Challenger Tour Round-Up: Baitha Wins Hometown Title, Top Seeds to Meet in SODIC Women’s Final

JSW 9th Sunil Verma Memorial Open 

No.3 seed Rahul Baitha staged a stunning fightback to win the JSW 9th Sunil Verma Memorial Open in his hometown of Thane, claiming his first PSA Tour title in the process. 

The 23-year-old was playing top seed Ravindu Laksiri from Sri Lanka, a player ranked more than 60 places higher than him in the world, and who already had two Tour titles to his name. 

The opening two games suggested that Laksiri would add a third to that record, as he moved within one game of glory by taking them 11-6, 11-8. 

He was then on the verge of victory as game three went to a tie break, but home favourite Baitha kept his hopes alive by winning it 12-10. 

From there, the players continued to go toe-to-toe, but it was Baitha who came up trumps when it mattered most in each of the next two games, clinching them both 11-8 to complete an impressive fightback and wrap-up a 3-2 victory. 

SODIC Squash Open 

It will be No.1 seed versus No.2 in the women’s final of the SODIC Squash Open, after both Menna Walid and Nour Khafagy came through their respectively semi-finals, while Kareem El Torkey and Yassin Shohdy will contest the men’s final. 

Walid and Khafagy both needed four games to book their spot in the final, with Walid in particular pushed hard for the win. 

Going up against Habiba Hossam, who had already knocked out two seeds, Walid dropped game one on a tie break before turning things around, but all four games were nip-and-tuck, with the final scoreline reading 10-12, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9. 

Khafagy, meanwhile, won 11-5, 5-11, 11-4, 13-11 in 46 minutes to reach her first ever PSA Tour final. 

In the men’s draw, Yassin Shohdy continued his impressive week by beating Marwan Tamer to reach the final of what is just his third Challenger Tour event. 

The 18-year-old had already knocked out top seed Khaled Labib and No.7 seed Omar Azzam to reach the final four, and went one better by beating Tamer 11-6, 11-9, 11-7. 

His opponent in the final will be No.2 seed Kareem El Torkey, who overcame Ziad Ibrahim 3-1. 

Aside from game two, which Ibrahim won on a tie break, El Torkey controlled much of the match, dropping only 10 points in the other three games to keep his hopes alive of winning a second PSA Tour title of 2023. 

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