Vikas mehra

National Doubles Squash Championships: Defending champions Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar made a commanding start to their campaign in the men’s doubles event at the 3rd National Doubles Squash Championships, cruising into the semifinals with a dominant straight-games victory at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai on Thursday.

The top-seeded pair, who received a bye in the opening round, needed little time to settle into rhythm as they overpowered Shubham and Vedant Patel 11-4, 11-2 in the quarterfinals. Their sharp movement and aggressive shot-making ensured complete control throughout the contest as they continued their bid to retain the national title.

Abhay also remained in contention in the mixed doubles category, where he is partnering Rathika Seelan this year following the absence of his reigning partner, Anahat Singh. The second-seeded duo survived a stern challenge from Ravi Dixit and Janet Vidhi before advancing to the semifinals with a gritty 10-12, 11-8, 11-9 victory.