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HCL Doubles Nationals: Top-seeds dominate day two

The latest round delivered expected wins from top seeds, and a fair share of upsets to keep the competition wide open

Agencies

CHENNAI: The 2nd HCL Doubles Squash Championship 2025 continued on Wednesday, as some of India's finest squash players battled it out in the Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed Doubles categories. The latest round delivered expected wins from top seeds, and a fair share of upsets to keep the competition wide open.

Men’s Doubles:

Top-seeded duo Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar cruised past Abhay S Vasudev and Meyyappan L with a dominant 11-3, 11-2 win. Rahul Baitha and Suraj Chand also impressed, registering two commanding victories, first against Pradeep Choudhary and Rahul Sanjay Balakrishnan (11-4, 11-6), then over Lokesh Subramani and Shiven Agarwal (11-4, 11-9).

In other results, Guhan Senthilkumar and Ravi Dixit edged out Subramani and Agarwal 11-5, 11-10, while A Ijaz Mohammed and Zaad Gani staged a comeback to defeat Joel Dhinakaran and Lakshmana Hari 11-8, 9-11, 11-6.

Women’s Doubles:

In the Women’s draw, the seeded pair of Anahat Singh and Joshna Chinappa made light work of Ananya Narayan and Anjali Semwal, winning 11-3, 11-5.

Pooja Arthi and Rathika S also advanced, beating Nirupama Dubey and Shameena Riaz 11-9, 11-8.

Mixed Doubles:

Top seeds Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh progressed without stepping on court, benefiting from a default win over Rahul Sanjay Balakrishnan and Nirupama Dubey. Velavan Senthilkumar and Joshna Chinappa teamed up effectively to defeat Meyyappan L and Deepika V 11-6, 11-7.

The round wasn’t short of surprises. Sandhesh Pr and Shameena Riaz staged a thrilling comeback to stun Rahul Baitha and Anjali Semwal 4-11, 11-6, 11-5.

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