Oracle Netsuite squash Open: Joshna upsets Joelle King to enter semifinals

India's Joshna Chinappa stunned fourth seed Joelle King of New Zealand to seal a place in the semi-final of the Oracle Netsuite women's squash Open, a world tour gold event here. The 33-year-old from Chennai, seeded eighth, notched up an 11-9, 6-11, 11-3 win over world-ranked 6 Joelle in the quarterfinals on Friday night.

Joshna will meet top seed and world number one Raneem El Welily of Egypt on Sunday. Joshna had a bye in the first round and then an easy 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 win over unseeded Melissa Alves of France for a place in the quarters.

Against King, Joshna's record has never been outstanding having lost many times but it was a different this time. Showing assurance and keeping a good length in her returns, the Indian matched the rival stroke for stroke.

Though there was a slip in the second game when Joelle seemed to return to her aggressive ways, Joshna assured the winning trend did not desert her. It was a gutsy show overall that took her 35 minutes to complete.

Responding to her big win, Cyrus Poncha, the SRFI Secretary-General said, "This is a brilliant start to the season for Joshna. We wish her more success ahead." PTI ATK ATK