Velavan Senthilkumar beats Balzs Farkas to win Budapest Open 2026

Velavan Senthilkumar defeated Hungary’s Balzs Farkas in the final of the Budapest Open 2026 in Budapest on Friday to claim what was described as his maiden PSA Squash Tour title. The eighth-seeded Indian completed the match in straight games to cap his week in the Hungarian capital.

The eighth-seeded Senthilkumar is ranked world No. 54 and faced ninth-seeded Farkas, the home favourite, in the final of the USD 43,500 PSA Copper-level tournament. The event was held in Budapest and concluded on Friday.

Senthilkumar began the tournament with a straight-games victory over England’s Will Salter, winning 11-9, 11-6, 11-5. He then recovered from a second-game loss to defeat Germany’s fifth seed Raphael Kandra 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-2, which set up his later encounters.

In the quarter-finals he overcame Malaysia’s world No. 19 and top seed, reigning Asian Games champion Eain Yow 11-2, 11-9, 11-8. His semi-final was an all-Indian tie against Veer Chotrani, a five-game contest that finished 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 1-11, 12-10.

In the final Senthilkumar seized control from the start and never allowed Farkas to build momentum, winning 11-4, 11-2, 11-3. He dropped only nine points across the three games as he completed a comprehensive victory in the Budapest Open final.

The win gave Senthilkumar the edge in his head-to-head with Farkas, their third PSA Tour meeting, with Senthilkumar now leading 2-1; Senthilkumar had won their previous encounter in 2024 while Farkas prevailed in their first meeting in 2019. The victory also marked Senthilkumar’s 11th PSA Tour crown.

The timing of the Budapest title comes ahead of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya 2026, and Senthilkumar will now head into the men’s singles event having secured his first PSA title of the Copper level. The men’s and women’s singles champions at the Asian Games will earn qualification spots for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and squash is set to make its Olympic debut at LA 2028.