Cologne, June 28 (IANS) India’s Dipika Pallikal along with three other top seeds entered the semi-finals of the 2010 Women’s World Junior Squash Championship.
India’s No.2 seed Pallikal lines up against Egypt’s fourth seed Nour El Tayeb in the semi-final in a repeat of last year’s match at the same stage of the competition in which the Egyptian upset the then top seed to reach the final.
Pallikal, 18, from Chennai, Sunday night recovered from a game down to beat Egypt’s fifth seed Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy 9-11, 11-9, 11-2, 12-10 in 50 minutes, while 17-year-old El Tayeb, from Cairo, defeated USA’s No.6 seed Olivia Blatchford 11-1, 11-6, 11-7.
Meanwhile, In an all-Egyptian clash, event favourite Nour El Sherbini dropped her first game of the tournament in overcoming seventh seed Nouran El Torky 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7.
The 14-year-old from Alexandria, the youngest player remaining in this U-19 championship, now has arguably her toughest test against third seed Sobhy.
The 16-year-old New Yorker is the highest-ranked player in the event and beat El Sherbini in last year’s World junior team championship in straight games in their only previous meeting.
Sobhy is also riding high after making history by becoming the first 16-year-old to win four WISPA World Tour titles. The left-hander, ranked 36 in the world, despatched eighth-seeded Alanka Alankamony of India 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 in just 22 minutes.
The results (quarter-finals): [1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [7] Nouran El Torky (EGY) 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 (41m); [3] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [8] Anaka Alankamony (IND) 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 (22m); [4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [6] Olivia Blatchford (USA) 11-1, 11-6, 11-7 (29m); [2] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [5] Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY) 9-11, 11-9, 11-2, 12-10 (50m).
