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British Junior Open Squash: Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh set up historic all-Indian final

Velavan Senthilkumar continues to make noise at the junior level

What’s the story?

Indian squash had a historic moment at the British Junior Open when Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh set up an unprecedented all-Indian final in the Boys’ Under-19 section at Sheffield on Thursday. In the 91-year history of this event, usually considered the world’s second most prestigious junior tournament after the World Championships, this will be the first time that two Indians will be facing each other in the summit clash.

In case you didn’t know…

Asian Games men’s team gold medallist Saurav Ghosal, who has been India’s best men’s player in the past decade, was the last winner of the British Junior Open B19 title. The Kolkata ace became the first player from the country to triumph in this category when he prevailed over Egypt’s Adel El Said in 2004.

Besides the B19, India also had a host of champions in other categories as well. Mahesh Mangaonkar, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal have each been a former winner.

This is also the third consecutive year that India will be winning a medal ar the British Junior Open. Last year, budding talent Neel Joshi captured the bronze in the B13 section while in 2015, Kush Kumar grabbed a bronze in B19.

The heart of the matter

Between the two, it is Abhay Singh’s run which is more stunning considering that he is unseeded at this tournament. The 18-year-old, who topped the Asian U-19 rankings last year, has been a giant-killer and has accounted for the ¾ seed Belal Nawar, 5/8 seed Kyle Finch and 9/16 seed Adhitya Raghavan.

His performance against Finch in the quarter-finals speaks volumes of the teenager’s courage ad resilience as he came back from 2-0 down to clinch the win in five thrilling games. 

Senthilkumar, the reigning Asian junior U-19 champion, in contrast, is the 5/8 seed, who toppled the second-seeded Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim in the semi-finals.

“This is the best thing that has happened to Indian squash in recent times,” national coach Cyrus Poncha commented on the wins.

Sportskeeda’s Take

Indian squash has been on the rise in recent times. Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal’s 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal win and India’s superb performance at the Asian Games the same year validate it. 

It’s thus not a surprise that the senior pros have inspired a crop of talented youngsters to take the sport forward further. Success in elite junior events shows the health of the sport in the country. Kush Kumar’s 2014 World Championships and 2015 British Junior Open bronze medal wins as well as Neel Joshi’s B13 bronze last year totally signal that the future is in good hands. 

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