India double dip in Canberra

It was a double triumph for India at the 2023 Jansher Khan Canberra Open, with the top seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws taking out the tournament.

World number 75 Akanksha Salunkhe spent just 74 minutes on court on route to the final, dropping just one game to South Australia’s Alex Haydon in the semi-finals.

In the decider she found herself up against Costa North Coast Open winner Tanvi Khanna who was gunning for two titles in the space of a week. Khanna had taken down Western Australia’s Erin Classen in the quarter-final before eliminating Victoria’s Sarah Cardwell in the semis.

Khanna’s quest was on track, twice leading by a game before Salunkhe twice brought the match back to even.

In the deciding game, the Indian pair took the match to 11-all before Salunkhe was able to complete the comeback to win the fifth 13-11.

The men’s tournament saw the top two seeds make it all the way to the final, with world number 92 Velavan Senthilkumar coming up against Australia’s top-ranked men’s player Joseph White.

While Senthilkumar hadn’t dropped a game on route to the final, White had to fight from 2-1 down in his semi against France’s Brice Nicolas to make it to the decider.

In Sunday’s final, Senthilkumar won the points which mattered in tightly contested games to open up a 2-0 lead.

White instigated a huge momentum shift in the third, taking the game 11-2 and the comeback was on.

However the Indian was able to reassert his authority on the match, taking the fourth game 11-3 to place both hands on the trophy.

Australian Squash Tour
White’s run to the final has seen him rocket into the fourth place on the Australian Squash Tour standings on 1050 points.

In front of him are Ryan Cuskelly (1750), Rhys Dowling (1600) and Dylan Molinaro (1090), with the standings set for another shake up at the Volkswagen Bega Open this week with six of the top seven players in the draw.

Alex Haydon (2200) and Sarah Cardwell’s (1676) semi-final appearances have moved them closer to Jess Turnbull (2450) at the top of the men’s standings, with Haydon now just 250 points behind the Australian number one.
 
The top eight players in the women’s standings are all in the draw for this week’s Volkswagen Bega Open.