National champion Saurav Ghosal succumbed to the aggressive strokeplay by World No 9, Karim Darwish of Egypt 2-11, 2-11, 3-11 in the pre-quarterfinal tie of the USD 40,000 CIMB Squash Open Championship in Kuala Lumpur.
Second seed Darwish attacked relentlessly and played a tight game in his straight set win yesterday, denying the Indian champion a place in the quarterfinals.
World No 45, Ghosal said at a post-match press conference that Karim outplayed him totally.
"Karim played a tight game and did not let me get into the match," Ghosal said.
Ghosal had reached the main draw of this prestigious championship by getting past higher ranked Malaysians Timothy Arnold and Chong Kam Hing.