CHENNAI: The return of squash to the city last week after a five-month break owing to the second wave of COVID-19 was a welcome one for Velavan Senthilkumar. The 23-year-old from Chennai won the HCL SRFI Indian Tour at the Indian Squash Academy here, overcoming some challenging opponents on his way to clinching the title. The former British Open junior champion is now set to travel to the United States this month and take part in some tournaments there. He will begin his US sojourn with the Cincinnati Open from September 22.
“I am planning to go overseas and play a few tournaments. I am playing a tournament in Cincinnati to begin with. After that, I will weigh my options and look to enter a few more tournaments in the US,” Velavan tells TNIE. .Most of the senior squash stars, including Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal, are currently playing in tournaments overseas. They travelled from India in May when the second wave of the virus was at its peak, and have managed to get regular game time as a result.
Velavan is no stranger to the US of course, having graduated from the prestigious Columbia University in New York. The southpaw has had a brief experience of training in Spain and did not rule out the possibility of shifting base outside India in order to make bigger improvements to his game.
“In terms of shifting base, I have not decided on it. But I have been to Barcelona Global Sports Academy and trained there for six months. This was right before the onset of the pandemic last year. I think it will help my game a lot more if I train overseas,” he says.
For the moment, Velavan is one of the most promising young players in the country. Even though he was seeded fifth for the tournament here, the fact that he had a smooth run all through the event reiterates how he stacks up against his contemporaries. “To be honest, I didn’t have any expectations going into the tournament. I was just excited to play a tournament after a break. I just wanted to perform and enjoy my time playing the tournament.”