Indian squash teams book semis berths

India assured themselves of a medal in both the boys and girls sections at the Asian Junior Team Squash Championship by reaching the semi-finals here Friday. India play Malaysia in both the semi-finals scheduled for Saturday.

India defeated Iran 2-0 in the boys' section while the girls had an easy 3-0 win over Sri Lanka in the two key matches that decided the passage into the knockouts.

The girls' tie was the first to be completed and it was Akanksha Salunkhe who set the ball rolling though she had an initial stumble, losing the first game before gathering herself to breeze past Fathoum Issadeen.

Harshit Kaur then ensured the winning margin, beating Mihiliya over four games. Sunayna completed the formalities with a smart outing in the third singles. The win helped India to finish second in Pool B behind Hong Kong.

In the boy's match, Velavan Senthilkumar was in top touch as he swept aside Farzan in quick time in straight games to give India a 1-0 lead.

Kush Kumar fought from 1-2 down to overcome Sajad Zareian in five games which gave India an unbeatable lead and booked a berth in the semi-finals.

The results:

Boys: India beat Iran 2-0 (Velavan Senthilkumar bt Farzan Habibpour 11-3, 11-4, 11-4; Kush Kumar bt Sajad Zareian 12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-7).

Girls: India beat Sri Lanka 3-0 (Akanksha Salunkhe bt Fathoum Issadeen 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-4; Harshit Kaur bt Mihiliya Methsarini 11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7; Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Kiara Mari Guruge 11-4, 11-3, 11-3).