Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal spearhead China Open challenge

Saurav Ghosal in an earlier encounter

With the new PSA squash season in full swing, there is no respite for the top stars. Right after competing at the first World Series tournament of the season at Hong Kong, India’s trio of Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal have now set their eyes on another prestigious event – the China Open in Shanghai. The qualifying rounds begin on Tuesday while the main draw starts from Thursday, September 1.

Chance of a Pallikal vs Chinappa clash in first round

World No.12 Chinappa is the only seeded player out of the three. Seeded fifth, she starts against a qualifier before going on to meet the top seed and World No. 2 Laura Massaro of England in the quarter-finals.

The 19th ranked Pallikal, on the other hand, could not find a direct entry into the 16-player main draw. The reigning Indian national champion, instead, will fight for one of the four berths given to qualifiers.

The 24-year-old has the unranked local Peng Zhenni as her first round opponent in qualifying. After that, she will meet the winner of the match between the 27th ranked Olivia Blatchford and 16-year-old Chinese He Xinru.

Dipika lost her last meeting with Blatchford in a close five-game thriller in the first round of the Netsuite Open in September and will need to be on the alert if she meets the American again.

Having said that, it needs to be pointed out that Pallikal comes into this tournament with a lot of confidence. She started the new season on a high, winning the National Squash Championships for the second time in her career and followed it up with the PSA Australian Open title. So, she can definitely make an impact.

Pallikal’s participation in the qualifiers makes things interesting. Since Chinappa faces a qualifier in her opening round, there is every chance that she can cross swords with her Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning partner as early as Round 1 in this tournament.

If that happens, it will be the second time this season that the two squash queens of India will be meeting after having squared off in the Nationals final in July.

Ghosal faces fourth seed

In the men’s draw, the World No.17 Saurav Ghosal will take on the fourth seed Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia whom he beat at the Colombia Open in 2015.

The 30-year-old Indian came back into competition only in July after being forced to take a break of two months due to an ankle injury. He has shown flashes of his brilliance during his run to a record 11th Nationals title and at the WSF World Doubles where he won the mixed doubles silver medal along with Pallikal.

Last week, he lost in the first round to eventual champion Ramy Ashour at the Hong Kong Open.