Squash World Cup 2023: India advances to semifinals after 4-0 win over South Africa
Jun 15, 2023
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 15 : India continued their winning run at the ongoing Squash World Cup, defeating South Africa to solidify their position at the top of Pool B and storm into the semifinal.
India defeated South Africa 4-0, as per Olympics.com.
In the first match, Tanvi Khanna defeated Hayley Ward 7-4, 7-2, 3-7, 7-2. The match was largely one-sided as Tanvi lost only one game.
Saurav Ghosal defeated Dewald van Niekerk 7-6, 7-4, 7-1 in the second match, a largely one-sided affair that he won within three games. With this win, the scoreline went up 2-0 in favour of India.
In the third match of the tie, Joshna Chinappa defeated Lizelle Muller 7-4, 7-3, 3-7, 7-1 in yet another largely one-sided affair. India had an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the tie.
Lastly, Abhay Singh beat Jean-Pierre Brits by 7-4, 3-7, 7-6, 7-5. India won the tie 4-0.
With this win, India is at the top of the Pool B with 12 points. Japan is in second place with 10 points.
Chennai is currently hosting the Squash World Cup 2023. After a lengthy absence of 12 years, the team championship is back for its fourth iteration, which will run until June 17.
In Chennai, eight teams are vying for victory: the host nation India, Australia, Colombia, Egypt, Hong Kong China, Japan, Malaysia, and South Africa. Egypt currently holds the championship after winning it in 2011.
The championship is taking place in two stages, first is the group stage and the second is the knockout/classification stage.
The teams have been split into two pools of four teams each for the group stage.
Pools for the Chennai 2023 Squash World Cup
Egypt, Australia, Malaysia, and Colombia make up Pool A.
India, Japan, South Africa, and Hong Kong China make up Pool B.
In the group stage, each team competes against the other three teams in its pool in single-legged round-robin matches. The top two teams from each pool advance to the semifinals, while the other two compete in matches for the fifth through eighth spots in a classification playoff system.
The Squash World Cup 2023 will feature four teams, each with two men and two women.
If there is a draw in the knockout round, the winning team will be determined by the number of games each team won or lost during the tie.
India defeated Hong Kong 4-0 in their opening match of the 2023 Squash World Cup.
India has never taken home the Squash World Cup trophy. The first edition was won by Australia in 1996.