Abhay Singh, Velavan Senthilkumar set up men’s final at National Squash Championships

New Delhi: It was a humid, muggy day. Not exactly the conditions for highly competitive, elite-level squash matches inside glass-door courts. But India’s top squash stars fought hard and gave some memorable performances in the semifinals of the 81st National Squash Championships 2025 at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Tuesday. The thrill-a-minute match of the day was between two best friends, Abhay Singh and Ramit Tandon, who played the first men’s singles semifinal. Top seed Abhay thrives on big moments. To watch him compete is to witness a blend of instinct, intelligence and resilience, all wrapped in a style that is uniquely his. What also makes his on-court presence compelling is his energy. The 26-year-old is expressive when he plays — pumping his fist, letting out shouts of intensity and feeding off the crowd when the rallies tighten. Abhay plays with a sense of belief and bravery, the willingness to back himself in the crucial points. He’s not afraid to extend rallies, work the opponent physically and then suddenly pounce when the opening appears. That spirit often lifts his performance, especially when the chips are down. And indeed he had to dig deep against Ramit. After losing the first set 11-13, a set which could have gone either way, Abhay had to bring to the fore every ounce of his reserve energy to eke out a 11-13, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 win and enter the final. “Ramit is one of my best friends. We share rooms when we are on (PSA) tour. It was a really hard match mentally and he made me realise after the first game that if I have to win I would need to really dig deep. Happy to come back and turn around the first-game loss,” Abhay told TOI after the match. Abhay’s final opponent would be second seed Velavan Senthilkumar, who got the better of Veer Chotrani 7-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-4 in the second semifinal. “It was a pretty long match. I had to be really focused and locked in today. Veer is an amazing player, really skilled, talented and one of the top prospects of Indian squash. I am glad that I could get the win,” Velavan said. In the women’s singles semis, top seed Anahat Singh’s match against fellow Delhi girl Tanvi Khanna was a tale of two halves. In the first, Anahat was completely off-colour and it looked like Tanvi would coast to an easy win. The second half, however, saw Anahat raise the level of her game, often creating tough angles for Tanvi with her drop shots and tight volleys. In the end, Anahat won 3-11, 11-5, 11-0, 11-9. Anahat will face second seed Akanksha Salunkhe, who got the better of Joshna Chinappa 11-5, 13-11, 7-11, 12-10.