Nicol falls to shock defeat to India's Joshna Chinappa in Egypt

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's squash queen Datuk Nicol David faced a major upset after failing to qualify for the quarter-final of the El Gouna International 2018 squash tournament held in Egypt, early this morning.
Nicol, who is currently ranked ninth in the world, lost to Joshna Chinappa of India in straight sets 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 after 32 minutes in the round two match.
"Disappointed to have lost out today. Well done to @joshnachinappa15 on a good performance," Nicol said in her official Instagram post @nicoldsquash.
During the match, Nicol, 34, managed to level at 8-8 in the first set from 3 points treading, only to lose 11/8, then again in the second set while she was left at 3-7 in the second to 8/9 to lose 11/8, and in the third, saving two match balls from 6-10 but finally bowing 11/8.
Meanwhile, Chinappa, as quoted in the www.elgounasquashblog.com, said that she went into the court without any specific game plan to fight against the eight-time world champion.
"I didn't come on court with any particular game plan, I just came to play, I didn't think about the match before, just had a good night sleep, ate well, and came for my match," she said.
Chinappa will take on seeded number four Laura Massaro of England who eased past Joey Chan of Hong Kong 11-8, 11-4, 11-9. — Bernama