Squash: Arihant and Pooja Raghu Advance in PSA Challenger Tour Event in Kolkata

Kolkata, August 10: The HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour event witnessed thrilling matches as Arihant KS triumphed over Switzerland’s Leandro Manhart with scores of 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4 in the men’s singles opening round.

In the women’s first-round matches held on Monday, Pooja Aarti Raghu made a comeback to defeat Kashvi Mangal, winning 13-15, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9. Another Indian player, Ananya Narayanan, secured victory against Ahana Singh with a scoreline of 8-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-8, while Vasundhara Nangare overcame fellow Indian player Janet Vidhi 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.

The HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour has previously hosted events in Indore, Mumbai, and Chennai, and is now taking place in Kolkata. India’s hopes in the men’s category rest on fourth seed Suraj Kumar Chand and eighth-ranked Om Semwal, while Rahul Baitha and Sandesh Palaniwel Ravikumar are just outside the top 10.

In the women’s category, India’s Tanvi Khanna is the top seed, followed by Radhika Suthanthira Seelan and Akanksha Salunke as the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively. Nirupama Dubey is seeded seventh, with Unnati Tripathi also making her mark in the top 10.

The prize fund for the men’s category stands at $9,000, with an equal amount for the women’s category.

Results for Indian male players include:

– Hassan Menshavi (Egypt) defeated Vedant Patel 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6.
– Ravi Dixit overcame Pradeep Malik 11-8, 11-8, 11-6.
– Arihant KS defeated Leandro Manhart (Switzerland) 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4.
– Sandesh Palaniwel Ravikumar beat Harshal Rana 11-9, 12-10, 11-9.
– Fabian Egelbrink (Germany) won against Aadarsh Banodha 11-6, 11-5, 11-8.
– Rahul Baitha triumphed over Raunak Yadav 11-6, 11-5, 11-9.
– Deepak Mandal defeated Miguel Mathis (Switzerland) 11-7, 11-5, 4-11, 11-4.
– Shaurya Bawa won against Mohit Bhatt 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-2.

Results for Indian female players include:

– Pooja Aarti Raghu defeated Kashvi Mangal 13-15, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9.
– Riva Nimbalkar overcame Arna Dwivedi 11-5, 11-8, 11-8.
– Ananya Narayanan triumphed over Ahana Singh 8-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-8.
– Anjali Semwal defeated Bhria Sharma 11-7, 11-1, 11-6.
– Vyomika Khandelwal won against Gaushika M due to a retired hurt.
– Vasundhara Nangare beat Janet Vidhi 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.
– Anika Dubey overcame Arya Dwivedi 11-9, 11-7, 11-6.
– Sahana Kalaiwanan defeated Rani Gupta in a one-sided match, 11-1, 11-2, 11-2.