National Squash Championship 2023: Velavan Senthilkumar stuns Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu to set up final against Abhay Singh
Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar have qualified for the final of the men's singles event at the 79th National Squash Championship. The tournament is being played at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai. Top-seeded Tanvi Khanna will meet the prodigy Anahat Singh in an all-Delhi women's singles final.
Tanvi rallied past Rathika Suthanthira Seelan 11-1, 11-5, 11-8 in the first semi-final fixture of the day. In another lopsided contest, Abhay Singh got the better of Maharashtra's Suraj Chand 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 to continue his fabulous run this year.
In a battle of Tamil Nadu players, top-seeded Velavan blanked Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu in a match that was marred by some heated exchanges with the official referee in the first game. Both players felt let down by the decisions that went against them, with Harinder being the more vociferous among the two.
The Asian Games 2023 mixed doubles gold medalist was seen explaining some rules to the referee when Velavan was awarded a point to extend his lead at 6-3 in the first game.
"It was a good game and Vela played well. I was a little bit off. Just a few decisions here and there which I felt weren't the correct ones, which went completely to the opposite, like [I] was not in the middle or didn't get a benefit of doubt also. It happens like a part and parcel of the game," Harinder told Sportskeeda after the second semi-final.
Anahat Singh qualifies for second straight final
Anahat Singh was troubled by some stiff challenges from Maharashtra's Urwashi Joshi. But the 15-year-old displayed her outstanding skills, mixed with shots and pace, to take the game home 11-7, 11-3, 11-8.
Anahat will qualify for her second straight final in the senior women's tournament after she finished runners-up to 19-time champions Joshna Chinappa last year. The one person who is between Anahat and her goal is the youngster's state teammate Tanvi Khanna, who also looks out for her first national championship title.
It will be a repeat of last year's men's singles final with Abhay aiming to defend his title, whereas sweet revenge will be on the cards for the Salem-born Velavan Senthilkumar.