Suraj Chand wins India's first-ever gold medal at World University Squash C'ships

Suraj Kumar Chand became India's first-ever gold medallist at the World University Squash Championships after winning the men's singles title at Somaiya Vidyavihar University in Mumbai on Thursday.

Competing in front of a home crowd, Suraj defeated Hungary's Benedek Takacs in a thrilling one-hour-and-five-minute final, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4.

The gold medal marked his second consecutive men's singles medal at the championships, having won bronze at the 2024 edition in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Suraj made a shaky start by dropping the opening game but quickly recovered to take the next two and seize the lead. The Hungarian opponent then forced a decider by claiming the fourth game 11-6.

Keeping his cool under pressure, Suraj dominated the final game 11-4 to clinch the title and improve on his medal from the previous edition.

This was his second successive comeback victory, having earlier overcome a 0-2 deficit against Joshua Phinera of France in the semi-finals to win 3-2.

India secured a double podium finish in the men's singles category as Om Semwal claimed bronze after falling to Benedek in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

In the women’s singles, however, none of the Indian players progressed beyond the round of 16, with Nirupama Dubey, Shameena Riaz and Pooja Arthi Raghu all exiting at the round of 16.