(Photo World Squash)
Hosts India have been crowned Squash World Cup champions after crushing top seeds Hong Kong, China, on home court at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.
India went into today’s clash with ghosts to exorcise, having exited in the semi-finals at the last edition, which took place on the same court in 2023.
In the opening match, 39-year-old Chennai native Joshna Chinappa went up against 32-year-old Lee Ka Yi.
Despite World No.37 Ka Yi’s superior World Ranking over World No.79 Chinappa, the Indian was arguably the favourite, enjoying a red hot run of form reminiscent of her highest ranking of World No.10.
Sure enough, Chinappa was on top for most of the match, with Ka Yi briefly troubling the home favourite before falling away as the Indian second string recorded a 7-3, 2-7,7-5, 7-1 victory.
Up next, men’s first string Abhay Singh took on Alex Lau, Hong Kong’s in-form player after heroics in the semi-finals.
Singh, a Chennai local like Chinappa, went into the match with a 2-0 head-to-head record against Lau, with their last clash a four-game win in the World Squash Team Championships one year ago.
Singh was imperious, dominating Lau with aggressive attacking and perfect line hitting as he doubled India’s lead 7-1, 7-4, 7-4 in just 19 minutes.
This win left the top seeds staring down the barrel, with women’s first string Tomato Ho needing to score a big victory over 17-year-old Anahat Singh.
To the crowd’s delight, Singh rose to the occasion. The Delhi native, who made global headlines when she competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games aged just 14, showed nerves of steel, completely playing Ho off the court 7-2, 7-2, 7-5.
That win ensured India’s place in the history book as they became just the fifth country to win a major World Squash team event, joining global heavyweights Australia, Egypt, England and Pakistan.
Afterwards, Chinappa said: “It feels great playing here in Chennai, I am still so thankful that I can still be a part of the India national team, it has always been my biggest motivation to keep playing and keep training to play for India.
“Playing here in Chennai with the home support and crowd supporting us, I felt like that made all of the difference so thank you so much for everyone who came out, who supported us, who cheered we really appreciate you.”
Abhay Singh added: “An unbelievable evening, what more can I say? I am so privileged to be able to do this with some really legendary teammates and what an end to the year and what a week.
“I just want today a huge thank you to everyone who came out today, I think the crowd was probably one of the best crowds we have probably ever played in front of at home, and for me to be a Chennai boy and do this in front of my city makes me speechless.”
“I think this will pump up a lot of kids watching from the India squash academy and those watching at home, I really want to just tell the kids, just work hard and push and push and push. Discipline can get you very far, and hopefully some of them can do it in the future when I am sat on the sofa watching, but I think tonight it is time to celebrate!”
Results:
India 3-0 India Hong Kong, China: Joshna Chinappa bt Ka Yi Lee 3-1: 7-3, 2-7 ,7-5, 7-1 (23m); Abhay Singh bt Alex Lau 3-0: 7-1, 7-4, 7-4 (19m); Anahat Singh bt Tomato Ho 3-0: 7-2, 7-2, 7-5 (16m); Velavan Senthilkumar m/w Henry Leung
