World Squash Team Championships 2024: India men beat hosts Hong Kong China to finish fifth
The Indian women, meanwhile, defeated France to conclude their campaign in the seventh position.
Squash
The Indian men’s team finished fifth at the World Squash Team Championships 2024 after beating hosts Hong Kong China 2-0 in the playoffs on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Indian women ended their campaign in the seventh position after securing a narrow 2-1 victory over France in their final match of the competition.
In the men’s tie, Velavan Senthilkumar, 45th in the squash world rankings, came from behind to beat world No. 44 Henry Leung 3-2 (12-10, 8-11, 5-11, 11-1, 11-8) to hand India the lead before Abhay Singh ensured the victory.
Abhay Singh, ranked 54th, fended off world No. 40 Alex Lau in the tight opening game before cruising through the match to win it 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-4).
The Indian men’s squash team had made the knockouts after finishing second in their group before beating Malaysia to make the quarters.
However, a loss to France saw them crash out of medal contention but a victory over Germany in the 5-8 place playoffs earned the Indian men a crack at fifth position.
The Indian women, meanwhile, had to dig deep to secure their seventh position.
Akanksha Salunkhe, world No. 70, upset world No. 46 Marie Stephan 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-0) to hand India the shock lead over France, who drew level courtesy Enora Villard’s 3-0 (11-0, 11-3, 11-5) victory over Nirupama Dubey in the second rubber.
The decider between Anjali Semwal and Lauren Baltayan went the distance before the Indian squash player finally managed to clinch it by a 3-2 (3-2: 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 14-12, 11-7) scoreline.
The 16-year-old Anahat Singh didn’t feature in the tie.
The Indian women’s team had earlier won two of their three group matches to make the knockout stage before scoring a major upset over nine-time champions Australia in the pre-quarterfinals.
However, they lost to the United States of America (USA) in the quarters and went down to former champions England in their 5-8 playoff match to enter the 7-8 placement match.
India have never won a medal at the World Squash Team Championships.