World Junior Squash Team C'ship: Indian boys and girls fall short in quarter-finals

The Indian Junior Squash teams experienced a forgettable day at the 2024 WSF World Junior Team Championships in Houston, USA, with both the boys and girl's teams falling short in a close encounters against South Korea and Malaysia in the quarterfinals.

The boys team, seeded sixth, got off to a promising start with Yuvraj Wadhwani securing a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Seojin Oh with the score line reading 7-11 11-4 11-7 7-11 6-11.

However, Korea's Joo Young Na, fresh off his individual final run, leveled the tie with a 3-1 win over Shaurya Bawa (11-9 6-11 11-9 11-6).

In the deciding match, Kun Kim proved too strong for Arihant KS, winning comfortably in straight sets (11-7 11-6 11-9 ) to secure a 2-1 victory for South Korea.

With this win, the South Korean boys became the first ones from their country to breach the quarter-final barrier and advance to the semi-finals. 

Heartbreak for the Indian girls

The Indian girls team also faced a tough day in the office, losing to Malaysia in their quarter final fixture.

The encounter began in disappointing fashion as Shameena Riaz lost the first match to Whitney Wilson in straight games (7-11,3-11,10-12).

Anahat Singh then managed to overcome Thanusaa Uthrian in a hard-fought battle that lasted over an hour with the score line reading 6-11 15-13 11-6 5-11 11-6.

However, Nirupama Dubey could not hold off a resurgent Doyce Lee who pipped the Indian 3-2 in what was a thrilling encounter (7-11 11-7 11-5 10-12 3-11).

When the dust settled, Malaysia had clinched a dramatic victory, edging past India 2-1 in a nail-biting encounter, and advancing to the semi-finals.

What’s next for the Indian Team

Both the boys and girls teams will now play for the 5th-8th place rankings.

The boys will face South Africa on Monday, while the girls are set to face England.