Daijiworld Media Network - Nagoya
Nagoya, Sep 27: India's teenage squash sensation Anahat Singh won the silver medal after losing the women's singles final to defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena on Sunday.
The 18-year-old Indian, the reigning Junior World Champion, went down 4-11, 4-11, 7-11 as Sivasangari successfully defended the gold medal she had won at the Hangzhou Games.
Anahat became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in women's singles squash at the Asian Games.
The defeat also denied Anahat a direct qualification spot for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where squash will make its Olympic debut. The singles gold medallist was assured of a quota for the Games.
Anahat struggled to match the Malaysian's attacking display in the opening game and went down 4-11. Sivasangari continued to dictate proceedings in the second game with a combination of strong attack and defence, giving Anahat few opportunities before taking it 11-4.
The Malaysian maintained her control in the third game to close out the match 11-7 and retain her Asian Games title.
Anahat had produced a remarkable comeback in the semifinal, defeating world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe of Japan after being two games down. She also saved two match points on her way to becoming the first Indian woman to reach the squash singles final at the Asian Games.
Earlier in the day, India's Abhay Singh also settled for a silver medal after losing the men's singles final to Malaysia's defending champion Eain Yow Ng.
Eain defeated Abhay 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 in a 44-minute contest to retain the title he had won at Hangzhou 2022.
Abhay became only the second Indian man after Saurav Ghosal to win a silver medal in men's singles squash at the Asian Games. Ghosal had won singles silver in 2014 and 2023.
Abhay's defeat also meant that he missed out on a direct qualification spot for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The opening game was closely contested, but Eain gradually established control and prevented Abhay from mounting a comeback as the Malaysian successfully defended his title.