HCL-SRFI Indian squash tour: Tanvi eases past Aparajitha, to meet Sunayna in final

Tanvi Khanna dismantled Aparajitha Balamurukan 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 in the women’s semifinals. In the men’s summit clash, S. Velavan, seeded fifth, will face Abhishek Pradhan, seeded sixth.

Published : Aug 25, 2021 15:58 IST

Tanvi Khanna (in black) against Aparajitha Balamurukan in the PSA CHallenger Tour-10 squash tournament.

Tanvi Khanna's languid grace is a real treat to watch. The 25-year-old uses the angles of the squash court well and moves around with effortless ease.

Seeded second, Khanna dismantled Aparajitha Balamurukan 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 in the women’s semifinals of the HCL-SRFI Indian squash tour tournament, a PSA Challenger Tour-10 event, at the ISA courts in Chennai on Wednesday.

Khanna will next take on Sunayna Kuruvilla, the No.1 seed, who beat Akshaya Sri 11-5, 11-9, 11-1 in 17 minutes.

 

Balamurukan was no match for Khanna as the latter was comfortably ahead in all three games. Balamurukan did well in the second game, using her power from the backcourt to unsettle Khanna, but that didn't last long.

Akshaya Sri showed glimpses of her potential against Sunayna in the second game, pushing the top seed to the hilt, but when push came to shove, Sunayna was up to the task.

In the men’s summit clash, S. Velavan, seeded fifth, will face Abhishek Pradhan, seeded sixth.

While Velavan was rock solid both in front and back in his 11-8, 14-12, 11-5 win over Abhishek Agarwal, Pradhan was impressive in his comfortable win over the 20-year-old Rahul Baitha.

The results (semifinals):

Men:

S. Velavan bt Abhishek Agarwal 11-8, 14-12, 11-5; Abhishek Pradhan bt Rahul Baitha 11-7, 11-3, 11-9.

Women:

Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Akshaya Sri 11-5, 11-9, 11-1; Tanvi Khanna bt Aparajitha Balamurukan 11-4, 11-5, 11-6.