Asian Games 2026: Anahat and Abhay triumph to reach the squash finals after intense matches

Aichi-Nagoya: Indian squash players dominated the Asian Games on Saturday, with teen sensation Anahat Singh stunning world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe 3-2 to reach the women's singles final, and Abhay Singh charging into the men's gold medal round here.

The 18-year-old world junior champion Anahat staged a remarkable comeback after being down 0-2 at one stage of the semifinal to register one of the biggest wins of her career.

The Indian won the duel 9-11 11-13 12-10 11-6 11-3, exacting sweet revenge for losing to the same player in another five games earlier this year.


This was the second meeting between the two players.

Abhay then rolled past Pakistan's Muhammad Irfan 3-0 (11-3 12-10 11-6) to enter the men's singles final.

Abhay made a commanding start in his semifinal, racing to a 6-2 lead in the opening game and continued in the same vein through the 35-minute match.

The Indian looked in total control of the match on his way to to the final and step closer to the gold medal.

He was stretched in the second game by his opponent from Pakistan but came out unscathed to lead 2-0.

The script remained the same in the third game as Abhay emerged winner without any facing any trouble.

Earlier in the day, the duo of Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar settled for the bronze medal after suffering a heartbreaking 2-1 (11-10 2-11 11-10) loss to against Hong Kong's Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi after an intense three gamer at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena.

Then, young superstar Anahat was trailing 0-2 against home favourite Watanabe in her semifinal that was stretched to five games and which also saw the Indian's head colliding with the Japanese player's shoulder as the teenager looked to retrieve the ball.

The match was stopped for a brief while as Anahat received medical attention after the unfortunate collision.

Down 0-2 after losing the first two games, Anahat had a mountain to climb but she showed great character to make a strong comeback to claim the third and fourth games to force a decider, in which the Indian did not allow her opponent not a single opportunity to dictate terms.

The match showed how quickly things can change in this racket sport.

Also Read: Asian Games marathon 2026: 'If I didn't get medal, it would have been waste of time,' says Sawan Barwal

Meanwhile, India enjoyed a strong medal-winning day at the Asian Games 2026, with the women's kabaddi team clinching gold after defeating Iran 37-34 in the final. Athletics also brought glory as Sawan Barwal won silver in the men's marathon with a national record time of 2:11:37.

In shooting, Ashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod secured team silver in the women's 50m rifle 3P event. Tilottama and Vidarsa later featured in the individual final, finishing fourth and fifth respectively after a closely fought contest.

Also Read: Asian Games 2026: Tilottama Sen finishes fourth, Vidarsa Vinod fifth in 50m rifle 3P individual final event

Squash delivered another medal as Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar won bronze in mixed doubles after losing their semifinal against Hong Kong's Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi.

In badminton, India had positive results with Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda advancing to the pre-quarterfinals after defeating Kazakhstan's Makhsut Tajibullayev and Malaysia's Wong Ling Ching, respectively. However, Lakshya Sen exited after losing to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the men's singles second round.

In boxing, Kapil Pokhariya advanced to the men's 91kg quarterfinals with a 5-0 win over Iran's Sam Estaki, while JadumSingh bowed out after losing to the Philippines' Carlo Paalam in the men's 55kg round of 16.

Indian archers continued their strong showing in qualification rounds. Chikitha Taniparthi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Prithika Pradeep finished second in women's team compound qualification, while Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan and Yashdeep Bhoge secured third place in men's team recurve qualification, with Dhiraj setting Asian and national records.

In squash, Anahat Singh produced a stunning comeback to defeat Japan's Satomi Watanabe and reach the women's singles final, overcoming a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2.

In athletics, Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad continued their decathlon campaign, with Tejaswin finishing first in the long jump and remaining in medal contention. Animesh Kujur qualified for the men's 200m semifinal after topping his heat.

India also progressed in fencing, with the men's sabre and women's foil teams winning their round-of-16 matches before suffering quarterfinal defeats. In canoe sprint, Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar reached Final A in mixed kayak double 500m, while Harshwardhan Shaktawat advanced to Final B.

Table tennis players Yashaswini Ghorpade and Manush Shah exited in the singles rounds, while esports player Paritosh lost in the Puyo Puyo Champions quarterfinal. India's mixed canoe double team of Raju Rawat and Neha Devi Leichonbam finished eighth in the final.