Three of Ireland’s leading squash players suffered quarter-final eliminations on Thursday, Conor Moran and Sam Buckley losing at the Helsinki PSA Challenger and Breanne Flynn beaten at the Abbas Family Squash Inspire in Columbia.
Moran, the PSA men’s No.172 rank, had two wins to his credit in Finland coming into his quarter-final, including the scalp of Edwin Clain, the Helsinki No.4 seed who is ranked 83rd on the PSA list.
However, Diego Gobbi, the Helsinki No.7 seed, wasn’t added to Moran’s hit list as the Brazilian, who is listed as the PSA No.105, eventually clinched a 2-3 win.
Moran demonstrated tremendous resilience, twice coming from behind to level at 1-1 and 2-2, but the deciding game got away from him early and he could only manage a single point.
Buckley, the No.8 seed in Finland, had comfortably seen off England’s Noah Meredith in his only match before the quarter-finals, and he got off to a flyer against No.3 seed Daniel Poleshchuk from Israel.
The PSA No.126 won the first game 14-12 but was then eclipsed in the next three by a player listed as No.75 by PSA.
In the USA, eight-seed Flynn, ranked No.128 on the PSA women’s list, came into her quarter-final buoyed by a 3-0 dismissal of Molly Chadwick, the No.251 PSA rank from Canada.
However, that dominance wasn’t repeated against Egypt’s Malak Taha, the PSA No.152, and she was beaten 0-3.
HELSINKI PSA CHALLENGER (Finland) – Quarter-finals
Conor Moran 2-3 (7-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7, 1-11) v Diego Gobbi (Brazil)
Sam Buckley 1-3 (14-12, 6-11, 7-11, 6-11) v Daniel Poleshchuk (Israel)
ABBAS FAMILY SQUASH INSPIRE (Columbia, USA) – Quarter-final
Breanne Flynn 0-3 (7-11, 10-12, 6-11) v Malak Taha (Egypt)
