Makin Extended By Inspired Chotrani Display In Christchurch

World No.6 Joel Makin survived an inspired display of attacking squash from Veer Chotrani to reach the quarter-finals of the 2026 New Zealand Open, taking five games to hold off the world No.45 at Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch.

Despite the 39 positions between the pair in the PSA World Rankings, Makin was forced to deliver a high-quality performance to ensure his title hopes didn't unravel before they had even taken shape, eventually holding off the Indian No.3 by a 14-12, 14-12, 8-11, 9-11, 11-2 scoreline.

All throughout the 88-minute contest, Chotrani attacked at will, peppering the front two corners and testing the defences of Makin to the extreme. Despite seeing four game balls slip through his grasp in the opening game, and being edged out in two consecutive tie-breaks, Chotrani continued to back his tactics and looked to be on the brink of a potentially huge upset after coming from 2/0 down to force a decider.

However, it was reigning British National Champion Makin who steadied the ship just in time, pulling away early in the fifth and managing to race through the deciding game to the loss of just two points.

After the match, Makin said: "Ranking-wise, there's a massive gap, but I've seen him play at his highest level. I rewatched him versus [Ali] Farag at the World Champs [last year], and not many trouble Ali like that. Usually, Ali battered those lower-ranked players, so disrupting and trading with him shows the very high levels he can play at.

"I was wary he could do that, and I could cope with him in patches. However, he was just hitting so many outright winners, so credit to him for that."

Makin will face unseeded Patrick Rooney in the quarter-finals, after the Englishman overcame fellow countryman Curtis Malik, the No.6 seed, in a hard-fought four-game duel.

Despite Rooney seeing four match balls slip through his grasp at the backend of the third game, and a further opportunity go begging at 10-9 up in the fourth, the world No.48 hung on to record an 11-8, 11-8, 10-12, 13-11 victory over his compatriot.

Elsewhere on day two of play in Christchurch, top seed Tinne Gilis got her campaign underway with a commanding straight games win over Ukraine's Alina Bushma. The Belgian No.1 was joined by No.4 seed Aira Azman, No.5 seed Marina Stefanoni and No.8 seed Ka Yi Lee in the quarter-finals after the trio all claimed respective three-game wins over Tsz-Wing Tong, Marina Stefanoni and Hollie Naughton.

The other two winners in the men's draw were No.3 seed Mohamad Zakaria and No.7 seed Nicolas Mueller, who will face off in the last eight after respective victories over Kiwi Wildcard Oliver Dunbar and Yannick Wilhelmi.