India's top ranked player Joshna Chinappa moved into the quarterfinal of the Carol Weymuller Open, a PSA world tour event being held in the United States after defeating the Egyptian qualifier Salma Hany Ibrahim 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 and will next meet Sarah Jane-Perry of England, who is seeded seventh.
Notwithstanding the straight game win, it was a close match with the Egyptian leading initially in all the three games and Joshna having to make a stiff come back to turn things in her favour.
The two had incidentally played each other last year too in the same tournament and Joshna then was pushed to the fifth game which she barely managed to win. It almost tended to take the same pattern with Salma, ranked 35 in the world as against Joshna's 13th rank, leading 10-8 and all set to take the first game.
A good shot and then a stroke helped Joshna to equalise and from there get that extra points to gain advantage. The second too saw Salma take a 4-0 lead before making it 9-6. Once again Joshna showed she was good under pressure and with some tight game, seized the initiative.
Joshna was lot more assured in the third and leading 8-4 after starting off with a 1-3 deficit, raced away to grab the game and match in 38 minutes overall. The other Indian star, Dipika Pallikal Karthik plays second seed Camille Serme, later today (US time).
In Chicago, Kush Kumar who had an impressive entry as a qualifier into the main draw of the Life Time Open, another PSA world tour event, could not go further.
A former Indian Squash Academy trainee but now a student at Trinity college in the US, lost to fifth seeded Charles Sharpes of England in straight games 11-6, 11-7, 11-6.
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