Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: National champions Velavan Senthilkumar and Anahat Singh won their respective men’s and women’s singles, as India stunned two-time defending champions Egypt 3-0 and stormed into the final of the World Cup squash at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai. While Senthilkumar won 3-0, Anahat had to fight tooth and nail to win 3-2 before Abhay Singh sealed victory with a 3-1 win, as India made history by reaching the final.
Senthilkumar, 45th in the men’s rankings, fired India into the lead by beating world No. 96 Ibrahim Elkabbani 7-1, 7-3, 7-6 in the opening rubber. India’s top-ranked women’s player is at world No. 28, Anahat Singh, at 17 the youngest player in the tournament and a World Cup debutant, extended the hosts’ lead to 2-0 with a hard-fought 6-7, 7-5, 7-3, 3-7, 7-3 victory over the 44th-ranked Nour Heikal. Abhay Singh then sealed the spot in the final by seeing off Adam Hawal 3-1 (7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6).
This meant that Joshna Chinappa’s match against Nardine Garas was not needed. This is India’s best-ever finish in the Squash World Cup since the event started in 1996, topping bronze in 2023, and sets up a gold-medal clash with Hong Kong, China, on Sunday at the Indian Squash Academy. Earlier in the tournament, India beat Switzerland and Brazil by 4-0 margins in the group stage to progress to the quarter-finals, where they overcame South Africa 3-0.
The 2025 edition, organised by World Squash, is the fifth staging of the tournament and the third straight year it has been held in Chennai. Twelve nations initially competed and were divided into four groups of three, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals. This is India’s best-ever performance at the Squash World Cup, surpassing the semifinal appearance from 2023. India had lost to Malaysia and settled for a bronze medal at the same venue two years back.
