This is Joshna’s third straight loss to the 30-year-old since October last year. Their match at the quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic in November was a thriller in which the Indian was edged in five gruelling games.
Indian challenge ends at the Tournament of Champions.
The 14-time national champion gave a tough fight to the fifth seed and closed in at 8-9 in the third game. But the Amr Shabana-coached Kawy was too strong and didn’t give Chinappa any opportunity after that.
With Joshna’s exit, curtains came down on the Indian challenge at the year’s first World Series event. While 13th seed Dipika Palikal lost in the opening round, men’s qualifier Ramit Tandon succumbed to the reigning world champion Gregory Gaultier in his opener.
Dipika will play at the Granite Open next week where she was the runner-up last year. Joshna will turn her attention next to the Cleveland Classic in the first week of February where Pallikal is also playing.
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