Nagoya, 26 September (H.S.):

India’s Abhay Singh produced a commanding performance to reach the men’s singles squash final at the 2026 Asian Games. Abhay defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 in straight games in the semi-final on Saturday. With the victory, he became only the second Indian player to reach the men’s singles squash final at the Asian Games.

World No. 26 Abhay followed in the footsteps of Saurav Ghosal, who had previously reached the men’s singles final at the Asian Games. Ghosal won silver medals in 2014 and 2023. Abhay now has an opportunity to win India’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in the men’s singles squash event.

Abhay began the match in an aggressive fashion and comfortably won the opening game 11-3. Irfan put up a strong fight in the second game, taking the score to 10-10. However, Abhay remained composed under pressure, won two consecutive points and took the game 12-10 to establish a 2-0 lead.

Abhay continued to dictate proceedings from the start of the third game. He earned four match points and converted the first opportunity to win the game 11-6. The victory completed a straight-games win and secured his place in the final.

Abhay could face another Pakistani opponent in the final. In the other semi-final, Pakistan’s Noor Zaman will take on Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng.

Anahat also reaches final

India’s Anahat Singh had earlier booked her place in the women’s singles squash final. She staged a remarkable comeback against Japan’s world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe to register a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

Anahat lost the opening two games 9-11 and 11-13 before the 18-year-old Indian launched a stunning comeback. She was trailing 8-10 in the third game but saved both game points to win it 12-10. She then claimed the fourth game 11-6 before winning the deciding game 11-3 to secure her place in the final.

Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh now both have an opportunity to win gold medals at the Asian Games. A gold medal in the individual squash events would also give them an opportunity for direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, subject to meeting the prescribed eligibility criteria.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar