Velavan and Anahat reign supreme in National squash

It was a classic fare from Velavan Senthilkumar as he dethroned top seed Abhay Singh 11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 in the HCL 81st National squash championship at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Thursday.

And it was a hat-trick of titles for 17-year-old Anahat Singh as she raced past second seed Akanksha Salunkhe 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 in the women’s final.

Anahat, who had lost the 2022 final to Joshna Chinappa, has firmly taken over the reins as the queen of Indian squash thereafter.

It was the second National crown, after the first in 2023, for the 27-year-old Velavan who had finished runner-up to Abhay Singh twice in the last three years.

The sparks flew thick and fast during the men’s final as both brought out the best game in each other, but the warmth of friendship shone through at the finish.

While Velavan had the technical supremacy, he matched the energetic game of Abhay this day, much to the delight of the packed arena, which included the HCL Chairperson Roshni Nadar as the chief guest.

Abhay did fight back in the third game, but Velavan did not flinch and handled the fourth game with great composure and elegance to seal the title, after missing two championship points at 10-6.

The champions were presented Rs. 1,30,000 each, while the runners-up pocketed Rs. 75,000.

Atul Kumar Yadav took the pro coach title, beating Matthew Godwin in four games in the final, to win Rs. 50,000. The runner-up got Rs. 30.000.

Yash Fadte and Tanvi Khanna were presented the ‘best player’ awards.

The results:

Men: Final: Velavan Senthilkumar bt Abhay Singh 11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8; semifinals: Abhay bt Ramit Tandon 11-13, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7; Velavan bt Veer Chotrani 7-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-4.

Women: Final: Anahat Singh bt Akanksha Salunkhe 11-7, 11-6, 11-4; semifinals: Anahat bt Tanvi Khanna 3-11, 11-5, 11-0, 11-9; Aknksha bt Joshna Chinappa 11-5, 13-11, 7-11, 12-10.

Pro coach (final): Atul Kumar Yadav bt Matthew Godwin 11-2, 11-5, 7-11, 11-3.