NEW DELHI: India added another squash medal to their impressive Asian Games 2026 haul as the women’s team settled for bronze after a hard-fought 1-2 semifinal defeat to Hong Kong on Thursday.The result took India’s squash medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Games to four, with Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh having earlier won silver medals in the singles events, while Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar had claimed bronze in mixed doubles.India still have another opportunity to add to that tally later on Thursday, with the men’s team semifinal scheduled for later in the day.Asian Games Full Coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule
Anahat’s missed chances prove costly
A lot rested on 18-year-old Anahat in the opening match against Hong Kong’s Sin Yuk Chan. The world No. 17 Indian appeared in control after winning the first two games 11-9, 11-8, but the contest dramatically slipped away from her.Anahat led 10-6 in the fourth game and had four match points, but could not close out the match. Chan fought back to win the game 13-11 before taking the deciding game 12-10 to complete a 3-2 victory.Anahat had also recovered from a 7-9 deficit in the fifth game to level it at 9-9. Chan earned the first match point, which Anahat saved with a backhand drop, but the Hong Kong player remained composed, earned another match point and converted it to put Hong Kong 1-0 ahead.
Tanvi keeps India alive, Joshna falls short
With India facing elimination, Tanvi Khanna produced an excellent fightback against Ka Yi Lee.The Indian lost the opening game 4-11 but gradually found her rhythm, extending rallies and forcing Lee into errors. Tanvi edged a tense second game 13-11 after saving opportunities and then fought back from 3-7 down in the third to win it 11-9.The fourth game followed another dramatic pattern. Tanvi led 4-1 before Lee moved ahead 9-7. The Indian fought back, saved a game point and eventually converted her second match point to complete a 3-1 victory — 4-11, 13-11, 11-9, 13-11 — and level the tie.That left the outcome in the hands of veteran Joshna Chinappa, but Hong Kong’s Ho Tze Lok proved too strong in the deciding match.The former world top-10 player struggled to match her opponent physically and lost the opening two games. Joshna then found some momentum late in the third, saving five match points, but Ho eventually closed out the contest 11-4, 11-7, 11-9 in just 21 minutes.The defeat ended India’s hopes of reaching the women’s team final, but the bronze adds to what has already been a highly productive squash campaign at Aichi-Nagoya.
