Chinappa Chases Down El Torky For Winnipeg Win by Howard Harding February 3, 2014
- India's Joshana Chinappa picked up the eighth WSA World Tour title of
her career when she outlasted Egypt's Heba El Torky in the final of the
Winnipeg Winter Club Women's Open, the WSA Tour 15 squash event in its
fifth year at the Winnipeg Winter Club in Winnipeg, Canada.
Unseeded El Torky was
the event's talking point throughout the week. The world No39 from
Alexandria brushed aside No7 seed Samantha Teran, third seed Emily
Whitlock and then event favourite Nicolette Fernandes in quick
succession to secure a shock berth in the final - the eighth of the
23-year-old's career.
Fourth seed Chinappa,
the 12-time Indian national champion from Mumbai, also had a surprise
opponent in the semi-finals - Japan's No8 seed Misaki Kobayashi, who
upset the 2013 runner-up Joey Chan in a five-game quarter-final.
Chinappa squandered a
game ball in the first game to let El Torky take the opener - but
struck back in the next two games to take back the lead.
World No20 Chinappa
saw El Torky draw level after winning the fourth by a significant
margin - then soon found herself three match balls down at 7-10 in the
decider.
However, the momentum
shifted again to Chinappa as the determined Chennai-born 27-year-old
ran off five points in a row to clinch the match 12-14, 11-8, 11-5,
3-11, 12-10.
The success marks the second successive Indian winner of the title after Dipika Pallikal's triumph in 2013.
"Congratulations to
both Joshana and Heba for a great tournament here in Winnipeg and to
all the girls for putting on a great show here in Winnipeg at the
Winnipeg Winter Club Women's Open," said tournament promoter Trevor
Borland.
RESULTS: Winnipeg Winter Club Women's Open, Winnipeg, Canada
