New Delhi: Dipika Pallikal kept the Indian hopes alive by enterting the quarter-finals after compatriots Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghoshal lost close matches in the Punj Lloyd Squash Masters here on Thursday.
World No.29 Dipika scored a comfortable 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 win over lower-ranked Lisa Aitken of Scotland in the first round while practise partner and friend Joshna suffered a heartbreaking 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 10-12 loss against No.14 Annie Au of Kong Kong to bow out of the WISPA event.
Dipika made her opponent run all over the court to start her campaign on a confident note.
"The first match is the usually toughest for me and I am glad I won. It was also the first time I played against her (Lisa)," said Dipika.
World No. 36 Joshna ended up on the losing side against Annie for the fourth straight time.
The Coorgi player made a remarkable comeback in the deciding fifth set but lost to a tenacious opponent. Joshna leveled the match at 8-8 from 3-8 down in the fifth set but could not hold the nerves to register her maiden victory against the higher-ranked player.
In the PSA Masters, Saurav snatched a game from four-time World Champion Amr Shabana of Egypt but went down 5-11, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
The first point of the match between Saurav and four-time world champion Shabana produced the longest rally and got the sparse crowd on the edge of their seats.
The Egyptian's sterling display of drop shots and cross court smashes proved too hot for the Indian. The crowd saw some quality play in the second set when Shabana hit seven winners in a row.
Saurav, ranked 22, managed to win the third set but in the end Shabana's experience of wining 26 PSA titles came in handy as he sealed the tie in the fourth game.
Saurav's coach Malcolm Willstrop said the Indian gave his best against a "perfectionist" at work .
"Saurav was magnificent but you can't do much when you have someone like Shabana playing the perfect game. He just did not do anything wrong in the second set, in fact, Saurav did incredibly well to score six points," said Willstrop.
Shabana had got better of Saurav even in last year's Punj Lloyd Masters in Mumbai.
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