India finishes 9th in Women's Team Championship

Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik were in great touch as the seasoned duo won their matches against Holie Naughton and Samantha Cornett respectively to give India the winning margin.

India defeated Canada 2-0 to end its campaign with a ninth place finish in the World Women's Team Squash Championship here on Saturday.

Both Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik, the latter in particular, were in great touch as the seasoned duo won their matches against Holie Naughton and Samantha Cornett respectively to give India the winning margin.

Akansha Salunkhe, the third player in the side, hoping for her first appearance, did not need to make to the court.

"Joshna started off well but seemed to briefly lose concentration after getting a two game lead before steadying herself. But Dipika played blinding squash to blast her opponent away," national coach Cyrus Poncha said.

The effort in the classification matches, with three wins in as many matches, masked the initial disappointment of the team not qualifying for the quarterfinal stage. The 9th place finish is an improvement for India from the 14th place finish in Canada in 2014.

The results: India bt Canada 2-0 (Joshna Chinappa bt Holie Naughton 13-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7; Dipika Pallikal Karthik bt Samanth Cornett 11-7, 11-5, 11-2; Akanksha Salunkhe did not play Danielle Letourneau)