Chennai, May 15 (PTI) Joshna Chinappa, Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar shone brightly winning gold in their respective categories during the National Doubles Squash Championship, which was revived after 17 years, here on Wednesday.
Abhay, the National Games gold medallist and national championship silver medallist, started the day well winning men’s doubles with Velavan, beating Rahul Baitha and Suraj Chand 2-0 (11-4, 11-8).
The 25-year-old added another gold to his kitty in the mixed doubles category soon. Abhay and Joshna Chinappa prevailed in a three-set thriller over the fancied Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu and Rathika Seelan 2-1 (10-11, 11-2, 11-9).
Pooja Arthi and Rathika overcame the challenge from Janet Vidhi and Nirupama Dubey to clinch the women’s doubles gold 2-1 (11-3, 9-11, 11-1).
“I have always been interested in playing in the doubles category. I thank HCL and SRFI for organizing this championship after a long time in India,” said Abhay.
“I have played with Velavan in the Commonwealth (Games), but this was my first time playing doubles with Joshna.
“It is such an honour to team up with her. I was sure I would win in both categories. It’s time to win gold at the Asian Doubles Championship in Malaysia,” he added.
The winners in this tournament will represent India in the Asian Squash Doubles Championship scheduled from July 4 to 7 in Johor, Malaysia.
Lauding the event’s success, the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) Secretary General, Cyrus Poncha, noted, “I am truly excited to see the renaissance of doubles squash in India, thanks to the mutual efforts of SRFI and HCL.
“It was truly thrilling to see the clashes between the double pairs. I believe that Indian squash has a bright future and the stars of tomorrow will emerge from these events.”
Source: PTI News
