round Draw: To Be Played Tuesday, September 20
[2] Martin Svec (CZE) v Ziad Ibrahim (EGY)
Tomotaka Endo (JPN) v [5] Sandeep Ramachandran (IND)
[7] Mohamed Nasser (EGY) v Lam Shing Fung (HKG)
[WC] Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) v [3] Khaled Labib (EGY)
[4] Abhay Singh (IND) v Lewis Doughty (ENG)
Naoki Hayashi (JPN) v [6] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND)
[8] Rahul Baitha (IND) v Abdelaziz Hegazy (EGY)
Adegoke Onaopemipo (NGR) v [1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY)

Women’s First Round Results: 4th HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Chennai Leg
Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (IND) bt [WC] Vasudha Surange (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 12-10, 11-7 (24m)
Tiana Parasrampuria (IND) bt Radhika Rathore (IND) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 (15m)
Pooja Arthi R (IND) bt Lim Jee Nee (SGP) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 (15m)
Nour Ramy (EGY) bt Sanika Choudhari (IND) 3-0; 11-9, 11-3, 12-10 (30m)
[WC] Anahat Singh (IND) bt Janet Vidhi (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (24m)
[WC] Shameena Riaz (IND) bt Shahd Elrefaey (EGY) 3-1: 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3 (28m)
Amina El Rihany (EGY) bt Ona Blasco (ESP) 3-0: 11-0, 11-4, 11-4 (15m)
Salma El Aify (EGY) bt Sunita Patel (IND) 3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 (33m)

Women’s Second Round Draw: To Be Played Tuesday, September 20
[1] Kenzy Ayman (EGY) v Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (IND)
Tiana Parasrampuria (IND) v [7] Urwashi Joshi (IND)
[6] Menna Waild (EGY) v Pooja Arthi R (IND)
Nour Ramy (EGY) v [3] Tanvi Khanna (IND)
[4] Haya Ali (EGY) v [WC] Anahat Singh (IND)
[WC] Shameena Riaz (IND) v [5] Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND)
[8] Anjali Semwal (IND) v Amina El Rihany (EGY)
Salma El Aify (EGY) v [2] Salma Eltayeb (EGY)