abhay singh: National squash: Joshana Chinappa wins 19th title; maiden crown for Abhay Singh

There is no stopping Joshna Chinappa as she stormed to her 19th national title, snuffing out the challenge of Delhi girl Anahat Singh 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in the women’s singles final of the HCL 78th National Squash Championship here on Saturday. Meanwhile, Abhay Singh, the top-seed bounced back after losing the first game to beat Velavan Senthilkumar 11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 in the men’s singles final for his maiden national crown.

The women’s final between the experienced Chinappa and the 14-year old Anahat was expected to be closer than what it turned out to be with the 36-year old Chennai player getting things done in straight games in 25 minutes.

In the men’s summit clash, Abhay did not let the loss of the first game upset him as he turned on the heat to take the next three rather easily to run home a victor in a 48-minute encounter.

Squash Rackets Federation of Indian patron N Ramachandran, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu Member-Secretary K P Karthikeyan and SRFI secretary-general Cyrus Poncha presided over the valedictory.
Results – Finals: Men’s singles: Abhay Singh (TN-X1) beat Velavan Senthilkumar (TN) 11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4.

Women: Joshna Chinappa (TN-X1) beat Anahat Singh (Delhi) 11-8, 11-9, 11-9.