Chennai: Promising Deepak Kumar entered the
second and final qualifying round of the PSA Indian Challenger
Series Five event, defeating compatriot Kush Kumar in the
decider at the Indian Squash Academy here on Monday.
Deepak outwitted Kush 11-9, 11-13, 9-11, 11-6 in 50 minutes.
Excelling in all departments of the game, Delhi boy Deepak was at his usual best to keep Kush at bay most of the
time and scored winners at will.
Having won the first two games and leading 10-5 in the
third game, Deepak made some undue errors to allow Kush turn
the tables on him.
But Deepak, who has shifted his base from Delhi to ISA in
Chennai, regained his cool and showed some excellent footwork
to pocket the match in his favour.
In another close match, Balamurugan and Partiban fought
tooth and nail to make their way into the final qualifying
round but more experienced Balamurugan had the last laugh in
the end. Balamurugan won 11-4, 4-11, 11-3, 5-11, 11-5 in 25
minutes.
Other two matches of the day saw Akshay Deepak scoring a
straight win 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 over Rishi Tandon in 24 minutes,
while Naveen Jangra shattered the hopes of Vrishab Koitan 11-6,
11-7, 11-8 in 25 minutes.
In the final qualifying tomorrow, Akshay Deepak has the
herculean task of getting the better of Islam El Fiky of
Egypt, who is ranked 115 in the world.
In the other all Indian encounters, Deepak Misra will
take on Sandeep Jangra, Vikas Jangra will lock horns with
cousin Naveen Jangra, while Balamurugan plays Ashishek
Pradhan.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 16, 2009, 21:01