India enters Asian junior Team squash championship semifinals

India stormed into the semifinals of the Asian junior team squash championship in Pattaya on Friday.

File Photo: Only Yash Fadte had a longer stay on court with his opponent Lee Minwoo pushing the contest to four games.

India stormed into the semifinals of the Asian junior team squash championship in Pattaya on Friday.

The last set of pool matches brought about contrasting results with the boys winning 3-0 over Korea and thereby finishing second in Pool A behind Pakistan. The girls lost 0-3 to Hong Kong and placed the No.2 team in its pool. Hong Kong took the top place.

Of the two, the boys' tie had added interest because India needed a win to ensure its passage into the knock out round. As it turned out, the trio of Utkarsh Baheti, Yash Fadte and Tushar Shahani made sure there were no hiccups enroute.

Only Fadte had a longer stay on court with his opponent Lee Minwoo pushing the contest to four games. Tushar did face tough resistance but managed to keep Yu Jeongmin down in straight games. In the girls section, Amira put up a brave front, even led 2-1 in game scores against Lim Sum Yuet but could not sustain the tempo.

In the semifinals on Saturday, India plays Malaysia in both sections.

The results:

Boys: Pool A: India bt Korea 3-0 (Utkarsh Baheti bt Kim Seokjin 11-8, 11-3, 11-5; Yash Fadte bt Lee Minwoo11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10; Tushar Shahani bt Yu Jeongmin 12-10, 11-8, 13-11)

Girls: Pool B: Hong Kong bt India 3-0 (Chan Sin Yuk bt Sanya Vats 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Cheng Nga Ching bt Yoshna Singh 12-10, 11-9, 11-5; Lim SumYuet bt Amira Singh 11-2, 13-15, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8)