Indian junior squash players had a tough outing on Saturday at the World Junior Squash Championships in Houston, USA as only two Indians made it to the pre-quarterfinals.
Anahat Singh in the girls’ U19 category while Shaurya Bawa in the boys’ U19 category won their respective round of 32 matches and kept Indian hopes alive at the event.
The young Indian squash prodigy, Anahat, registered two consecutive straight-game wins to continue her excellent performance at the junior circuit.
Anahat entered the tournament among the top eight-seeded players of her category. It earned her a bye in the first round of the event.
She kickstarted her championships after knocking out Van Zyl Dene of South Africa and Samantha K Jaffe of the USA in the second and third rounds, respectively. She will now take on Akari Midorikawa of Japan in the round of 16 on Sunday.
However, India’s Tiana Parasrampuria lost in her third-round clash to the higher-seeded Lauren Baltayan of France in straight games (5-11, 3-11, 3-11).
ANAHAT SINGH IN 4TH ROUND
Women’s WSF World Junior Championship 2024, Houston Squash Club, Houston, Texas, USA: 12 – 23 July 2024
3RD ROUND;;
[5/8] Anahat Singh (IND) bt Sam Jaffe (USA)11-7, 12-10, 11-6 pic.twitter.com/MdwDz8FxUf
— ISP Squash-India (@IspSquash) July 14, 2024
Shaurya impresses
Shaurya Bawa is the lone warrior in the men’s discipline as he pulled off a come-from-behind victory against the higher-seeded Rustin D Wiser of the USA in a four-game (4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-6) encounter to book his place in round of 16.
He made an impressive comeback in the match by winning three games on trot despite of losing the first game very easily. Now, he will take on the Segundo Portables of Argentina in the pre-quarterfinal on Sunday.
On the other hand, Yuvraj Wadhwani also impressed with his play in the tournament but his good run ended with a hard fought five-game (11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 6-11) match against top eight seeded Javier Emilio of Ecuador in the round of 32.