Indian teams sail into semifinals in Asian Team Squash Championships
Pakistan, 15-times title winner in the men's section, have finished outside the top four for the first time in the history of this tournament.
Indian men's squash team leader Saurav Ghosal (Source: Saurav Ghosal/twitter)
The Indian men's and women's squash teams comfortably qualified for the Asian Team Squash Championships in Malaysia on Thursday. The men's team beat Indonesia 3-0 in their final group stage match, while the women's team thrashed Iran by the same margin.
Squash powerhouses Pakistan, meanwhile, were knocked out in the group stages, going down to Japan in their last match. In the past 19 editions of the tournament, Pakistan men's team has won the title 15 times, 3 silver medals and a bronze. This is the first time since the inception of the tournament in 1981 that the Pakistan men's team has finished outside the top 4 in the Asian Squash Team Championships.
The Indian men's team has enjoyed a splendid start to their campaign in the Asian Squash Team Championships, winning with a scoreline of 9-0 against the Philippines and Iraq, before crushing Japan 9-1 earlier today.
The Indian men's team continued their winning momentum against arch-rivals Pakistan, as they beat them with a 7-5 margin.
The Indian women's team, led by veteran Joshna Chinappa, too had a brilliant start to their campaign as they had beat the Philippines 3-0, without dropping a game.
The Indian men's team will now take on Hong Kong in the semifinals on December 3.
Semifinal line-up
Men: India vs Hong Kong; Japan vs Malaysia.
Women: India vs Hong Kong; Japan vs Malaysia.
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