JOIN USUnseeded Mahesh Mangaonkar maintained home interest in the Maharashtra State PSA Open when he dismissed Egyptian qualifier Fares Mohamed Dessouki in four games to claim an unexpected place in the semifinals of the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 squash event here on Friday.
Fresh from beating the number two seed earlier, Fares traded point for point in the opening game. Mahesh was taking the ball early and at 10-all won two good points to win the first game 12-10.
In the second, Fares came out strong and Mahesh was forced into making a few errors due to the attack of the Egyptian teenager.
Mahesh didn’t give in easily though and produced some decent shot-making but Fares attacked better at 8-8 to win 11-9 at the Bombay Gymkhana. With Fares beginning to tire in the third, the 19-year-old Mumbaikar regained the lead.
The fourth game always had one winner and Mahesh was literally the last man standing on the day. The 14-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-1 victory after 77 minutes takes World No 88 Mahesh through to a last-four clash against fourth seed Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry.
The World No 45 from Cairo, also 19, removed India No 2 Harinder Pal Sandhu 12-10, 11-9, 11-8.
The other semifinal will be an all-Egyptian affair between unseeded Zahed Mohamed and third seed Ali Anwar Reda. Reda, who upset top seed Ong Beng Hee in the first round, beat Indian hope Ravi Dixit 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.
Quarterfinal results: Zahed Mohamed (Egy) bt Ravi Dixit (Ind) 11-8, 11-5, 11-5; Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Johan Bouquet (Fra) 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-1; Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (Egy) bt Harinder Pal Sandhu (Ind) 12-10, 11-9, 11-8; Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind) bt Fares Mohamed Dessouki (Egy) 14-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-1.