Velavan Senthilkumar Reaches Final Of Budapest Open Squash

Velavan Senthilkumar reaches final of Budapest Open squash (Velavan Senthilkumar reaches final of Budapest Open squash. Photo credit: PSA Tour)

Budapest Open Squash Championship: India's Velavan Senthilkumar will take on local favourite Balazs Farkas in the final of the Budapest Open Squash Championship, a USD 43,500 PSA Copper event in the Hungarian capital.

In the semifinals played on Thursday evening, eighth seed Senthilkumar, ranked 54 in the world, beat third seed compatriot Veer Chotrani 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 1-11, 12-10 to advance to his 15th PSA tour final.

This will be the third meeting involving Senthilkumar and Farkas on the tour this season. The Indian won their face-off in 2024, after the Hungarian triumphed in the 2019 match-up.

Earlier on Wednesday night, Eighth seed and World No 54 Velavan Senthilkumar stunned Malaysian World No 18 and top seed Eain Yow Ng 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 in the quarterfinals of the Budapest Open squash, a USD 43,500 PSA Copper event in the Hungarian capital on Thursday.

The Indian No.4 raced through the first game with nine straight points from 2-2, before holding off a late comeback from Ng to double his advantage. From there, he wasn’t to be denied, clinching the third game 11-8 to move through to the last four after 53 minutes of play.

Senthilkumar will face India’s Veer Chotrani for a spot in Friday’s title decider, after the No.3 seed saw off No.6 seed Mohamed ElSherbini in a hard-fought four-game duel.

Meanwhile, third seed Chotrani, ranked 38 in the world, defeated Egyptian sixth seed and world No 51 Mohamed El Sherbini 14-12, 12-14, 11-6, 11-8 in the quarterfinals.

Earlier, Chotrani and Senthilkumar advanced to the quarterfinals with four-game wins each.

Meanwhile, third seed Chotrani, ranked 38 in the world, defeated Egyptian sixth seed and world No 51 Mohamed El Sherbini 14-12, 12-14, 11-6, 11-8 in the quarterfinals.

World No 54 Senthilkumar, the eighth seed, defeated German fifth seed Raphael Kandra 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-2 in the pre-quarterfinals after putting it past Briton Will Salter 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 in the opening round.

Article Source: IANS