Senior National Squash Championships 2020: Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa secure finals berths
What's the story?
Top seeds, Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa progressed to the finals of the Senior National Squash Championships 2020 with resounding victories over their respective semifinal opponents.
The background
Saurav Ghosal is one of the country's best male squash players, having won the Senior National Squash Championships title 12 times in his career.
Meanwhile, Joshna Chinappa has dominated the women's category with 18 national championships to her name.
The heart of the matter
After qualifying for the semifinals of the SRFI-77th Senior National Squash Championships, Saurav beat 21-year-old rival Abhay Singh 11-9, 11-1, 11-8 to book a spot in the final. He will now go head to head with the second-seeded Abhishek Pradhan, who overcame a stiff challenge from Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu.
Pradhan outlasted Sandhu in a five-game thriller, eventually prevailing 11-6, 12-10, 10-12, 9-11, 11-7.
Talking to Sportstar post his marathon battle in the semifinal, Pradhan said:
“He [Harinder] is my mentor and a very good friend. We were together at Indian Squash Academy for five years. To beat him was a great moment.”
On the women's side, Joshna Chinappa booked her place in the final with a 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 victory against Maharashtra's Sanya Vats. She will now lock horns with Tanvi Khanna, who edged Sunayna Kuruvilla 11-6, 3-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10 in the second semifinal.
What's next?
It will be interesting to see if Chinappa and Ghosal can continue their dominance or whether their opponents can produce shock upsets and win the National Squash Championships.