Velavan Senthilkumar and Tanvi Khanna, both ranked No. 3 in the country, will lead India’s challenge among 15 countries in the HCL-SRFI PSA Challenge Tournament, which will be hosted by the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana (JVPG) Club at their air conditioned squash courts in Mumbai from June 29 to July 3, 2026.The five-day tournament will feature separate men’s and women’s PSA Challenger events, each carrying a prize purse of USD 15,000, along with valuable ranking points, and keen action is expected on all five days of the tournament.This was announced at a press conference in the host club on Monday, attended by dignitaries from JVPG, representatives from the Squash Racquets Federation of India, National head coach Harinderpal Sandhu along with some of the leading players in the tournament.Hong Kong’s Alex Lau and South Africa’s Hayley Ward will enjoy pride of place among the men and women respectively among the 24-player draw. India’s Velavan Senthilkumar (Rank 50) is seeded second among the men, while Tanvi Khanna (Rank 75) is seeded third behind Egypt’s Farida Walid. Among the seeded men, the other Indian in the top eight is 7th seed Suraj Kumar Chand.Speaking on the occasion, Jayesh Choksi, President of JVPG said, “The Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana has some of the finest sporting infrastructure in Mumbai and we have always been in the forefront of organising National and International events. This time too, no stone will be left unturned to provide an unforgettable playing experience to all the players in the tournament. Extreme care will be taken to meet all the requirements for a tournament of this stature. On behalf of the JVPG, I extend a hearty welcome to all the players and officials involved with the event.”“Tournaments such as these are extremely important for players who need to accumulate points and improve their rankings to qualify for bigger events abroad,” said Harinderpal.Velavan, Tanvi and Suraj are all members of the Indian team for the Asian Games and Harinderpal, an Asian Games gold medalist himself, is confident of India’s prospects at the Games.“Our focus is on winning the singles gold medals for men and women, which will ensure automatic qualification for the LA Olympics in 2028. It won’t be an easy task, but our players are preparing well and will be ready,” he added.The JVPG Club has three air conditioned glass backed squash courts, out of which two will be used for matches, while one will be the practice court. Facilities like the state of the art gymnasium, and swimming pool will also be available to the players. A Gala Dinner to welcome the players and officials will be hosted by JVPG on Tuesday, June 30.List of Seeded PlayersMEN1) Alex Lau (Hong Kong)2) Velavan Senthillkumar (India)3) Yasin Shohdy (Egypt)4) Diego Gobbi (Brazil)5) Chi Him Wong (Hong Kong)6) Abdullah Hafez (Egypt)7) Suraj Kumar Chand (India)8) Seif Tamer (Egypt)WOMEN1) Hayley Ward (RSA)2) Farida Walid (Egypt)3) Tanvi Khanna (India)4) Noa Romero (Spain)5) Nour Khafagy (Egypt)6) Malak Fathy (Egypt)7) Akari Midorikawa (Japan)8) Risa Sugimoto (Japan).
