India script history, clinch maiden Squash World Cup title

India scripted history, clinching its maiden Squash World Cup title to become the first Asian country to achieve the feat after overwhelming Hong Kong 3-0 in the summit clash here on Sunday.

The historic win at the Express Avenue Mall here marked an improvement on India’s previous best finish of a bronze medal at the 2023 edition.

The title win will surely be good news for Indian squash as the sport is set to make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028.

The Indian team’s performance in the mixed-team event has been nothing less than spectacular. Seeded second in the tournament, India clinched the title without losing a single tie.

After blanking Switzerland and Brazil by identical 4-0 margins in the group stage, India beat South Africa and two-time champions Egypt 3-0 in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.

On Sunday, veteran Joshna Chinappa, 79^th in the PSA rankings, stunned world No. 37 Lee Ka Yi 3-1 (7-3, 2-7, 7-5, 7-1) in the opening women’s singles to give India a perfect start.

Asian Games medallist Abhay Singh, India’s best-ranked men’s singles player at world No. 29, then outplayed the 42^nd-ranked Alex Lau 3-0 (7-1, 7-4, 7-4) before the 17-year-old Anahat Singh blanked world No. 31 Tomato Ho 3-0 (7-2, 7-2, 7-5) to seal the title.

India did not need men’s singles national champion Velavan Senthilkumar to enter the court against Henry Leung in the final match.

The triumph also made India only the fourth country after Australia, England and Egypt to win the Squash World Cup title. PTI