India's leading squash player Joshna Chinappa, playing her first tournament in six months, has reached the quarterfinals of the CIB Egyptian Open here.
The world number 11 was pushed to the limit by 38th ranked Farida Mohamed who staged a valiant comeback after losing the first two games to level the match.
In the decider, the Indian managed to see off the Egyptian for a 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 10-12, 11-9 win in the third round.
Joshna meets world number two Nour El Sherbini in the quarterfinals.
"She takes a little time to warm up, but once she gets going, it’s hard to stop and contain her. She played some great winners, maybe there were a few rallies that weren’t that nice to look at, I don’t know, I got knocked out a few times," Joshna was quoted as saying in the tournament website.
"I’m relieved to be through, it could have been either of us. But in the 5th I tried to keep it simple, she was in full confidence having come back from 2/0 down, I didn’t want to open it too much for her, and I think that I was just a bit more consistent at the end of that game."
India's highest-ranked male player, Saurav Ghosal, lost his third round match against Egypt's Mezan Hashem 8-11, 9-11, 8-11.
It was the first event too for Ghosal since March when the Covid-19 outbreak led to a nationwide lockdown.