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It’s been a stellar year for 17-year-old Velavan Senthilkumar. The left-handed player from Tamil Nadu, regarded as one of the most talented from the upcoming crop of Indian players, was crowned the Under-19 National Champion on Thursday. And this comes just a few weeks after the Indian Squash Academy trainee clinched the singles bronze medal in Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa. Senthilkumar also teamed up with the very promising Harshit Kaur Jawanda (the U-19 Girls’ National Champion) to capture the mixed doubles silver medal.
Sportskeeda caught up with Senthilkumar on the sidelines of the Sub-junior and Junior National Squash Championship in Kolkata where he spoke exclusively about his Nationals win, his medal win at the Commonwealth Youth Games, his idol and much more.
Excerpts:
Q: Congratulations, how does it feel to win the U-19 National title for the first time?
A: It’s a great pleasure and I am always excited to play the Nationals because of the crowd. I feel really good and hopefully, I go on to win many more in the future.
Q: You did not lose a single game throughout the tournament. How would you rate your performance at the Nationals?
A: I was training very hard for this tournament for the past one month and I think it has paid off. Yes, it’s been very good. I did not take much pressure for this tournament, it’s been just the love for the sport that showed.
Q: Sandeep Ramachandran has been a giant-killer at this tournament. How tough was it to play him in the final?
A: Sandeep is an amazing player. We are really good friends off-court and when it comes to on-court performances, he is a very good fighter. He is one of my best competitors and really a good friend off the court.
Q: So, it must have been difficult to play such a good friend?
A: Yeah, it is. But, there was no choice!
Q: How special was it winning the Commonwealth Youth Games bronze medal in singles? Tell us about it.
A: The bronze medal was really good. I never expected it but it was a really good win. And the mixed doubles silver medal was also great. But, I was truly honoured to win the bronze medal and it was a great feeling.
Q: You have also played at the Indian Squash Circuit last year and this year as well. How different is the level of competition there compared to the juniors?
A: The level of competition is always quite hard at the senior level. Since I play the juniors, I had no pressure to take on myself for it. So, I just enjoyed playing the game and it turned out to be pretty well.
Q: How did you start playing squash?
A: I used to play tennis before and since it is an outdoor sport, I just could not train as much as squash. So, my parents insisted that I play an indoor game. That made me choose squash.
Q: Who has been your biggest idol in squash?
A: It’s been Saurav Ghosal. He is an amazing player. I admire the way he plays. I played him once at the Senior Nationals and he was really great. I hope to be like him one day.
Q: Any idol from sports other than squash?
A: From sports other than squash, I like Roger Federer. He is one of the best players and my best idol ever.
10. What are your interests apart from squash?
A: I really don’t have time to do anything other than studying and squash. But I do like playing some other sports like tennis, football etc.
11. What is your biggest goal?
A: Maybe reach the top 10 some day.
