Pallikal claims fifth WISPA title of her career

India's Dipika Pallikal claimed her third WISPA title of the year when she overcame a spirited challenge from fourth seed Joey Chan to win the 7th Crocodile Challenge Cup squash tournament in Hong Kong on Sunday.

Third-seed Pallikal denied the home crowd at the Hong Kong Squash Centre what they had come to see as the No. 1 Indian defeated Hong Kong's Chan 12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 14-12 in a thrilling final that lasted 60 minutes.

The match went the full distance, with all five games featuring close finishes.

Chan, the World No. 20 who won the Macau Open before delighting the home crowd by reaching the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open last month, recovered from losing the first game to take the lead, winning the next two games and saving match balls in the process.

But it was the World No. 17 Pallikal, the first Indian to reach the quarter-finals of the World Open two months ago, who had the last laugh, taking the last two games 11-8, 14-12 after exactly an hour's play, to claim her third title of the year.

In the semifinal, Pallikal had defeated second seed Sarah Kippax 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 while in the quarters, she got the better of fifth seed Siti Munirah Jusoh 11-5, 11-6, 11-1.

Hong Kong's Max Lee retained his men's title with 8-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-3 win over Malaysia's Muhd Asyraf Azan in the final.