India defeats Egypt, to face Hong Kong in final

India stormed into the final of the SDAT Squash World Cup with an emphatic 3-0 victory over defending champion Egypt at the Express Avenue Mall here on Saturday, achieving a historic first for the host nation in the competition.

Seeded second, India was aware that the task would not be straightforward despite Egypt fielding a side without its top stars. The African powerhouse’s depth was on display, and while the scoreline suggested dominance, two of the three rubbers were keenly contested and stretched to the limit.

National champion Velavan Senthilkumar laid the foundation with a clinical opening performance, using immaculate length and precision to subdue Ibrahim Elkabbani and hand India an early advantage.

The tie truly came alive in the second rubber, where Anahat Singh survived a stern test from Nour Heikal in a gripping five-game duel. Ranked 44 in the world, Heikal belied her ranking against world No. 22 Anahat, troubling the Indian with deep probing shots from the backcourt and a series of exquisite cross-court backhand winners.

Velavan Senthilkumar made short work of Ibrahim Elkabbani to put India in the lead.
| Photo Credit:
R. Ravindran

The decisive moment arrived in the fifth game when Anahat, leading 5-3, took a brief injury timeout for her left hand. On resumption, she showed remarkable composure, stringing together crucial points to close out the game and the match 7-3, drawing loud cheers from the home crowd.

In the third rubber, Abhay Singh sealed India’s place in the final after a bruising 55-minute battle against Adam Hawal. The contest was marked by punishing length rallies and sustained intensity before Abhay prevailed in four hard-fought games.

Earlier in the day, Earlier, top seed Hong Kong entered the final despite being tied 2-2 with Japan, after the Asian teams won two matches each. Hong Kong advanced, thanks to winning more number of games (8) to Japan’s 7. 

The results (Semifinals): India bt Egypt 3-0 (Velavan Senthilkumar bt Ibrahim Elkabbani 7-1, 7-3, 7-6; Anahat Singh bt Nour Heikal 6-7, 7-5, 7-3, 3-7, 7-3; Abhay Singh bt Adam Hawal 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6).  

Japan drew with Hong Kong 2-2 (Tomotaka Endo bt Henry Leung 5-7, 7-4, 2-7, 7-5, 7-5; Satomi Watanabe bt Ho Tomato Tze-Lok 7-4, 7-4, 7-5; Ryunosuke Tsukue lost to Alex Lau 2-7, 3-7, 5-7; Akari Midorikawa lost to Ka Yi Lee 3-7, 7-4, 3-7, 2-7).