New Delhi:
India's challenge at the Malaysian Open Squash championship came to a premature end after qualifiers Dipika Pallikal and Siddharth Suchde bowed out in the first round of the tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
Asian junior champion Pallikal went down fighting to eighth seed Laura Massaro of England 11-9 9-11 11-9 8-11 9-11 in the USD 53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold event at the the Bukit Jalil National Squash Centre last night.
Meanwhile in the USD 52,500 PSA Five-Star event, Suchde, world ranked 88, suffered a crushing 4-11 7-11 9-11 defeat at the hands of top seed Mohamed El Shorbagy of Egypt to bow out in just 33 minutes.
Earlier in the final round of the qualifiers, Pallikal had defeated local girl Siti Munirah Jusoh 9-11 11-6 11-6 11-6, while Suchde got the better of USA's Gilly Lane 11-7 11-9 6-11 11-8.