National champion Joshana Chinappa clinched the women’s title in the USD 15,000 NSCI Open JSW Indian Squash Circuit 2015. She defeated Egyptian top seed Habiba Mohammad in straight games in the finals. Joshana, ranked 24th in the world currently, defeated Habiba 11-8 11-9 11-6 in a tough title-clash, which lasted 47 minutes.
The major hiccup for the Indian player came when she got hit by her rivals racket on the face in the second game and needed medical attention for a bloody nose before resuming her battle after a 10-minute break. The Indian fell behind in the second and at 1-3, Habiba hit her in the face in the follow-through of a huge swing. Joshana recovered from her bloody nose, and resumed play about 10 minutes later.
Interesting Facts
- Joshna Chinappa was the first Indian to win the British Squash Championship title in 2003 in the under 19 category and was also the youngest Indian women’s national champion.
- Joshna Chinappa is the first beneficiary of Mittal Champions Trust.
- At the 2014 Commonwealth Games she along with Dipika Pallikal won the squash women’s doubles gold medal, making it India’s first ever Commonwealth Games medal in the sport.
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