CCI squash: Yuvna downs Akshaya, enters semi-finals

Maharashtra's Yuvna Gupta fought hard against Tamil Nadus S Akshaya Sri to record a 11-7, 12- 10, 6-11, 6-11, 11-2 win in girls under-17 quarter-final match of the 76th CCI Western Indian Squash Open on Monday.

The joint third-fourth seed Yuvna faced a stiff challenge from Akshaya and closely won the first two games, the second over extra points, to take a 2-0 lead at CCI here.

But, the Tamil Nadu girl showed plenty of resilience as she went on to win the next two games to force the decider.

In the fifth game, Yuvna played a bit aggressively and quickly won the game to seal a place in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the top two seeds, Tanishka Jain of Maharashtra and Abhisheka Shannon of Tamil Nadu, comfortably came through their quarter-final encounters to take their place in the semis.

Jain sidelined compatriot Sonya Bajaj, winning in three games at 11-5, 11-9, 11-6, while Abhisheka was also in complete control against Prini Jain of Maharashtra and raced to 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 victory.

In the girls under-19 competition,top seed Yoshna Singh of Maharashtra and second seed Rathika Suthanthira Seean of Tamil Nadu easily progressed to the semi-finals.

The Maharashtra girl Yoshna outshone her statemate Gangu Nirguda, winning in straight games at 11-1, 11-3, 11-4; while Rathika also enjoyed an easy outing against Karnatakas Saumya Raj, charging to a 11-1, 11-6, 11-2 win.