Date:06/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/06/stories/2008080662022300.htm

Sport - Squash

India moves into quarterfinals

CHENNAI: India moved into the quarterfinal stage of the World junior men’s squash championships in Zurich after its 2-1 win over Australia in the pre-quarterfinal on Tuesday.

This is the fourth consecutive time that India is making it to the top eight in the World championship since 2002.

Perfect start

Vikram Malhotra gave India a perfect start when he dispatched Australia’s Mathew Hopkin in straight games. Vikram was aggressive and hit perfect lengths throughout the match.

Jacob Alexander then drew level for the Australians defeating Aditya Jagtap in four keenly fought games.

The Australian no. 2 Alexander started aggressively and did not give Aditya room to wriggle out. After being two games down, Aditya still gave the Indians a glimmer of hope when he clawed his way back from 3-7 to grab the third game. However, he was unable to sustain the tempo in the fourth game and lost. In the decider, Ravi Dixit played flawless squash to seal the fate of the Australians.

The results: pre-quarterfinals: India bt Australia 2-1 (Vikram Malhotra bt Mathew Hopkin 9-7, 9-6, 9-6; Jacob Alexander bt Aditya Jagtap 9-3, 9-6, 7-9, 9-4; Ravi Dixit bt Joshua Larkin 9-2, 9-1, 9-0).