Asian Games: Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh win squash singles silver

Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh took silver in the squash singles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, 27 September 2026. Both lost straight-games finals to Malaysian opponents at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena. The Times of India reported that Malaysia won both singles gold medals.

In the men's final, world No. 26 Abhay Singh lost to world No. 17 Ng Eain Yow, the defending champion, 9-11, 5-11, 5-11. He stayed with Ng for much of the first and tried drop shots, but a number hit the tin, and Ng took it 11-9. Abhay trailed by four points at one stage of the second, which ended 5-11. The Times of India said he led 4-2 in the third before Ng went to 6-5 and closed it 11-5. Sportstar said Ng went through the whole tournament without dropping a game, defended the Hangzhou 2022 title, and gave Malaysia its fifth men's singles gold since squash joined the Asian Games in 1998.

In the women's final, 18-year-old Anahat Singh lost to world No. 5 Sivasangari Subramaniam 4-11, 4-11, 7-11. The Times of India said Anahat led 3-2 in the first game before Sivasangari moved to 8-3 and took it 11-4, then won the second 11-4 and the third 11-7. The Indian Express said Anahat, junior world champion earlier this year, had dropped two games in her semi-final, while Sivasangari dropped none before the final or in it. Anahat trailed 10-6 in the third and saved one gold-medal point, the Express said. It called her the third Indian to win Asian Games squash singles silver, and the first Indian woman in the singles final. A win for either Indian, it wrote, would have been India's first squash singles gold at the Games. It described Sivasangari's gold as the first Olympic place for a woman in squash.

Squash makes its Olympic debut at Los Angeles in 2028. The Times of India said the Asian Games singles champions earn direct qualification, subject to eligibility rules, including the PSA world ranking at the cut-off.

On Saturday both had reached the finals. Abhay beat Pakistan's Muhammad Irfan 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 in 35 minutes, The Times of India reported. Sportstar said Abhay was the second Indian man in the final, after Saurav Ghosal, silver medallist in 2014 and 2023. Ng had beaten Pakistan's Noor Zaman in straight games in the other semi-final. The Indian Express quoted Abhay, 28: "When an event comes once in three or four years, I think you turn up and do well. You don't really get these chances that often, so yeah, I'm making the most of it." He credited coach James Willstrop.

Anahat, world No. 17 in The Times of India's account, beat Japan's world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe 9-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 in 51 minutes after losing the first two games. She trailed 8-10 in the third and saved two match points. The Indian Express said her head hit Watanabe's shoulder, a finger bled, her neck hurt, and she returned after treatment. She told reporters: "When I was losing, the first thought in my head was that I can't let the Olympic spot go by so quickly and that kept replaying in my head."

Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar took mixed doubles bronze, losing the semi-final to Hong Kong's Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi 10-11, 11-2, 10-11. Sportstar said a winning point in the last game was overturned. Joshna, 40, was at a seventh Asian Games, The Times of India said, after the pair beat David Pelino and Jemyca Aribado of the Philippines on Friday. Hindustan Times put India's tally, after the two singles silvers, at 4 gold, 14 silver and 14 bronze.

What's next

Sportstar said Abhay would next turn to the men's team event. The Times of India said India's squash team events were due to begin on Monday.