# Velavan Senthilkumar Stuns Asian Games Champion, Reaches Budapest Open Semis 2026-08-26T19:40:57+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Indian squash player Velavan Senthilkumar, seeded 9/16, upset top seed and Asian Games champion Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia in straight games to reach the semifinals of the 2026 Budapest Open, a PSA World Tour Copper event with a prize fund of $43,500. Senthilkumar, ranked a career-high World No. 39, had earlier defeated Raphael Kandra and Will Salter to reach the quarterfinals. He will now face fellow Indian Veer Chotrani, the third seed, in an all-Indian semifinal, guaranteeing Indian representation in the final. The tournament is being held in Hungary from August 24 to 28. Senthilkumar's run comes shortly after he and Abhay Singh successfully defended their men's doubles title at the 2026 Asian Doubles Squash Championships in Malaysia. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The all-Indian semifinal marks a significant moment for Indian squash, a sport that has long been overshadowed by other disciplines. India's first Asian Games squash gold came only in 2023, through the men's team. A win here would put an Indian in a PSA World Tour final, a rare feat outside the Commonwealth Games or Asian Championships. The matchup pits Senthilkumar's left-handed attacking style against Chotrani's steady baseline game. The winner will likely face a higher-ranked European or Egyptian opponent in the final. The PSA tour ranks these events on a scale from Bronze to Platinum, and Copper sits at the entry tier. A title would earn Senthilkumar ranking points to push closer to the top 30, which would secure direct entry into larger tournaments. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com Straight match report with player background and upcoming fixture This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Eain Yow Ng, Veer Chotrani, Velavan Senthilkumar Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/velavan-senthilkumar-stuns-asian-games-champion-reaches-budapest-open-semis/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/velavan-senthilkumar-stuns-asian-games-champion-reaches-budapest-open-semis/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/