Panzhihua, May 20 (IANS) India’s junior squash contingent began the 33rd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships in Panzhihua, China, with a series of dominant performances, highlighted by a stunning upset from Dhairya Gogia in the boys’ U-13 category.

Gogia, unseeded, overcame Hong Kong’s 5/8 seed Tse Ka Chun in a thrilling four-game battle, prevailing 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 in the first round on Wednesday. His victory set the tone for an impressive day for the Indian squad across multiple age groups.

In the U-13 boys’ draw, Amarya Bajaj maintained his strong form, winning against Macau’s Chau Hyo Chon with scores of 11-1, 11-1, 11-5. Abhyuday Arora also edged out Sri Lanka’s Danuja Jayasinghe with scores of 11-5, 11-4, 11-1. On the girls’ side, Riyaa Dalal defeated Sri Lanka’s Dheerya Mithali Silva with set scores of 11-0, 11-6, 11-7. Meanwhile, the 5/8 seed Alia Kankaria beat Korea’s Eun Choi, winning 11-4, 11-6, 11-5.

Indian players also performed well in the U-15 category. Dhruv Johri comfortably defeated Sri Lanka’s Disas Subasinghe with scores of 11-3, 11-5, 11-3. Meanwhile, Vedant Agarwal narrowly lost a five-set match to Singapore’s Jackrish Kumar Sashikumar, with scores of 10-12, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5, 11-3.

In the U-17 division, Hridhaan Shah, Lokesh Subramani, Shiven Agarwal, and Raghav Vashishta achieved straight-game wins or victories in four games against competitors from China, Hong Kong, and Macau. On the girls’ side, Saanvi Kalanki, Riyansika Verma, and Diva Shah upheld India’s unbeaten record with impressive wins over their respective opponents.

The U-19 girls’ category also demonstrated impressive performances. Unnati Tripathi progressed following Li Shiqi’s retirement mid-match, while Akanksha Gupta, Vyomika Khandelwal, and Eesha Shrivastava all achieved straight-game victories against opponents from Japan, Korea, and China.

India’s depth across different age groups was showcased on the opening day, sending a powerful signal to their Asian competitors as the four-day event progresses.

–IANS

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