Indian Men's and Women's Squash Teams Progress to Knockout Stage in Distinct Ways
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Mumbai, Dec 10 (NationPress) The Indian men's and women's squash teams have sustained their remarkable performance, successfully reaching the knockout stage of the World Squash Team Championships 2024, advancing to the pre-quarterfinals in Hong Kong-China on Tuesday.
The Indian women's squad achieved a decisive 3-0 victory against Italy, while the men's team faced a setback, losing 2-1 to Colombia. However, they still progressed to the knockout stage as Colombia subsequently triumphed over Ireland, allowing the Indians to finish second in their preliminary group.
In the upcoming pre-quarterfinals, the Indian men's team is set to challenge Malaysia, whereas the women's team will compete against Australia. The pre-quarterfinals in both categories will feature 12 teams, with four teams receiving a bye. Matches for both Indian teams are scheduled for Wednesday.
In their final league encounter, the Indian women's team achieved a 3-0 win over Italy, with Akanksha Salunkhe, Anahat Singh, and Nirupama Dubey each securing victories in straight games. Notably, Nirupama Dubey, ranked 206th in squash, triumphed over Beatrice Filippi with a score of 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-1) in just 15 minutes during the opening match of the tie.
Anahat Singh, currently ranked 95th, followed up with another commanding 3-0 win (11-3, 11-9, 11-3) against world No. 131 Cristina Tartarone. Lastly, Akanksha Salunkhe, who holds the highest ranking among the team at 70th in the world, completed the stellar performance by defeating Flavia Miceli 3-0 (11-3, 11-3, 11-1).
On the men's side, despite their 2-1 loss to Colombia, the Indian men's team advanced to the pre-quarterfinals thanks to a subsequent Colombian victory over Ireland.
World No. 54 Abhay Singh suffered a defeat in the opening match, losing 3-1 (4-11, 8-11, 11–5, 4-11) to Miguel Rodriguez, who is ranked 17th. However, Veer Chotrani equalized for India with an excellent 3-1 win (11-8, 11-9, 12-14, 11-5) against the higher-ranked Juan Camilo Vargas (39th).
Suraj Kumar Chand, ranked 159th, faced a challenging match against world No. 78 Ronald Palomino, ultimately losing in straight games (11-5, 11-6, 11-3). Though Colombia claimed victory 2-1 in the tie, they later defeated Ireland to secure the top position in the group. The Indian men had previously defeated Ireland 2-1 on Monday.
