Indian hopes vanish as Hong Kong claims women’s team title

Chennai: Ace women’s player Joshna Chinapppa dished out a lethargic display and put paid to India’s aspirations of a title triumph as Hong Kong won the team event in the 15th Asian Senior Squash Championship here today.

In the men’s section, Pakistan’s Yasir Ali Butt and Amir Atlas Khan dashed the hopes of defending champions Malaysia with a clinical 2-0 victory to regain the title after a gap of six years. Yasir Ali Butt put Pakistan in the lead disposing of Ong Beng Hee of Malsyaia 11-5 7-11 11-4 11-4 and then Atlas Khan sealed the issue with a brilliant 11-8 11-9 13-11 victory over Asia’s top star Iskander. In the women’s team event final, Joey Chan rallied to beat Anaka Alakamony 7-11 11-1 11-9 11-7 while Rebeca Chiu got the better of Chinappa 11-7 11-2 11-5. India’s loss was mainly due to the fact that Chinappa was a mere onlooker and appeared to have been caught in a mental block for most part of the match. Her team-mate Anaka Alankamony, on the other hand, showed great fighting spirit and never gave away a single point easily to the more experienced Joey Chan. The home supporters egged on Chinappa to fight but Chinappa was never aggressive and was soft on her returns and mostly depended on drop shots for points. The Indian men and women players were busy in a preparatory camp and the championship was considered as a lead up to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi later this year. The dead rubber between Dipika Pallikal and Annie Au was canceled after India gave away an unassailable 0-2 lead to Hong Kong. PTI