Giza [Egypt], May 11 : Veer Chotrani's defeat in the second round match against world number one Mostafa Asal marked the end of India's challenge at the World Squash Championships being held in Giza, Egypt on Sunday.
Chotrani, ranked 45th in the world rankings, registered a 3-0 loss (11-5, 11-2, 11-4) to local favourite and defending champion Mostafa Asal, as per Olympics.com.
The 24-year-old was only one of four Indian squash stars who made it to the second round of the competition. Enroute to the second round, he beat compatriot and India's top-ranked, World Cup-winning star Abhay Singh 3-2 in the opening round.
The first round saw Velavan Senthilkumar and Ramit Tandon exiting after poor outings. While the world number 50th Senthilkumar lost to France's sixth seed and current world No. 5 Victor Crouin 3-0, the world number 40 Tandon lost to Egypt's Kareem El Torkey by 3-1.
The last year also witnessed India's World Squash Championships campaign fizzling out in the round two in Chicago, as Anahat Singh, Veer Chotrani, Abhay Singh and Ramit Tandon all exited after competitive losses. Velavan Senthilkumar was ousted in the opening round.
However, India's women's squash players, including teen star Anahat Singh, did not compete this year. India is yet to win a medal in the singles competition at the World Championships.
Squash is set for its Olympics debut in the 2028 Los Angeles edition.
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