New Delhi: Local favourite Saurav Ghosal survived some early challenge before edging past English qualifier Adrian Weller in straight games in the opening round of the ongoing Punj Lloyd PSA Masters squash tournament here on Wednesday.
World ranked 22, Ghosal defeated Weller 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 in 45 minutes to move into the pre-quarterfinals of the USD 1,92,5000 event at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here.
Ghosal, the lone surviving Indian in the men's event, has an uphill task at hand as he will be meeting third seed and world ranked sixth Amr Shabana of Egypt in the last-16 on Thursday.
Shabana made short work of unseeded Steve Coppinger of South Africa 11-7, 11-6 11-4 in 29 minutes in his opening-round encounter.
The other Indians in fray in the men's section - Harinder Pal Sandhu, Sandeep Jangra and Siddharth Suchde - crashed out of the event on Wednesday.
Among other seeded players, ninth seed Daryl Selby and fifth seed Peter Barker of England also advanced to the pre-quarters of the six-day-long event.
In the match between Ghosal and inexperienced Weller, the Indian was stretched to the maximum in the first game, lasting around 17 minutes.
It was a close first game with fortunes fluctuating from one end to the other but Ghosal kept his calm and waited for mistakes from his opponent, which Weller committed towards the end moments.
Down 0-1, Weller came out with more purpose in the second game and gave Ghosal a tough time with long rallies, which left the Indian mentally and physically drained.
Both the players showed great athleticism and there were moments when Weller looked on course to level the scoreline but Ghosal raised his game when it mattered and made it 2-0 by a slender of a margin.
The third game was no different as both the players were locked at 5-5 initially but Ghosal proved his supremacy over the Englishman and used his famed footwork to perfection to notch up the hard-fought victory.
"He (Weller) played really well, almost neck-and-neck. Only after winning the first two games I felt little bit relaxed. He is a good upcoming player and that showed in his game," Ghosal said after the match.
The Guangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist said he will have to raise his level of play to register an upset win over Shabana in the next round.
"Shabana is a great player. Hopefully, I can play well against him tomorrow. I just need to focus on my strengths to create an upset. I have to really raise my level as everyone on the circuit knows about his ability," said the Kolkata-born player about Shabana, against whom he lost 2-3 in the pre-quarters of the same event last year.
Ghosal's coach and second seed Englishman James Willstrop's father, Malcolm Willstrop, said the Indian applied more European approach to his game on Wednesday which eventually resulted in his win.
"He used more European approach today. Ghosal was quite calm all throughout the match and that worked in his favour.
He is a very clever guy and knows when to raise his game.
Overall, it was a good performance," said Malcolm.
On his encounter against Ghosal on Thursday, Shabana said, "He is a very tough player and I am expecting a good match.
"The crowd will also be behind him. But I hope to carry on my today's performance in the later stages of the tournament."
In the morning session earlier in the day, Selby defeated unseeded countrymate Joey Barrington 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 while Barker got the better of another unseeded Omar Abdeel Aziz of Egypt 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-2.
The USD 36,500 women's event, WISPA Masters, will begin from Thursday with top international female players, including top seed Jeeny Duncalf of England, second seed Australian Kasey Brown and fourth seed Jaclyn Hawkes of New Zealand vying for the trophy.
India's Aparajitha Balamurukam and Anaka Alankamony have secured their places in the main draw of the women's event.
While Aparajitha got a bye over Pakistan's Saima Shoukat in her final qualifying match, Anaka defeated compatriot Anwesha Reddy 11-3, 11-6, 12-10 in straight games to make it to the main draw.
Aparajitha will meet third seed Camille Serme of France, while Anaka will face sixth seed Malaysian Low Wee Wern in the first round.
Indian challenge in the women's event will be spearheaded by country's top-ranked player Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa.
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