Indian assured place in final of Challenger squash series

Dipika Palikal and Joshna Chinappa set up a semifinal clash against each other after winning their last-eight stage matches of the WISPA Challenger series.

Chennai: India were assured of a place in the final of the WISPA Challenger series after country`s ace women racqueters Dipika Palikal and Joshna Chinappa set up a semifinal clash against each other after winning their last-eight stage matches on Thursday.

As expected, all the seeded players made the last-four stage at the Indian Squash Academy. World number 23 and second seed Dipika will take on world number 32 and compatriot Joshna in the semifinal of the season`s first WISPA event, while top seed Donna Urquhart of Australia will take on teammate third seed Lisa Camilleri in the other last-four stage encounter on Friday. Dipika produced an immaculate mix of pace and delicate drop shots both from the `T` and close to the walls as she ended the challenge of Australia`s Melody Francis 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 in straight-games. Dipika`s Australian rival quite often remained a mere spectator as the Chennai-girl translated her game for a straight forward win in just 27 minutes. Joshna, seeded fourth in the tournament, was no different from her junior countrymate Dipika in her clinically achieved straight-games 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 victory over sixth seed Misaki Kobayashi of Japan in 25 minutes.Joshna`s shot selections were utterly perfect as she rose to a sizeable lead in all her three games. In the second and third games, Joshana had about five points lead and won the match at a short time than expected. In the match between Donna and unseeded Tenille Swartz of South Africa, the latter was patchy though she came up with some exhilarating shots, especially in the second game. Tenille, who failed miserably with easy drop shots and hit the tin most often to yield points, was on a game ball-up in the second game but muffed with her chances.From there, Donna never looked back before winning the match 11-8, 14-12, 11-6 in 34 minutes. It was an easy affair for Camilleri against Malaysia`s Siti Murnirah (fifth seed), who lacked consistency throughout the match. On the other hand, Camilleri was seen put in use her superb retrieving abilities of the ball to gain the momentum before winning 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 in 34 minutes. PTI