Eye on the ball: Tanvi defeated Rathika in straight games in the women’s semifinals.
| Photo Credit: Akhila Easwaran
Top seed Tanvi Khanna had a fairly straightforward 11-1, 11-5, 11-8 win over Rathika Suthanthira Seelan in the semifinal to enter the women’s final of the 79th National squash championships at the Indian Squash and Triathlon Academy (ISTA) here on Wednesday.
Tanvi was 3-6 down in the third game, but drew level and went on to close out at 11-8.
“Obviously, you’re always really concerned when you’re down. Even if you’re up in the match, I was down in the game. I was able to kind of reset focus on what I had to do and it showed. From 3-6, I reached 9-6.
“Lost one or two points after getting to 9 (points), the momentum shifts happen. That’s how I won six points in a row. Just lost a little bit of focus. But mostlyI’m very happy with my performance; it was good also to get tested a bit in the third game, because it is good to fight back. I need that for the match tomorrow,” she said.
On facing Anahat Singh in the final, she said: “The last time we played it was 2-all. So, it’s always, like, very tight. Let’s see.”
In a repeat of last edition’s men’s final, top seed Abhay Singh will face Velavan Senthilkumar on Thursday.
The results (semifinals):
Men: Abhay Singh (TN) bt Suraj Chand (Mah) 11-6, 11-2, 11-3; Velavan Senthilkumar (TN) bt Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (TN) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8.
Women: Tanvi Khanna (Del) bt Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (TN) 11-1, 11-5, 11-8; Anahat Singh (Del) bt Urwashi Joshi (Mah) 11-7, 11-3, 11-8.