India's Mahesh Mangaonkar had to pull out all stops to halt the run of teenaged Egyptian qualifier Shehab Essam Hosny and enter the final of the USD 10,000 JSW PSA Indian Squash Circuit 2 here today.
Mangaonkar, seeded no. 2, quelled the strong challenge of the Egyptian opponent 11-6 4-11 11-7 5-11 11-9 in 91 minutes in a bitterly contested semi final - the first-ever meeting between the two players - at Juhu Vile-Parle Gymkhana.
Hosny had knocked out the other Indian hope, fourth seed Harinder Pal Sandhu, 3-1 in the quarterfinals yesterday.
Mangaonkar will meet either top seed Zahed Ahmed of Egypt or Malaysian qualifier Sanjay Singh in the final tomorrow.
In the WSA Tour 5 event being held concurrently, France's Chloe Mesic and Egypt's Nouran El Torky entered the summit clash.
WSA Tour 2 semi-finals: Chloe Mesic (FRA) bt Birgit Coufal (AUT) 11-4, 4-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-1; Nouran El Torky (EGY) bt Laura Pomportes (FRA) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8.
