Joshna Chinappa loses in WISPA final

Home favourite Joshana Chinappa nursed her hopes of winning the sixth title but succumbed to higher rated Donna Urquhart of Australia 3-1 in the season's first WISPA Squash Championship at the Indian Squash Academy courts in Chennai on Saturday.

World number 16 and top seeded Urquhart won the match 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 in 39 minutes.

Joshna, ranked 35th in the world, had won five WISPA titles, including one at home at the same venue in 2009.

"I wanted the title badly. I tried my best but Donna played really well and kept up to her pace elegantly. On today's standing, she deserves the win for her performance," said Joshna.

The Chennai-girl held on to her sizeable lead before clinching the first game with telling strokes and decisive drives.

Then on, Joshna remained a mere spectator as the Aussie deployed a variety of strokes to wrap up the match.

Urquhart, who lost to Joshna in an NSC Grade 3 championship in 2009, analysed the strengths of the Indian star in the first game and swiftly got into her rhythm.

With a commanding game plan, Urquhart was seen to be much relaxed and was not unduly worried even when Joshna was narrowing the lead couple of times in the match.

On the other hand, Joshna was in two minds in her approach shots in almost all the three games. She was brilliant at times, especially in her shots close to the walls but lacked ideas to counter-attack, leaving the sparse home crowd disappointed.

Urquhart, trained by Byron Davis of Australia, complimented Joshna, saying she is a talented player.

"After losing the first game, I tightened up my serves as Joshna was able to return with elan. I am happy that most often I succeeded with my double boasts and was able to push to the corner to score points. Mainly, I concentrated on my game instead of trying to counter Joshna today," she said.