Chinappa WSA Home Title Win Marks Injury Comeback
by Matt Wagg
May 28, 2012 - Second seeded local, Joshna Chinappa claimed her first home-soil WSA title after beating Sarah-Jane Perry in the $10K Chennai Open in India.
The Indian national champion came from a game behind to claim the sixth WSA title of her career, and made positive steps towards regaining the top 30 ranking place she held before undergoing knee surgery last year.
Chinappa had dropped only one game on her way to the final, letting a game slip to unseeded Egyptian Nouran Ahmed Gohar in the first round, before dispatching Carrie Ramsey of England in straight games in round two.
Her semi-final clash with No5 seed Salma Hany Ibrahim Ahmed of Egypt looked to be a closely fought contest after a narrow 13-11 first game in favour of the Indian, but Chinappa closed out the win in half an hour to book her place in the final.
By contrast her opponent, third seed Sarah-Jane Perry played a 69-minute semi-final marathon against giant-killer Anaka Alankamony who had already dispatched the No7 seed as well as tournament favourite Siti Munirah Jusoh.
Chinappa started the final contest slowly, with unforced errors littering her otherwise well-placed lengths. Perry’s powerful court dominance worked in the Englishwoman’s favour, and her height helped her utilise strong volley attacks to mount and maintain a first-game advantage.
The home-favourite began to settle more as the match went on, her precise and conservative movement was key to absorbing Perry’s attacks whilst keeping her opponent pinned to the back of the court. Keeping with the winning formula, Chinappa closed out the second to draw level and kept her momentum throughout much of the third. An assertive backhand drive gave Perry more of an attacking threat, but Chinappa stayed focussed to hold her advantage and take a 2-1 lead.
Ever determined, Perry stormed back in the fourth game to a 6-3 lead, but was unable to finish off the rallies thanks to the excellent retrieval of her opponent. The Indian came back to level the score at 7-all, and the game stayed level until the decisive tie-break handed Chinappa to complete her first home-soil title win.
Final:
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 (47m)
Semi-finals:
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Anaka Alankamony (IND) 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 14-12, 11-6 (69m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [5] Salma Hany Ibrahim Ahmed (EGY) 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 (30m)
Quarter-finals:
Anaka Alankamony (IND) bt [1] Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS) 4-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4 (63m)
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [8] Victoria Bell (ENG) 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (38m)
[5] Salma Hany Ibrahim Ahmed (EGY) bt [4] Pushppa Devi (MAS) 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 (37m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [6] Carrie Ramsey (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-6
1st round:
[1] Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS) bt [Q] Saai Meera (IND) 11-4, 11-1, 12-10
Anaka Alankamony (IND) bt [7] Zulhijjah Binti Azan (MAS) 9-11, 11-0, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-4, 11-2, 11-6
[8] Victoria Bell (ENG) bt [Q] Lakshya Ragavendran (IND) 11-8, 11-3, 11-6
[5] Salma Hany Ibrahim Ahmed (EGY) bt [Q] Mariam Ibrahim Metwally (EGY) 11-6, 6-11, 14-12, 10-12, 11-5
[4] Pushppa Devi (MAS) bt Harshit Kaur Jawanda (IND) 11-8, 12-10, 12-10
[6] Carrie Ramsey (ENG) bt [Q] Ashita Bhengra (IND) 11-5, 11-0, 11-2
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Nouran Ahmed Gohar (EGY) 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7
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