Men’s $30k PSA Copper, 24-28 Aug, Hungary
PHOTOS: Fram’s Choice
Final
[8] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) 3-0 Balazs Farkas (HUN) 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (30m)
India’s Velavan Senthilkumar has claimed the biggest title of his career to date, taking out the Budapest Open 2026 title.
The left-handed Indian spoiled the party as he beat Hungarian No.1 and local hero Balazs Farkas in just 30 minutes to win the event and pick up his 10th PSA Tour title.
Senthilkumar came through a bruising five-set clash in the semi-finals, overcoming compatriot Veer Chotrani in five games to advance to the final, whereas Farkas made light work of Egypt’s Moustafa Elsirty, winning in straight games.
The No. 8-seeded Indian took control of the final from the start, combining quality length hitting with accurate attacks to keep the tall Hungarian moving and on his toes. Senthilkumar capitalised on a nervy start from Farkas to win the opening game 11-4. A response was expected from the hometown hero in game two, but it never came. Senthilkumar again was allowed to showcase his skill and precision to double his lead, winning the second game 11-2.
After establishing an early lead in the third game, the end came quickly for Farkas. The dream of winning his home event will have to wait for another year, as this year’s event belonged to Senthilkumar. He ran away with game three to win 11-3 and earn the biggest title of his career and his second title in the space of 10 months.
Semis
[8] Velavan Senthilkumar (Ind) 3-2 [3] Veer Chotrani (Ind) 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 1-11, 12-10 (68m)
[*] Balazs Farkas (Hun) 3-0 [5] Moustafa Elsirty 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (32m)
The finalists of the Budapest Open have been confirmed as hometown hero Farkas Balazs will take on India’s Velavan Senthilkumar after the pair came through contrasting semi-finals.
India was guaranteed a finalist as Senthilkumar took on Veer Chotrani in the opening match of the day. Senthilkumar and Chotrani had never met on the PSA Squash Tour before but the former had claimed three wins in Indian National Championships over the last four years. Chotrani took the opening game 11-9, showing his amazing array of shots to entertain the Hungarian crowd.
Senthilkumar bounced back in style to take the lead in the tie and need one more game to secure a spot in the final. Chotrani fired back in emphatic fashion to win game four 11-1 and set up an exciting decider. There was nothing to split the two as the score reached 8-8. Chotrani made his move to earn the first match balls at 10-8. With his back against the wall, Senthilkumar found an extra gear to rattle through the next four points to steal the victory away from his compatriot and earn a spot in the final.
Senthilkumar’s opponent in the final will be home hero Farkas Balazs. The Hungarian No.1 made light work of Egypt’s Moustafa Elsirty, winning in just 32 minutes. Balazs hasn’t had much luck since his home event came back on the PSA calendar but found his top form yesterday, surrendering just 14 points across the three games.
Quarters: Unseeded Balazs Farkas and Velavan Senthilkumar in the semis!
World No.54 Velavan Senthilkumar and World No.55 Balazs Farkas stormed into the semi-finals of the 2026 Budapest Open after the pair stunned top seed Eain Yow Ng and No.7 seed Ryunosuke Tsukue in straight games at the Copper-level event.
No.8 seed Senthilkumar delivered a superb performance to take down World No.18 Ng by an 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 scoreline and claim one of the biggest victories of his career to date.
The Indian No.4 raced through the first game with nine straight points from 2-2, before holding off a late comeback from Ng to double his advantage. From there, he wasn’t to be denied, clinching the third game 11-8 to move through to the last four after 53 minutes of play.
Senthilkumar will face India’s Veer Chorani for a spot in Friday’s title decider, after the No.3 seed saw off No.6 seed Mohamed ElSherbini in a hard-fought four-game duel.
Meanwhile, Hungarian No.1 Balazs Farkas continued his quest for a dream victory on home soil after claiming his second successive seeding scalp, this time defeating Japan’s Ryunosuke Tsukue.
After clinching a closely-fought first game 11-9, Farkas only moved from strength to strength, wrapping up the subsequent two games 11-6, 11-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Budapest Open for the first time.
No.4 seed Moustafa Elsirty will be Farkas’ opponent in the semi-finals, after the Egyptian downed Abdulla Al-Tamimi in four games.
Victories for Senthilkumar and Farkas, along with Veer Chotrani and Moustafa Elsirty, mean that all four of Thursday’s semi-finalists will be on the hunt for a maiden World Events title this week.
Round Two : Home Favourite Farkas takes out second seed
Hungarian No.1 Balazs Farkas kept home hopes alive on day two of the Budapest Open 2026, stunning No.2 seed Bernat Jaume in four games to advance to the quarter-finals.
Arriving on the back of a hard-fought first-round win over Oliver Dunbar, Farkas showed no signs of fatigue as he took down the World No.36 by an 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8 scoreline.
In a tight match separated by fine margins, it was World No.55 Farkas who managed to rally from 9-7 to clinch the first game and then come from behind to double his advantage in the match. Despite Jaume clinching the third, Farkas hung tough to advance to the last eight after 59 minutes of play.
Elsewhere, top seed Eain Yow Ng survived a big scare as he overcame an inspired display from Hungarian Wildcard Benedek Takacs, defeating the World No.184 by an 11-8, 7-11, 10-12, 11-2, 11-2 scoreline.
Home hope Takacs picked up where he left off from his upset win over Adam Hawal in the first round, moving 2-1 up over the World No.18 and looking on the cusp of joining fellow countryman Farkas in the quarter-finals. However, Malaysian No.1 Ng showed a cool head to rattle off the subsequent fourth and fifth games to the loss of just four points and advance after 58 minutes of play.
Ng will face India’s Velavan Senthilkumar in the next round, after the No.8 seed defeated No.5 seed Raphael Kandra in four games.
Elsewhere, No.3 seed Veer Chotrani and No.6 seed Mohamed ElSherbini set-up a quarter-final date after claiming respective four-game wins over Rui Soares and Ibrahim Elkabbani, while Abdulla Al-Tamimi continued to show strong form following his return from a serious Achilles injury, dispatching Lucky Loser Daniel Simon 11-6, 11-6, 11-7.
The other two winners on the second day of play were No.4 seed Moustafa Elsirty and No.7 seed Ryunosuke Tsukue, the latter of whom will face off against Hungary’s Farkas in the quarter-finals.
Round One : Under way in Budapest
Hungarian duo Benedek Takacs and Balazs Farkas delighted the home crowd on day one of the 2026 Budapest Open, with the pair scoring dramatic five-game victories over Adam Hawal and Oliver Dunbar at the Copper-level event.
Over 200 spots separated tournament Wildcard Takacs and Egypt’s Hawal in the PSA Rankings coming into their first-round contest, but the 24-year-old Hungarian delivered a stunning performance to secure his first-ever World Events victory by an 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10 scoreline.
The World No.278 twice saw Hawal fight back from a game behind to force a decider, with the young Egyptian subsequently saving two match balls to force a fifth-game tie-break. However, Takacs held his nerve to set up a second-round tie with top seed Eain Yow Ng after 72 minutes of thrilling play.
Takacs was joined by Hungarian No.1 Farkas in the second round after he held off New Zealand’s Dunbar by an 11-7, 10-12, 11-2, 3-11, 11-4 scoreline.
The World No.54, a quarter-finalist at the Budapest Open last year, kickstarted his quest for a first World Events title in hard-fought fashion, eventually moving through to set up a second-round match with No.2 seed Bernat Jaume.
Elsewhere, Qatar’s Abdulla Al-Tamimi continued his road back from a serious Achilles injury with a five-game win over Pakistan’s Hamza Khan, defeating the former World Junior Champion, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-6.
The other winners on day one of play were Egyptian duo Ibrahim Elkabbani and Yassin Elshafei, India’s Velavan Senthilkumar and Portugal’s Rui Soares.
Following the withdrawal of No.4 seed Muhammad Ashab Irfan due to injury, Hungary’s Daniel Simon was awarded the Lucky Loser spot despite losing his opening round match. The Wildcard will face Abdulla Al-Tamimi in the next round.
PSA Preview
The 2026 Budapest Open gets underway today, with 24 players arriving in the Hungarian capital in search of the Copper-level title.
World No.18 Eain Yow Ng arrives at the event as top seed and title favourite, with 18 spots separating him from the next-highest-ranked player, World No.36 Bernat Jaume, in the PSA Rankings.
The Budapest Open will be Ng’s first event of the season and an important part of Malaysia’s No.1s preparations for the Asian Games next month, which will see the first two Olympic qualifiers confirmed. The 28-year-old will kickstart his title quest against either Adam Hawal or Wildcard Benedek Takacs, whilst also being named in the same half of the draw as No.6 seed Raphael Kandra, No.7 seed Mohamed ElSherbini and No.3 seed Veer Chotrani.
India’s Chotrani enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025/26 and will hope to build upon his current career-best ranking of World No.38. Chotrani, widely seen as one of the most talented shotmakers on tour, is projected to face ElSherbini in the quarter-finals, if he gets through his opening round two match against either Rui Soares or Marek Panacek.
Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the draw, Spanish No.2 Bernat Jaume will look to build upon his fourth-place finish at the recent European Individual Championships and capture his first-ever World Events title.
The 30-year-old might not have it all his own way, though, with a potential second-round match with Hungarian No.1 Balazs Farkas lying in wait, before a projected quarter-final against No.8 seed Ryunosuke Tsukue.
Elsewhere, No.4 seed Muhammad Ashab Irfan and No.5 seed Moustafa Elsirty will both have their eyes on strong runs in Budapest and a shot at lifting the title come Friday evening.
Home favourite and World No.54 Farkas is joined by Hungarian duo Benedek Takacs and Daniel Simon, who have both been handed tournament Wildcards and will open their campaigns against Adam Hawal and Maceo Levy.
