CWG: Pallikal-Chinappa barge into women's doubles semifinals

Dipika Pallikal

Glasgow: Indian squash players Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa sailed into the women's doubles semifinals at the Commonwealth Games here today.


Dipika Pallikal

The fifth seeds got the better of sixth seeds Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy from New Zealand, 11-9 11-5, in the quarterfinals at the Scotstoun Sports Campus. They are now a win away from assuring India's first squash medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Pallikal will be back on the court later today for her mixed doubles round of 16 match with partner Saurav Ghosal. Earlier, Ghosal and Harinder Pal Sandhu suffered a heart-breaking loss in the men's doubles.

The seventh seeds from India lost 5-11 11-8 9-11 to eighth seeds Stuart Crawford and Greg Lobban of Scotland to bow out of the competition. "It feels really bad. We are out now and that's not what we would have liked obviously.

I think they came out better in the first game than us. In the second, we were better than them and the third was quite neck and neck throughout. It is just sad we couldn't come out on top and they did," said a dejected Ghosal.

The India number one men's singles player was also involved in an agreement with the referee during the tough contest. "Firstly there are four people on this court. I know it's slightly bigger but it's still crowded and you're trying to make sure you don't hit the other person.

There were two or three occasions were Lobban hit the balls above our heads and I don't know if that's okay because if it is then people are just going to keep smacking the ball wherever and there has to be a warning for that," added Ghosal.