Nagoya, September 28, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s men’s and women’s squash teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Games on Monday after securing contrasting victories, with the women edging past Japan 2-1 in a closely contested tie and the defending champion men registering a 3-0 sweep against South Korea.
The Indian women, seeded third and bronze medallists at the previous Asian Games, faced a tough challenge against Japan. Experienced campaigner Joshna Chinappa gave India an early lead by defeating Erisa Sano 11-1, 11-8, 11-9.
Anahat Singh then took on world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe, whom she had defeated in the individual semifinals earlier in the competition before going on to win a historic silver medal. However, Watanabe turned the tables this time, recovering from a 1-2 deficit to beat Anahat 11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 in a 43-minute encounter, levelling the tie.
With the quarterfinal spot at stake, Tanvi Khanna delivered under pressure against Akari Midorikawa, winning 12-10, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10 to seal India’s 2-1 victory.
The women had earlier opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over China in their first Pool match.
India’s men, meanwhile, continued their strong run with a 3-0 victory over South Korea, finishing top of their group to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Velavan Senthilkumar got India off to a winning start by defeating Na Jooyoung 11-6, 11-4, 11-7. Abhay Singh, who had won a silver medal in the singles event, extended the lead with an 11-4, 11-7, 11-1 victory over Ryu Jeongmin.
Veer Chotrani completed the clean sweep by defeating Oh Seojin 11-6, 11-4, 11-2.
Earlier in the day, the Indian men had also beaten China 3-0, with Suraj Chand, Chotrani and Senthilkumar recording straight-game victories in their respective matches.
Chand defeated Du Shaoqian 11-4, 11-3, 12-10, while Chotrani overcame U Haizhen 11-5, 11-5, 11-3. Senthilkumar then completed the tie with an 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 win over Zhou Penglin.
The Indian women had also faced China earlier, securing a 2-1 victory after a challenging contest. Sameena Riaz lost to her opponent after initially leading by two games, going down 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 12-14.
Tanvi Khanna brought India back on level terms with an 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 win over Zhang Yuning, before Chinappa sealed the tie by defeating Liu Ziyi 12-10, 11-4, 11-6.
At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, the Indian men’s team won the gold medal, while the women’s team claimed bronze. Both teams will now look to extend their campaigns in the knockout rounds in Aichi-Nagoya.
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