Indians fancy their chances as squash World Cup begins

Chennai, June 12

The experienced Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa will spearhead the Indian challenge as the fourth edition of Squash World Cup begins here tomorrow with the hosts in with a chance to strike gold in the mixed team event.

Ghosal and Joshna are part of a four-member Indian team that will go up against the likes of Hong Kong, China, South Africa and Japan in the league stage in Pool B. Abhay Singh and Tanvi Khanna are the other members of the home team.

India will begin their campaign against Hong Kong in an evening match on the first day of the revamped tournament.

“We have a good chance. But we are focusing on one match at a time. Hopefully, we will all execute our plans well and win every match,” said Ghosal.

The tournament, to be played in the all-glass show court inside the Express Avenue Mall, will also feature teams from Egypt, Australia, Malaysia and Colombia, which make up Pool A.

Incidentally, the last edition of the World Cup was also held in Chennai, way back in 2011.

With the season-ending PSA World Tour finals scheduled in Cairo from June 20, the top players have decided to give the World Cup a miss.

The second-seeded Indians are expected to face the toughest challenge from the top-seeded Egyptians.

Though most participating teams would be without their leading stars, there are some in the top-100 who would be seen in action.

In the group stage, India’s challenge is likely to come from Japan, which includes world no. 18 Satomi Watanabe in the women’s section, and quality male players like Ryunosuke Tsukue and Tomotaka Endo. PTI

Groupings

Pool A: Egypt, Australia, Colombia and Malaysia

Pool B: India, Japan, South Africa and Hong Kong