Ghosal enters semis, Chinappa loses in quarters

BIRMINGHAM: India’s leading squash player Saurav Ghosal progressed to the men’s singles semifinals, but it was curtains for Joshna Chinappa as she suffered a loss to Canada’s Hollie Naughton in the women’s singles quarterfinals at the Commonwealth Games here on Monday.

Ghosal, ranked world number 15, recovered from a defeat in the second set to see off Scotland’s Greg Lobbon 11-5 8-11 11-7 11-3, and will square off against New Zealand’s Paul Coll in the last four.

Chinappa, an 18-time national champion, however, couldn’t produce her best, losing 9-11 5-11 13-15 to the 27-year-old Haughton.

Chinappa started on a positive note, taking a 6-3 lead but she let the advantage slip as Naughton drew parity at 6-6 and moved to 9-9 before grabbing the opening set with the required two points.

Naughton continued the momentum in the second to make it 2-0. Chinappa put up a good fight in the third, moving together till 13-13 when her rival once again stepped ahead to seal the contest.