Mumbai, July 3 (IANS) Tanvi Khanna went from flat to fizzy after losing two games in quick time and turned the tables against Egypt’s Farida Walid to earn a creditable victory in the women’s final of the SRFI PSA Challenger Squash Tournament at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana (JVPG) Club, in Mumbai on Friday.

The third-seeded Tanvi prevailed 8-11, 2-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7 over her second-seeded rival in a match that lasted 45 minutes, also avenging her 2-3 loss in January this year.

The men’s title was won by M. Syafiq Kamal, who defeated Yassin Shohdy (Egypt) 3-2 (6-11, 9-11,11-8,14-12,11-8).

Having played a tough five-game match on Thursday, Tanvi began sluggishly against her rival, who is known for her speed and fitness. Scores were level till 8-8, before two errors saw her lose the first game. The second was literally a non-starter for Tanvi as she kept hitting the tin and struggled to reach drops in the front court. Four minutes on court and the score read 2-0 in Farida’s favour.

Training 4-8 in the third, Tanvi seemed headed for a tame loss before the fightback began, a stroke awarded to her, a drop at the front court, and an inside-out forehand winner saw her level scores at 8-8. She kept up the momentum to win 12-10.

Jumping to a 7-3 lead in the fourth, Tanvi slackened a bit, allowing Farida to get back into the game. Farida levelled scores at 9-9 before Tanvi managed to close out the game. Tanvi started the fifth strongly, leading 5-2 and then 7-3, backed by a vociferous home crowd. There was a slight scare as Farida clawed her way back to 7-8, before Tanvi took control to reel off three points in a row.

Tanvi, who trains under Dhruv Dhawan in Delhi, said her coach advised her to play her normal game and not try for too much.

“I was trying to hit winners in the early stages of the match as I was a bit apprehensive about playing long rallies. My coach told me to just play the points on merit, and I realised that I still had a lot of energy and could play long points,” said Tanvi during the match.

Final results:

Women: (3) Tanvi Khanna bt (2) Farida Walid 3-2 (8-11, 2-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7)

Men: M. Syafiq Kamal bt (2) Yassin Shohdy (Egypt) 3-2 (6-11, 9-11,11-8,14-12,11-8)

–IANS

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