India defeated Egypt, will face Hong Kong in the final

India stormed into the SDAT Squash World Cup final with an emphatic 3-0 win over defending champions Egypt at the Express Avenue Mall here on Saturday, achieving a historic first for the host nation in the competition.

Second seeded India knew the task would not be easy despite Egypt fielding a team without their top stars. The African powerhouse’s depth was on display, and while the scoreline suggested dominance, two of the three rubbers were keenly contested and stretched to the limit.

National champion Velavan Senthilkumar laid the foundation with a clinical opening performance, using impeccable length and accuracy to tame Ibrahim Elqabbani and give India an early lead.

The tie really came alive in the second rubber, where Anahat Singh survived a stern test from Noor Heikal in a thrilling five-game duel. Heikal, ranked 44th in the world, belied her ranking against world number 22 Anahat, troubling the Indian with a series of deep probing shots from the backcourt and excellent cross-court backhand winners.

The decisive moment came in the fifth game when Anahata, leading 5–3, took a brief injury time out for her left hand. Upon the restart, he showed remarkable composure and scored vital points to end the game and the match 7–3, earning a thunderous applause from the home crowd.

In the third match, Abhay Singh secured India’s place in the final after a tough fight of 55 minutes against Adam Havel. The contest was marked with long rallies and sustained intensity before Abhay won four tight games.

Earlier in the day, top-seeded Hong Kong advanced to the final despite a 2-2 draw with Japan after Asian teams won two matches each. Hong Kong advanced due to Japan winning more than 7 games (8).

Result (semi-finals): India beat Egypt 3-0 (Velavan Senthilkumar beat Ibrahim Elqabbani 7-1, 7-3, 7-6; Anahat Singh beat Noor Heikal 6-7, 7-5, 7-3, 3-7, 7-3; Abhay Singh beat Adam Hawal 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6).

Japan played a 2-2 draw with Hong Kong (Tomotaka Ando defeated Henry Leung 5-7, 7-4, 2-7, 7-5, 7-5; Satomi Watanabe defeated Ho Tomato Tze-lok 7-4, 7-4, 7-5; Ryunosuke Tsukue lost to Alex Lau 2-7, 3-7, 5-7; Akari Midorikawa lost to Yi Li Lost 3-7, 7-4.