India’s Tanvi Khanna and Suraj Kumar Chand bowed out of the HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour after suffering semifinal defeats in their respective draws here on Thursday.

Women’s top seed Tanvi put up a strong fight against Egyptian third seed Sohayla Hazem but could not prevent her opponent from advancing to the final. Tanvi started the contest impressively, showing good control and aggression to take the opening game 11-6 and put Hazem under early pressure.

The Egyptian, however, responded strongly in the second game. Hazem tightened her defence and began finding better angles and lengths, allowing her to level the contest with an 11-2 win. The momentum remained with the third seed in the following games as she continued to dictate rallies and force Tanvi into extended exchanges.

Tanvi attempted to regain control in the third and fourth games, but Hazem held her nerve at crucial moments. The Egyptian secured the third game 11-7 before closing out the match with another 11-7 win in the fourth game. Hazem thus completed an 6-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7 victory to book her place in the women’s final.

In the men’s draw, fourth seed Suraj Kumar Chand also saw his campaign come to an end after he was beaten in straight games by Egyptian top seed Mohamed Gohar.

Gohar produced a commanding performance from the outset, taking the opening game 11-8. Suraj tried to stay in contention, but the Egyptian maintained the pressure and controlled the pace of the rallies. Gohar raced through the second game 11-2, leaving Suraj with little room to recover.

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The Indian fourth seed fought to extend the contest in the third game, but Gohar remained composed and converted his opportunities to win it 11-7. The straight-games victory earned the Egyptian top seed a place in the men’s final.

The results mean that both finals on Friday will feature all-Egyptian line-ups. Hazem will face second seed Menna Walid in the women’s title clash, while Gohar will meet third seed Seif Refaay in the men’s final.

For the Indian contingent, Tanvi’s semifinal appearance marked a notable run in the women’s competition, while Suraj’s progress to the last four also saw him finish among the leading performers in the men’s draw.

With the semifinals completed, attention now shifts to Friday’s finals, where the Egyptian players will battle for the respective HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour titles. Hazem and Walid will compete for the women’s crown, while Gohar and Refaay will contest the men’s championship in what promises to be a closely fought final day of action in Kolkata.