Top seeded Saurav Ghosal made it to the semi-finals of the Senior National Squash championships with a 9-0, 9-2, 9-2 victory over Supreet Singh in Chennai on Thursday.
Supreet, who created an upset in the qualifying round, beating Vikas Jhangra, played aggressively against Ghosal but failed to make a mark.
Another interesting match was the last quarter-final between Gaurav Nandrajog and Naresh Kumar, which lasted 85 minutes.
Delhi lad Nandrajog eventually won 10-9, 4-9, 9-3, 9-5.
The second quarter-final between Harinder Pal Singh and Parth Sharma was also an exciting one. Spectators were treated to long rallies. However, knee cramps led to Parth's downfall. Harinder won 6-9, 10-9, 10-8, 9-7.
In the women's section, top seed Joshna Chinappa had it easy against Dheeya Somaiya, winning 9-0, 9-1, 9-0, while Deepika Pallikal brushed aside Anaka Alankamony 9-0, 9-1, 9-1.
Surbhi Misra, an ICL trainee, crushed Harita Omprakash 9-0, 9-0, 9-0.
In the professionals category, defending champion and top seeded Balamurugan entered the semi-finals beating unseeded Vijay Jhangra 9-4, 9-1, 9-2.
Others to reach the semis were Kalimuthu, Sanjay Pawar and Dalip Tripathi.
Results:
Men's quarter-finals: Saurav Ghosal bt Supreet Singh 9-0, 9-0, 9-2; Harinder Pal Singh bt Parth Sharma 6-9, 10-9, 10-8, 9-7; Siddharth bt Parthibhan Ayappan 9-1, 9-3, 9-2; Gaurav Nandrajog bt Naresh Kumar 10-9, 4-9, 9-3, 9-5.
Women's quarter-finals: Joshna Chinappa bt Dheeya Somiya 9-0, 9-1, 9-0; Deepika Pallikal bt Anaka Alankamony 9-0, 9-1 9-1; Surbi Mishra bt Harita Om Prakash 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Anwesha Reddy bt Komal Sharma 9-0, 9-0, 9-0.
Professionals: Balamurugan bt Vijay Jhangra 9-4, 9-1, 9-2; Kalimuthu bt Desappan 8-10, 9-3, 9-1; Sanjay Pawar bt Hari Om Tripathi 10-8, 9-3, 9-1; Dalip Tripathi bt Vinod Kumar 9-1, 9-4, 9-2.