Jakarta: Hong Kong outplayed India 2-0 in the women’s team final of the Asian Games squash competition here on Saturday.
India, who had stunned holders Malaysia in the semifinal, found Hong Kong too hot to handle for the second time in three days after suffering a 2-1 loss in the group stage.
AU Wing Chi Annie got the better of Joshna Chinappa 11-3, 11-9, 11-5 to clinch the tie after Ho Tze-Lok beat Sunayna Kuruvilla 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-3 in the opening match.
Joshna, who upset Malaysian legend Nicol David in a thriller on Friday, looked a bit jaded in the opening game which Annie clinched 11-3. Annie used the angles and drop shots to good use to stamp her authority.
World No. 16 Joshna fared much better in the second, but the left-handed Annie won the big points to win it 11-9. World No. 11 Annie closed out the tie 11-5 in the third.
The Indian eves had ended up with a silver in the last edition at Incheon too.
The opening match featured the third-ranked players from both sides – Sunayna and Ho. Sunayna had beaten Ho in the group stage, but this time around she found her a tricky opponent to deal with. Ho won the opening game 11-8 and looked fairly untroubled in the second to take it 11-6. Sunayna was also handed a warning by the referee for dangerous play in the second game.
However, the 19-year-old Sunayna, a cousin of her teammate Dipika Pallikal, fought back to clinch the third 12-10. The game witnessed a fair bit of pushing from both players and the decision of the referee did not please both on most occasions. Sunayna lost the plot completely in the fourth game as Ho won eight points on the trot to take it 11-3 and give Hong Kong the lead.
Annie did the job with aplomb in the second match.
