HCL SRFI Noida: Khanna Aiming For Two In A Row

The HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Noida begins this weekend with both a men’s and women’s draw in action at the Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida.

The tournament takes place from Saturday 4 to Tuesday 7 September, with the event being restricted to domestic entrants due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Abhishek Agarwal will be the top seed for the men’s draw, with Aadit Zaveri and Velavan Senthilkumar, the winner in Chennai last month, as the main contenders.

World No.77 Sunayna Kuruvilla will be the top seed for the women’s event, with the likes of Urwashi Joshi, Aishwarya Khubchandani, Janet Vidhi and Abhisheka Shannon all aiming for glory come Tuesday evening.

Tanvi Khanna will be the No.2 seed for the women’s tournament in Noida this week, and she is coming into the event off the back of claiming her first victory in Tour in Chennai, where she defeated top seed Sunayna Kuruvilla.

We spoke to Khanna ahead of the tournament, and she told us about her feelings on claiming that first title, along with the work she put in to get there.

“Over the past few months I’ve been able to make a few changes in my game. We didn’t have access to courts, so a lot of discussions and re-watching past matches contributed to expanding my mind in relation to which areas of my game I needed to work on, and that really helped me perform in Chennai. I’m enjoying being out there on court, and that’s motivating me to give it my all,” the Indian said.

“Claiming my first PSA title was an extremely special moment. Transitioning from junior and college squash to the PSA Tour has been a difficult road for me, and I was very pleased to have converted a tricky match in my favour.

“The final was very close, and I was extremely relieved that I was able to hold my nerve when I needed to the most. Of course, sharing the win with my coaches, family and friends, who are such a big part of my journey was the most special part. They were all watching the final from home, and were absolutely thrilled with the dramatic score line.”

Khanna will come into this event looking for her second title in a row, following over a year away from the Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m hopeful that I will be able to take a second title in Noida. Last week in Chennai, I tried my best to leave everything on court, and I’m approaching the tournament in Noida with the same attitude, and of course, with some adjustments in my game plan, after watching the match with my coaches Dhruv Dhawan and Lalit Verma,” the 25-year-old added.

“With the pandemic, it’s been impossible to compete for a year and a half now, and I’m just glad that the SRFI managed to host these PSA events in India. Hopefully things will open up soon, and I will be able to travel for international events. With that in mind I’m looking to break into the top 50, and that is my goal in sight.”

The event takes place from Saturday 4 to Tuesday 7 September at the Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida. You can follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Action from Noida will be streamed from the quarter-finals and beyond on the PSA Challenger Tour YouTube channel, where you can watch Challenger Tour action, and interviews with rising stars.

Men’s First Round Draw: HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Noida
[1] Abhishek Agarwal (IND) – [Bye]
[WC] Arihant KS (IND) v [9/16] Mohit Bhatt (IND)
[9/16] Sumer Singh Ahluwalia (IND) v Kanhav Nanavati (IND)
[5] Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) – [Bye]
[7] Rounak Yadav (IND) – [Bye]
Rahul Kumar (IND) v [9/16] Jaideep Sethi (IND)
[9/16] Tarun Mammen (IND) v Rishit Dunga (IND)
[4] Abhishek Pradhan (IND) – [Bye]
[3] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) – [Bye]
[WC] Divit Devanand Poojary (IND) v [9/16] Vaibhav Chauhan (IND)
[9/16] Pardeep Malik (IND) v Navaneeth Prabhu (IND)
[8] Ravi Dixit (IND) – [Bye]
[6] Rahul Baitha (IND) – [Bye]
[WC] Yuvraj Wadhwani (IND) v [9/16] Jamal Sakib (IND)
[9/16] Adithya Sriram R (IND) v [WC] Arin Khot (IND)
[2] Aadit Zaveri (IND) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: HCL SRFI Indian Tour – Noida
[1] Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND) – [Bye]
Avishia Sahoo (IND) v [9/16] Sunita Patel (IND)
[9/16] Pooja Arthi R (IND) v Anahat Singh (IND)
[7] Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (IND) – [Bye]
[6] Abhishek Shannon (IND) – [Bye]
Khushi Puranik (IND) v [9/16] Radhika Rathore (IND)
[9/16] Shameena Riaz (IND) – [Bye]
[3] Urwashi Joshi (IND) – [Bye]
[4] Aishwarya Khubchandani (IND) – [Bye]
[9/16] Tiana Parasrampuria (IND) – [Bye]
[9/16] Anjali Semwal (IND) v Sonya Bajaj (SGP)
[5] Janet Vidhi (IND) – [Bye]
[8] Aaradhana Kasturiraj (IND) – [Bye]
Gurlin Kaur (IND) v [9/16] Akshaya Sri (IND)
[9/16] Navya Gupta (IND) v Mithali Surana (IND)
[2] Tanvi Khanna (IND) – [Bye]