India’s Velavan Senthilkumar advanced to the semi-finals of the Asian Squash Championships with a straight-game win in Kuching, Malaysia, on Thursday.

He registered a clinical three-game (11-7, 11-6, 11-6) win against Joachim Chuah of Malaysia in the quarterfinal to reach the final four of the Asian Championships for the second straight edition.

Chuah had a good start to the game and took a decent early lead in the opening game, but Velavan came from behind to topple him and took an early lead in the match.

The second game was also very closely poised, and the Malaysian had a narrow lead in the middle phase, but then the Indian player won six points on the trot to take the game and double the lead.

He finished the match in straight games with a comparatively comfortable third game, holding on to his lead throughout the game, and continued his quest for the maiden Individual Asian title.

Velavan, the reigning silver medalist, will be hoping to improve his medal color from the last edition and become just the second Indian to win the Asian individual title after Saurav Ghosal.

He is the only Indian remaining in the Individual tournament and will want to continue his journey when he takes on the second-seeded Lau Tsz Kwan of Hong Kong in the semi-final on Friday.