Birmingham, May 31: Indian squash players Abhay Singh and Veer Chotrani have successfully moved to the second round of the British Open Squash tournament. However, Ramit Tandon and rising female player Anahat Singh have been eliminated from the PSA Diamond event.
Ranked 24th in the world, Abhay defeated Colombia’s Matias Nussens 11-8, 11-5, 11-4. Meanwhile, world number 44 Chotrani triumphed over Pakistan’s 29th-ranked Noor Zaman with scores of 11-8, 12-14, 11-6, 11-7. Chotrani’s next match will be against fifth-seeded Welsh player Joel Makin, while Abhay will face seventh-seeded Egyptian Mohamed Zakaria.
Tandon retired during his match against Frenchman Auguste Dussourd, with the scoreboard reading 14-12 and 4-7 at the time of his withdrawal.
In another highlight, Simon Herbert achieved a stunning 3-0 victory over 2018 champion Miguel Rodriguez, with scores of 15-13, 11-8, 11-4. Additionally, Sam Todd secured his place in the last 32 by defeating Fares Dessouki in a tough 54-minute match, finishing 3-1.
In the women’s draw, Anahat faced a setback against world number 36 Nardin Gharas, who pulled off an upset by winning 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9. Gharas dominated early in the match, taking the first game 11-8. Although she lost the second game 8-11, she regained her composure and won the next two games 11-8, 11-9. Following her victory, Gharas will compete against eighth-seeded player Tinne Gillis on Birmingham’s glass court.
After her win, Gharas expressed her satisfaction, stating, “I am very happy with how I played today. I gave it my all, and I felt this was my last tournament of the season, so I wanted to leave everything on the court. I am excited that my next match is on the glass court. Let’s see how it goes, and I am really looking forward to playing.”
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