Sport

Indian women begin well

KUWAIT: India made a flying start in the women’s team event with a 3-0 over Macau in a Pool ‘A’ four-team league in the Asian senior squash championship here on Monday.

India plays Korea next and a win there will ensure its semifinal knock-out passage. Defending champion Malaysia is the leading side in the pool.

Joshna Chinappa, the only Indian to earn a medal (bronze) as a semifinalist in the open event, led the way with Anwesha Reddy and Harita Om Prakash being the other two. India wrapped up the tie in 33 minutes.

The men are scheduled to play Japan in Group C, where Qatar is the third team. The top two teams from the pool will move into the quarterfinals.

With Ritwik Bhattacharya, Saurav Ghosal and Siddarth Suchde in the squad, India should get past Japan to make sure of the last eight berth.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Mohammad Azlan Iskandar won his maiden men’s singles title on Sunday, beating team-mate Ong Beng Hee 5-9, 8-10, 9-5, 9-0, 9-7, and not as reported on Monday.

The results:

Men: Pool A: Malaysia bt Chinese-Taipei 3-0; Pool B: Pakistan bt Korea 3-0; Pool C: Japan bt Qatar 3-0; Pool D: Kuwait bt China 3-0; Hong Kong bt Macau 3-0.

Women: Pool A: India bt Macau 3-0 (Anwesha Reddy bt Maria Estela Gageiro Madeira 9-0, 9-0 9-0; Harita Omprakash bt Sam Hei tong 9-0, 9-0, 9-1; Joshna Chinappa bt Cha Si Man 9-0, 9-0, 9-1); Malaysia bt Korea 3-0;