Birmingham, June 2 (IANS) India’s challenge in the men’s draw of the British Open squash championships came to an end on Tuesday as Abhay Singh and Veer Chotrani suffered second-round defeats against higher-ranked opponents.

Abhay, ranked World No. 24, pushed Egyptian star Mohamad Zakaria hard before going down 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 10-12 in a closely contested four-game encounter. The Indian fought back strongly after losing the opening two games, taking the third and threatening to force a decider before Zakaria held his nerve in a tense fourth game.

The defeat ended an encouraging campaign for Abhay, who had opened his tournament with a commanding straight-games victory over Colombia’s Matias Knudsen. The Indian had looked in impressive touch in the first round, winning 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 to set up the clash against the world No. 8 Egyptian.

Chotrani’s run also concluded in the second round, as the world No. 40 was beaten by Welsh sixth seed Joel Makin. Chotrani battled hard in the opening two games but eventually succumbed 10-12, 9-11, 3-11 against the experienced world No. 6.

The Indian had entered the contest on the back of one of the standout victories of the opening round, having defeated Pakistan’s World No. 29 Noor Zaman 11-8, 12-14, 11-6, 11-7. However, Makin’s consistency and experience proved decisive as he advanced to the last 16.

Abhay and Chotrani were the only Indians to progress beyond the opening round of the PSA Diamond event after contrasting fortunes for their compatriots earlier in the tournament.

Ramit Tandon was forced to retire from his first-round match against France’s Auguste Dussourd with the score at 14-12, 4-7, while teenage sensation Anahat Singh exited the women’s draw following a four-game defeat to Egypt’s Nardine Garas.

Despite the second-round exits, Abhay and Chotrani’s runs ensured India had representation in the latter stages of one of squash’s most prestigious tournaments, with both players producing notable victories before running into top-10 opposition.

–IANS

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