Chennai: India's Joshna Chinappa and Vaidehi Reddy bagged the gold and silver medals respectively in the girls singles of the 11th Asian Squash Junior Championship in Islamabad on Wednesday.

In a hard fought final, Chinappa defeated Reddy 5-9, 9-7, 9-4, 9-6, a press release from the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) said. This is the first time that two Indian players have figured in the title clash in this event.

Reigning under-17 British Junior Open Champion, Chinappa had earlier defeated the number one Hong Kong player Chan Ho Ling 9-1, 9-2, 7-9, 9-3 in the semi-final.

Chinappa showed some lethargy in the third game after wrapping up the first two games with ease. Trailing 4-8, Chinappa rallied to lead 7-8 but made a careless mistake on her forehand drive and eventually lost at 7-9.

However, Chinappa found her rhythm in the fourth to win the game and the match at 9-3.

The second semi-final between Vaidehi Reddy and Chiu Ka kei of Hong Kong also went to four games. Reddy claimed the first two games 9-4, 9-4 but committed a lot of unforced errors in the third game, to lose it 9-10.

In fact, Reddy served twice for the match at 9-8 and 9-9 but wilted under pressure. In the fourth game, Reddy made amends for her mistakes and secured it at 9-3.

N Ramachandran, president of both Indian and Asian Squash Federations (IASF), congratulated the Indian players on their winning the gold and silver medals.

PTI