Abhay and Anahat clinch a double at national squash doubles championships

Abhay and Anahat clinch a double at national squash doubles championships

Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh were the standout players at the National doubles championships at the ISTA, Nehru Park, here on Friday.

The Hangzhou Asian Games mixed doubles bronze medallists clinched two titles each.

Top seed Abhay won the men’s doubles in the company of Velavan Senthilkumar and later paired up with Anahat to bag the mixed doubles crown.

Anahat, the 17-year-old, lifted the women’s doubles title along with Joshna Chinappa.

Of the three finals, it was the mixed doubles summit clash that went the distance and caught the attention of those present. Abhay and Anahat’s opponents in the final were no pushovers. Velavan-Joshna, the left-right combination, proved a tough nut to crack.

Velavan won lots of points with double boast and Joshna was adept at the frontcourt. The third and deciding game saw the Abhay-Anahat duo take a 9-4 lead with the latter’s deft drops from the frontcourt backed by the former’s retrievals and aggressive style, before Velavan and Joshna fought hard to make it 9-10. However, the top seeds closed out the tie by converting their third match point.

“India has won bronze in World doubles and gold in Commonwealth Games. It’s a big part of Indian squash. This is our first tournament as a pair after the Asian Games. Hopefully we can carry that legacy forward,” said Abhay.

The Indian teams for the Asian individual championships (June 17 to 21) and Asian doubles championships (from June 23 to 26) in Malaysia is expected to be announced on Monday.

“Players who didn’t take part in the trials will not be considered for the Asian individuals,” said Cyrus Poncha, Secretary of Squash Rackets Federation of India.

Published on May 23, 2025