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India made history, booking their place in the Squash World Cup for the first time ever, beating defending champions Egypt in a semifinal clash at Chennai on Saturday.
The Indian squash team, second-seeded in the competition, outclassed two-time champions Egypt, who had lifted the title in 2012 and 2023, by 3-0 in the semifinals to reach the finals for the first time in history, as per Olympics.com. India's challenge in the final will be Hong Kong, who beat Japan in the other semifinal, with the title clash scheduled for Sunday. This is India's best-ever appearance at the marquee tournament, outdoing the semifinal finish in the 2023 edition, where India lost to Malaysia and got a bronze medal. National champion Velavan Senthilkumar, 45th in the men's squash rankings, got India to a fine start, beating world No. 96 Ibrahim Elkabbani 3-0 (7-1, 7-3, 7-6) in the opening rubber. Anahat Singh, India's top-ranked women's player at world No. 28, continued to give her team the momentum, doubling the lead with a hard-fought 3-2 (6-7, 7-5, 7-3, 3-7, 7-3) victory over the 44th-ranked Nour Heikal. At 17 years old, Anahat is the youngest player featured in the tournament and has made her debut in this edition. Abhay Singh, who teamed with Anahat during the bronze-winning Asian Games 2023 campaign, delivered the killer blow to Malaysia, beating Adam Hawal 3-1 (7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6) and a clean sweep was unleashed on two-time champions. As a result, Joshna Chinappa did not need to contest against Nardine Garas. India is having a scorcher of a run in the tournament, yet to drop a tie, beating Switzerland and Brazil by 4-0 margins in the group stage and outclassing South Africa 3-0 in the quarterfinals. The 2025 edition of the tournament marks the third successive time it is being held in Chennai. 12 teams competed, divided in four groups of three, with the top two from each group making to final eight stage. (ANI)
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