SAG: Joshna, Ghosal help India secure dominance over Pakistan

India regained the supremacy in squash winning both the team golds in the men’s and women’s team events here at the R.G. Baruah Sports Complex on Wednesday. Fielding strong teams with top ranked internationals like Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Karthik, India usurped the supremacy from Pakistan which has been winning the titles in the past two editions of the Games.

Saurav Ghosal came back well against Nasir Iqbal, ranked 35, after losing to Farhan Zaman, ranked 59, on Sunday.

India regained the supremacy in squash winning both the team golds in the men’s and women’s team events here at the R.G. Baruah Sports Complex on Wednesday. Fielding strong teams with top ranked internationals like Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Karthik, India usurped the supremacy from Pakistan which has been winning the titles in the past two editions of the Games.

Joshna, currently ranked 14 in the world, started the winning sequence, downing Maria Toorpakai in straight games with an authoritative display. Joshna, who had won the individual title a couple of days ago, beating Maria 3-1, was in a more domineering form and prevailed over her opponent 3-0 in the team event.

Team Gold >pic.twitter.com/JDO3NTxf6Y

— Joshna Chinappa (@joshnachinappa) >February 10, 2016

The final round-robin tie turned a virtual final as both India and Pakistan had own the previous league matches (against Sri Lanka and Nepal). Young Sunayana Kuruvilla had to work hard to beat Sammer Anjum 3-2 in the second rubber and clinched the issue for India, making the final rubber between Dipika and Saida Gul redundant.

Saurav Ghosal, currently ranked 20 in the world, gave a strong start with a straight game win over the world No. 35 Nasir Iqbal. Ghosal, who had lost the individual semifinal against Farhan Zaman (world No. 59), played with a lot of authority against Iqbal and set the tone for the team’s triumph. In absence of injured Harinder Pal Sandu (66), India fielded its fourth player Ravi Dixit (ranked 218), who lost the second tie against Danish Atlas Khan (71). Kush Kumar (92) played brilliantly to down Zaman in straight games in the deciding rubber to secure the gold for India. In the final count India won three golds (women's individual and team and men's team) while Pakistan had to be content with one gold (men's individual).

Squash: Final round-robin ties:

India bt Pakistan 2-1 (Saurav Ghosal bt Nasir Iqbal 11-7, 11-8, 11-7, Ravi Dixit lost to Danish Atlas Khan 3-11, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, Kush Kumar bt Farhan Zaman 11-3, 11-8, 12-10)

Women’s: India bt Pakistan 2-0 (Joshana Chinappa bt Maria Toorpakai 11-8, 4-11, 11-5, 11-9, Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Sammer Anjum 10-12, 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, Dipika Karthik vs Sadia Gul 0-0)