CWG 2018 Squash: Joshna Chinappa reaches quarters, Dipika Pallikal exits

Multiple-time national champion Joshna Chinappa booked her place in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Commonwealth Games squash tournament after clinching straight-games win over Tamika Saxby of Australia in the women`s singles event here in Gold Coast, Australia on Friday.

The World No. 14, who picked the women`s doubles gold with Dipika Pallikal-Karthik in the last edition of the quadrennial sporting event, made everything looked so easy as she swept aside her Australian opponent Saxby 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 in a last-16 clash that lasted just 25 minutes.Chinappa will now lock horns with the winner of another round-of-16 clash between New Zealand`s Joelle King and Malaysia`s Sivasangari Subramaniam.

Meanwhile, it was a heartbreak for Dipika Pallikal as she bowed out of the tournament after slumping to straight-games defeat at the hands of England`s Alison Waters.Pallikal endured a crushing 3-11, 6-11 and 2-11 defeat against her England opponent in their women`s singles pre-quarterfinals.

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However, it was curtains for Pallikal-Karthik as she was no match for England`s Alison Waters, going down 11-3, 11-6, 11-2.In the men`s singles squash event, India`s Vikram Malhotra bounced back from a set down to win the second game but eventually failed to capitalize on the same and went down fighting 6-11, 11-8, 6-11, 6-11 defeat to top-seeded Englishman Nick Mathews in a clash that lasted 40 minutes.

With Vikram`s defeat, India`s campaign at the Commonwealth Games also folded.Elsewhere in the CWG, the Indian lawn bowls team of Chandan Singh, Sunil Bahadur and Dinesh Kumar suffered a 14-15 defeat to England in the men`s Sectional Triples Sectional Play in round three.Meanwhile, in the third round of the women`s singles event, Pinki lost to Litia Tikosisuva of Fiji 12-21.