Pallikal pulls off pulsating semi-final against Chinappa

Dipika Pallikal defeated India teammate Joshana Chinappa in a close contest to enter the final of WSA Granite Open squash tournament in Toronto on Thursday.

World No.13 Pallikal powered past 21st-ranked Chinappa 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 to enter her successive final of the season.

The 23-year-old from Chennai had won her ninth WSA title in another Canadian city of Winnipeg, in what was her opening tournament of the season.

Third seed Pallikal meets England's Sarah-Jane Perry in the final. Perry packed off top seed Amanda Sobhy of USA 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6.

Pallikal and Chinappa had last met in the Asian Games where the higher-ranked Indian won a fiercely contested quarter-final.

"Playing Joshana is always tough. We had a really long match at the Asian Games last year and I knew it was always going to be hard. All the games were really close and it could have gone either way. Really happy to be in the finals here in cold Toronto," said Pallikal.

Image: India's Dipika Pallikal

Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images