Abhay Singh leads India's charge at Squash World Championships
New Delhi, May 7
A four-member Indian contingent featuring Abhay Singh, Veer Chotrani, Ramit Tandon and Velavan Senthilkumar will face a stern test at the World Squash Championships 2025-26, which gets underway in Giza on Friday.
The prestigious tournament will run from May 8 to 16 across the Palm Hills Club and PGC Golf Central Mall in Egypt.
Organised by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), the tournament will feature some of the world's best players, including men's world No. 1 Mostafa Asal and his women's counterpart Hania El Hammamy of Egypt, as per Olympics.com.
Abhay Singh, India's highest-ranked men's singles player at world No. 22 and an Asian Games medallist, will take on compatriot Veer Chotrani (world No. 43) in an all-Indian first-round clash at the PSA World Championships 2025-26.
The winner is set for a daunting second-round encounter against either defending champion Mostafa Asal or Raphael Kandra of Germany. Meanwhile, Velavan Senthilkumar faces a tough opening-round challenge against France's sixth seed and world No. 5 Victor Crouin.
Ramit Tandon, world No. 40, meanwhile, will take on Egypt's Kareem El Torkey - a player ranked 19 places better off - in his opener.
At last year's edition in Chicago, India's campaign ended in the second round. Anahat Singh, Veer Chotrani, Abhay Singh and Ramit Tandon all exited after competitive losses, while Velavan Senthilkumar went down to Diego Elias in the opening round.
India's women's squash contingent, including Anahat Singh, will not feature in this edition of the competition.
India is yet to secure a medal in the singles events at the PSA World Championships. Meanwhile, squash is set to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, adding further significance to the sport's growing global profile.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Unfortunate that Anahat Singh and the women's team aren't competing this year. She showed such promise in Chicago last year. Hopefully the men step up — Velavan against Victor Crouin is a massive challenge though. Crouin is world No. 5! 😬
Good to see squash getting more coverage in India. With the 2028 Olympics around the corner, this is the time to invest in training and infrastructure. We have talent like Abhay, Veer, and Anahat — but we need better grassroots programs to compete with Egypt and England.
All-Indian first round is tough for both players. But that's how the draw works sometimes. I'm rooting for Abhay — he's been consistent and has that Asian Games medal pedigree. Ramit vs El Torkey could be an upset watch too. Go India! 🇮🇳
Respect to all our players for competing at this level, but I do wish we had more depth in women's squash. Anahat is a star, but where are the others? Meanwhile, Egypt and England produce so many top-20 players. Hope PSA and SFAI invest more in coaching and exposure tours.
Exciting to see squash grow globally. India has come a long way from having no players in the main draw. Abhay Singh at 22 is excellent. That said, the first-round draws are brutal — especially for Velavan. Still, you never know with sports! 🎯
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