Poznan Open: Senthilkumar Downs Top Seed In Final

India’s Velavan Senthilkumar took the title at the SNS Foods Poznan Open after beating top seed Rowan Damming in a lengthy final.

The Challenger 3 level competition at the 11Punkt Squash Klub in the Polish city of Poznan, and the Indian came into the tournament as the No.8 seed.

He started his week with a comfortable victory wildcard Tomasz Matejski, before then causing his first upset of the week. Senthilkumar then defeated England’s Robert Downer in four games in the quarter finals, in one of two matches he played on Friday.

The second saw him defeat Spaniard Nilo Vidal, the No.5 seed. The Indian required less than half an hour to get the job done, winning 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 to move through to the final in Poznan.

The final was a huge battle between Senthilkumar and Dutchman Rowan Damming. The Indian took a two-game advantage in the contest after wining the second on a tie-break 13-11, but the reigning World Junior Champion fought back to level the match, after also winning the fourth on a tie-break. It was anyone’s to win in the decider, and Senthilkumar took it 11-7 to claim his fourth Tour title, and his first since 2021.

Results: SNS Foods PSA Poznan Open
Final
[8] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt [1] Rowan Damming (NED) 3-2: 11-5, 13-11, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7 (88m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Rowan Damming (NED) bt [3] Alasdair Prott (SCO) 3-1: 14-16, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (56m)
[8] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt [5] Nilo Vidal (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (29m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Rowan Damming (NED) bt [6] Laszlo Godde (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (42m)
[3] Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt [7] Noah Meredith (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (31m)
[5] Nilo Vidal (ESP) bt [4] Marc Lopez (ESP) 3-2: 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 (62m)
[8] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt [2] Robert Downer (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 10-12, 11-3, 11-5 (51m)

First Round
[1] Rowan Damming (NED) bt Lowie Delbeke (NED) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (37m)
[6] Laszlo Godde (FRA) bt Jan Wipperfürth (GER) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (39m)
[7] Noah Meredith (ENG) bt Lukas Windischberger (AUT) 3-0 : 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 (28m)
[3] Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt Pablo Quintana Estevez (ESP) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 (20m)
[4] Marc Lopez (ESP) bt Filip Jarota (POL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 (32m)
[5] Nilo Vidal (ESP) bt Augusto Ortigosa (ESP) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-3 (24m)
[8] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt [WC] Tomasz Matejski (POL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (25m)
[2] Robert Downer (ENG) bt Dariusz Filipowski (POL) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 (26m)