Chennai :
Just a week ago, Chennai’s Velavan Senthilkumar was feeling low. The 20-year-old had exited in the very first round of the Rochester Open qualifiers in what was his first tournament in nearly a year.
Much to his credit, he has turned things around dramatically in a week’s time and can now reflect with unbridled joy on capturing his first ever Professional Squash Association (PSA) title.
Velavan, who is pursuing a course in statistics at Columbia University in New York, defeated fourth seed Tristan Eyesele of South Africa 7-11, 13-11, 12-10, 11-4 in the final of the Madison Open on Sunday after coming through the qualifying rounds.
Asked about the contrasting results in the two tournaments, the former British Junior Open champion put it down to a case of nerves getting the better of him. In turn, it fuelled a strong desire in Velavan to put things right in Madison.
“I was playing my first tournament in a year last week in Rochester. After playing a couple of PSA events in South Africa last April, I was just training and focusing on my academics. I was extremely nervous playing after so long in Rochester and was very upset with the result. But it motivated me to do well in Madison and things have turned out according to plan,” he said on Monday.
While Velavan might not have had a lot of playing time of late, he hasn’t stopped putting in the hard yards in training. He is currently being coached by England’s Alister Walker, a former world No. 12, aside from his coaches in Columbia.
“He is coaching me full time now,” Velavan continued, “I can see a lot of improvement in my game since the time I have started working with him. He is pushing me towards my goals and keeps in touch constantly to find out how I’m doing.”
Walker’s endeavour to play the role of a big brother is timely for Velavan, who was not just finding his feet on the court but off it as well. “It is not easy living alone. I do get homesick sometimes, but my schedule is so hectic that time flies. That really helps,” said the world No. 255.
What also helps the youngster is the fact that he makes a visit back to Chennai at every possible opportunity. He has also not lost touch with senior Indian stars like Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal.
“I stay in touch with the likes of Dipika and Joshna as well as Cyrus (Poncha) sir. I was really pleased for them after their rich haul of medals in the Commonwealth Games. I know that they have worked extremely hard for it, and their achievements are only going to help the sport grow.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> Sports News> Others / by Vivek Krishnan / TNN / April 23rd, 2018