Squash: Upset wins for Ajit, Archita

MUMBAI: Fourth seed

Jamal Sakib

crashed out, while top seed Abhishek Agarwal, second seed

Anshul Goyal

and third seed

Sandeep Paswan

were forced to battle hard before advancing to the semifinals of the under-23 event in the

Khar Gymkhana Open squash

on Monday. Fifth seed

Ajit Sharma

halted Sakib 11-9, 11-7, 13-11, 911, 11-9 in a best-of-five thriller after leading 2-1 and snatching the decider in a tight finish, while 58 seed

Archita Singh

beat third seed Mona Chauhan 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 in another upset of the day, to progress to the girls under-19 semifinals.

Leading 2-1, Abhishek Agarwal endured a surprise challenge before overcoming Anuj Unadkat 1311, 7-11, 11-2, 10-12, 11-6, while Sandeep Paswan rallied to beat Kunj Rawani 11-6, 1-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6 in a pulsating encounter that could have gone either way. Joining competition after a hiatus, formidable Rawani squandered a 2-1 advantage when he came chillingly close to grabbing the crucial fourth game and the match.

Let off the hook, Paswan seized the opportunity and remained ahead to snatch a close decider.

Dev outwits Maanav in final

Top seed Dev Shroff, ranked No.7 in the country and No 3 in state in the boys under-15 category, downed giant-killer Maanav Mehta in the actionpacked sub-junior boys singles final in the MCF-All Mumbai 4-Star Ranking Table Tennis tournament. In a battle of fluctuating fortunes, lefthander Dev outgunned Maanav 4-3 (11-9, 11-8, 13-15, 7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7).

Mihika Rohira

, the top se, claimed the sub-junior ed, claimed the sub-junior girls title at the expense of Vidhi Shah, but there were moments, when the tie could have gone the other way. However, Mihika won 5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9).