Squash: Senthilkumar, Chotrani Move Into Next Round in Washington

Washington- Reigning men’s national champion Velavan Senthilkumar and Veer Chotrani progressed to the next round of the Squash on Fire Open in Washington after registering hard-earned first-round victories in the PSA Bronze-level tournament.

World No. 46 Senthilkumar mounted a strong comeback to defeat England’s Tom Walsh 12-14, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6. He will next face Mexico’s world No. 11 and second seed Leonel Cardenas. World No. 49 Chotrani also showed resilience, overcoming Hungary’s Balazs Farkas 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-3 to set up a clash with French world No. 19 and fourth seed Baptiste Masotti.

Chotrani was pushed to the brink after dropping the opening two games and trailing 8-2 in the fourth. However, he staged a remarkable turnaround by winning nine of the next ten points to force a decider, before dominating the final game to seal the match.

In the women’s draw, national champion and seventh seed Anahat Singh received a first-round bye. Another gripping contest saw Menna Hamed recover from injury concerns to edge past Wai Yhann Au Yeong in five games. Despite Au Yeong winning two intense tiebreakers early on, Hamed regained control to close out the match and advance.

Elsewhere, Hayley Ward recorded an impressive 3-2 win over Xin Ying Yee, Noor Zaman overcame wildcard Yee Xian Siow, Sam Todd defeated crowd favourite Valerii Fedoruk, and Nathan Lake completed the day’s action with a 3-1 victory over Mazen Hesham.

With inputs from IANS