So,bit of a bummer coming from the British Open squash championships on June 2 . Our guys Abhay Singh and Veer Chotrani are out in second round. Was really hoping they would go further.
Abhay Singh,who is World No. 24 rn,had really tough match against Egypt's Mohamad Zakaria . And honestly,the scoreline shows what a fight it was. He lost 9-11,4-11,11-7,10-12. After losing the first two games,he really fought back ah.
That fourth game,10-12,must have been heartbreaking . To come so close to forcing a final deciding game and then lose it… that’s tough. Especially after he had such a solid win in first round against Matias Knudsen from Colombia,winning in straight games 11-8,11-5,11-4 .
And then there was Veer Chotrani . He is ranked World No. 40 and was up against the Welsh sixth seed Joel Makin. That was always going to be difficult match.
Chotrani lost 10-12,9-11,3-11 . The first two games were so close,but Makin's experience probably made the difference in the end. And this was after Chotrani had a great first round win himself,beating Pakistan’s Noor Zaman 11-8,12-14,11-6,11-7 .
So few things are clear from their matches:
- Abhay Singh showed amazing fight in his four-game loss to Mohamad Zakaria.
- Veer Chotrani faced a very experienced sixth seed in Joel Makin and lost in three games.
- Both our players had very impressive first-round victories before exiting.
And tbh,this is the frustrating part of watching Indian players in big tournaments . You see potential,you see the fight,but sometimes they just fall short against these top-ranked guys.
But you have to say,even with the losses,they are making a mark . Competing at the British Open is not small thing,and they are showing they belong on this stage. It’s good for India's name in squash.
Still,you can't help but feel they were so close to making a deeper run here . Makes you wonder what needs to change for them to cross that line in next big tournament…
