Asian Games 2023 squash: Indian men’s and women’s teams in semi-finals; medals assured

The Indian women’s and men’s teams made the semi-finals of their respective squash competitions at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China on Thursday.

Since the losing semi-finalists in squash are awarded bronze medals at the Asian Games, both teams have now confirmed a podium finish at Hangzhou 2023.

On Thursday, the Indian women’s squash team lost to Malaysia 3-0 in the final group match but made it to the knockouts after finishing second in the Pool B standings. The top two teams from Pool A and Pool B advance to the semi-finals.

India started the tie with veteran Joshna Chinappa going down 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-8) to Subramaniam Sivasangari in the opener. In the next match, Tanvi Khanna fought hard against Aifa Binti Azman before losing 3-2 (9-11, 11-1, 7-11, 13-11, 11-5) as India trailed 2-0.

In the final match, the 15-year-old Anahat Singh lost 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 14-12) to Rachel Mae Arnold.

The women’s team opened their Hangzhou 2023 campaign with a 3-0 win over Pakistan on Tuesday and followed it by blanking Nepal and Macao China by identical margins on Wednesday. The three wins ensured their progression to the knockouts.    

Later in the day, the men’s team beat Nepal 3-0 to finish second in the Pool A standings. The Saurav Ghosal-led team beat Singapore, Qatar and Kuwait before losing to arch-rivals Pakistan in their earlier pool matches.

In the match against Nepal, Abhay Singh put India in the lead with an easy 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-1) win against Amrit Thapa Magar. Mahesh Mangaonkar then registered a comfortable 3-0 (11-2, 11-3, 11-3 win over Arhant Kesharto Simha to give India a 2-0 lead. Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu made it a clean sweep for India with a 3-0 (11-1, 11-2, 11-6) victory over Amir Bhlon in the final match. 

The semi-finals of the team squash events at the Asian Games 2023 will be played on Friday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Squash Court.