India’s top squash player Joshna Chinappa claimed the IJM Land Penang Open, defeating top seed and local favourite Siti Munirah Jusoh in straight games here on Sunday.
Joshna defeated her Malaysian opponent 11-9, 11-7, 11-1 in a 34-minute battle between the two top seeds at the Nicol David international squash centre. Both had dropped just one game en route to the final. This was Joshna’s seventh WSA World Tour title.
It was the Indian who maintained her dominant form in the final, winning the first game narrowly.
Jusoh’s resilience waned as the match progressed and the gap between the two widened in the second game. The Malaysian could not keep pace with the Indian and claimed just one point in the final game.
Joshan got a walkover in the first round after Pakistani qualifier Zahab Khan withdrew with injury.
The Indian then battled from a game down against the sixth seed Karman Siu before getting past another Hong Kong player — No. 3 seed Carmen Lee — in the semifinals.
Sandhu falters
At Valencia, Egypt’s Omar Abdel Aziz brought Harinder Pal Sandhu’s giant-killing run to an end when he defeated the Indian qualifier 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 in the final of the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 squash event on Sunday.
Fourth seed Aziz ,, reached the final without dropping a game. Sandhu, who had beaten higher-ranked players en route to the final, found the world No. 41 from Cairo a tough nut to crack and lost in straight games.
