Indian squash players Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar lost in the quarterfinals of the 2024 PSA Open Squash Classic Tour in New York on Tuesday.
Abhay Singh lost to top seed Marwan Elshorbagy of Egypt 1-3 (12-14, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11) in a hard-fought match that went on for 42 minutes.
Velavan fell to second seed Victor Crouin of France in straight games 0-3 (9-11, 5-11, 8-11).
With their defeats, the Indian challenge at the Open Squash Classic ended.
Abhay Singh goes down fighting against top seed Marwan ElShorbagy🇪🇬 1-3 (12-14, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11).
Velavan Senthilkumar lost to 2nd seed Victor Crouin🇫🇷 0-3 (9-11, 5-11, 8-11).
End of Indian contention from Open Squash Classic🇺🇸 – PSA World Tour Bronze.
— SPORTS ARENA🇮🇳 (@SportsArena1234) October 9, 2024
The match between Abhay and Marwan was very close right from game one, with both players fighting intently for every single point. Ultimately, the Egyptian came out on top in the tiebreaker, winning 14-12 and taking a 1-0 lead.
The second game saw the same result, with Marwan once again winning the game and going 2-0 up. The third game gave a lifeline to the Indian player, who was in the favourable end of the tiebreaker, winning 12-10 and making it 1-2.
But the top-seed wrapped things up in the fourth game, winning it quite comfortably, 7-11, and advanced to the semi-finals.
Along similar lines, Velavan, facing Victor Crouin, fought well but despite his best efforts, the Frenchman was too good for him and ultimately ended up winning in straight sets.