Abdullah Hafez and Malak Fathy complete Egyptian dominance in HCL Squash India Tour

Egypt’s Abdullah Hafez and Malak Fathy claimed the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively at the HCL Squash India Tour Delhi 2026, which concluded at the Shiv Nadar University courts in Noida on Monday.

Abdullah Hafez, the second seed and world No. 135, defeated Sri Lankan top seed Ravindu Laksiri, 123rd in the PSA rankings, 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-6) in a rather one-sided final to take the men’s crown.

Suraj Kumar Chand was a semifinalist in the men’s bracket and progressed the furthest among the local players alongside Ayaan Vaziralli, who also made the final four.

The women’s summit clash proved to be a much more fiercely contested affair as world No. 113 Fathy outlasted Malaysian third seed Sehveetrraa Kumar 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5) after coming from behind.

Sehveetrraa Kumar had beaten top-seeded Indian squash player Tanvi Khanna in the women’s semifinals, while Fathy defeated countrywoman and second seed Menna Walid, the winner of the Bengaluru leg, in her top four clash.

Monday’s finals also concluded the six-tournament HCL Squash India Tour 2025-26 season. Jaipur, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad hosted the first five legs. Egyptian players dominated the PSA Challenger series by winning eight of the 12 possible titles.

Yassin Shohdy (men) and Nour Khafagy (women) took the crowns in the opening leg in Jaipur before Omar El Torkey (men) and Menna Walid (women) bagged the honours in Bengaluru last year.

Seif Refaay (men) and Farida Walid (women) won at Ahmedabad in January this year before Hafez and Fathy’s triumphs in the final stop.

The other four were won by Indian players. Veer Chotrani (men) and Tanvi Khanna (women) emerged as the champions in the Mumbai leg, while Velavan Senthilkumar and Anahat Singh stood atop the podium in Chennai.