Chinappa Marks Injury
Comeback With Home Title Win
Second seeded local, Joshna
Chinappa claimed her first home-soil WSA title after beating Sarah-Jane
Perry in the $10K Chennai Open in India.
The Indian national champion came from a game behind to claim the sixth
WSA title of her career, and made positive steps towards regaining the
top 30 ranking place she held before undergoing knee surgery last year.
Chinappa had dropped only one game on her way to the final, letting a
game slip to unseeded Egyptian Nouran Ahmed Gohar in the first
round, before dispatching Carrie Ramsey of England in straight
games in round two.
Her semi-final clash with No5 seed Salma Hany Ibrahim Ahmed of
Egypt looked to be a closely fought contest after a narrow 13-11 first
game in favour of the Indian, but Chinappa closed out the win in half an
hour to book her place in the final.
By contrast her opponent, third seed Sarah-Jane Perry played a 69-minute
semi-final marathon against giant-killer Anaka Alankamony who had
already dispatched the No7 seed as well as tournament favourite Siti
Munirah Jusoh.
Chinappa started the final contest slowly, with unforced errors
littering her otherwise well-placed lengths. Perry’s powerful court
dominance worked in the Englishwoman’s favour, and her height helped her
utilise strong volley attacks to mount and maintain a first-game
advantage.
The home-favourite began to settle more as the match went on, her
precise and conservative movement was key to absorbing Perry’s attacks
whilst keeping her opponent pinned to the back of the court. Keeping
with the winning formula, Chinappa closed out the second to draw level
and kept her momentum throughout much of the third. An assertive
backhand drive gave Perry more of an attacking threat, but Chinappa
stayed focussed to hold her advantage and take a 2-1 lead.
Ever determined, Perry stormed back in the fourth game to a 6-3 lead,
but was unable to finish off the rallies thanks to the excellent
retrieval of her opponent. The Indian came back to level the score at
7-all, and the game stayed level until the decisive tie-break handed
Chinappa to complete her first home-soil title win.
Final:
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
bt [3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 12-10
(47m)
Semi-finals:
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
bt Anaka Alankamony (IND) 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 14-12, 11-6
(69m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
bt [5] Salma Hany Ibrahim Ahmed (EGY) 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 (30m)
Quarter-finals:
Anaka Alankamony (IND) bt
[1] Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS) 4-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4
(63m)
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
bt [8] Victoria Bell (ENG) 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (38m)
[5] Salma Hany Ibrahim
Ahmed (EGY) bt [4] Pushppa Devi (MAS) 7-11, 12-10, 11-7,
11-8 (37m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
bt [6] Carrie Ramsey (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-6
1st round:
[1] Siti Munirah Jusoh
(MAS) bt [Q] Saai Meera (IND) 11-4, 11-1, 12-10
Anaka Alankamony (IND) bt
[7] Zulhijjah Binti Azan (MAS) 9-11, 11-0, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-4, 11-2, 11-6
[8] Victoria Bell (ENG) bt
[Q] Lakshya Ragavendran (IND) 11-8, 11-3, 11-6
[5] Salma Hany Ibrahim
Ahmed (EGY) bt [Q] Mariam Ibrahim Metwally (EGY) 11-6, 6-11, 14-12,
10-12, 11-5
[4] Pushppa Devi (MAS) bt
Harshit Kaur Jawanda (IND) 11-8, 12-10, 12-10
[6] Carrie Ramsey (ENG) bt
[Q] Ashita Bhengra (IND) 11-5, 11-0, 11-2
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
bt Nouran Ahmed Gohar (EGY) 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7
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