Squash
Asian Squash C'ships: Velavan Senthilkumar advances to quarterfinals
He made light work of his Japanese opponent Tomotaka Endo in the round of 16, winning comfortably in straight games.
Velavan Senthilkumar in action during a competition. (File Photo)
The third-seeded Indian Velavan Senthilkumar advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Squash Championships with a comfortable straight-game win in Kuching, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
He made light work of his Japanese opponent Tomotaka Endo in the round of 16, dropping just 8 points across three games (11-3, 11-1, 11-4) to clinch the match and confirm his place in the last 8.
Velavan, the reigning silver medalist, will be hoping to improve his medal color from the last edition and become just the second Indian man to win the Asian individual title after Saurav Ghosal.
Earlier, Velavan started the competition with a straight game win against China's Li Haizhen in the second round after getting a bye in the first one.
He will now take on Joachim Chuah of Malaysia in the quarterfinal on Thursday, where the winner of the match will confirm at least a bronze medal for him.
He will be the only Indian in the quarterfinals as Suraj Chand lost his pre-quarterfinal match to home favourite Ameeshenraj Chandaran in four games (11-5, 3-11, 4-11, 3-11).
In women's singles, India had a disappointing outing as none of the players were able to reach the round of 16 on Tuesday.
After the withdrawal of Anahat Singh and Joshna Chinappa, Akanksha Salunkhe was leading Indian WS contingent, but she had a disastrous run, losing in the second round to Malaysia's Whitney Isabelle Wilson.
This meant that Indian would not have an Asian medal in women's singles for the third consecutive edition. Joshna Chinappa was the last Asian medalist for India when she won the title in 2019.
