Sandhu, Dipika take home titles

Harinder Pal Sandhu helped himself to his third title and Dipika Pallikal her second on the trot in the four-leg JSW Challenger Squash Circuit here on Wednesday.

Harinder defeated the top seeded Egyptian Karim Ali Fathi 11-8, 11-3, 11-6 while top seeded Dipika accounted for second seed Misaki Kobayashi of Japan 11-6, 11-2, 11-8.  Both Dipika and Harinder effectively snuffed their opponents out with some tight play.

 Having had a good outing in the semifinal, Dipika was in the right frame of mind from the first point. Keeping the returns long and ensuring Misaki does not get any leeway to make gains, Dipika reeled away points to get into a strong position. Misaki too did not help her own cause with repeated unforced errors, mostly trying to find the area above the tin with a drive or boast.

The Japanese however worked up a good fight in the third game and for the first time earned a handy lead too. But Dipika was not one to lose pace. Results (final): PSA: Harinder Pal Sandhu (Ind) bt Karim Ali Fathi (Egy)  11-8, 11-3, 11-6; WSA: Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn) 11-6, 11-2, 11-8.