Squash World Cup: India suffered a defeat in the semi-finals of the SDAT WSF Squash World Cup 2023 as the team lost 0-3 to Malaysia. Second seed India is now out of the competition as fourth seed Malaysia has qualified for the summit clash. He will now face defending champions Egypt in Chennai.
Indian players Joshna Chinappa, Sourav Ghosal, and Abhay Singh all lost their respective games to their Malaysian counterparts. Sai Hung Ong first defeated Abhay Singh in a thrilling contest that lasted 37 minutes. He saved a sudden-death match ball before winning the clash in five matches. 18-year-old Aira Azman beat Joshna Chinappa 7-3, 7-3, 5-7, 7-4 to give Malaysia a 2-0 lead.
The Indian team needed two wins from Sourav Ghosal and Tanvi Khanna to keep their hopes alive but World No. 19 Ghosal was defeated by World No. 134 Darren 7-5, 2-7, 7-6, 6-5. Had to face defeat. Pragasam.
Following the win, Malaysia sealed their place in the finals and are set to face top seed and defending champions Egypt. Top-seeded Egypt defeated Japan in the other semi-final of the tournament. Karim El Hammami, Fairoz Abouelkher, Elie Abou Aileen, and Kenji Ayman all won their respective bouts. The final is to be held in Chennai on June 17.
Earlier, India had maintained its dominance in the pool stage. The Indian quartet of Abhay Singh, Joshna Chinappa, Sourav Ghosal and Tanvi Khanna won all the three games in the pool stage. They defeated Hong Kong 4–0. The four continued to dominate and beat South Africa by a similar margin of 4–0. India then defeated Japan 3–1 before Chinappa beat World No. 18 Satomi Watanabe.