Nagoya, September 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s Abhay Singh stormed into the men’s singles squash final at the Asian Games on Saturday with a 3-0 (11-3, 12-10, 11-6) victory over Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan, moving closer to a historic gold medal and a direct qualification spot for the LA 2028 Olympics.
The World No. 26 became only the second Indian man to reach the Asian Games men’s singles final after Saurav Ghosal, who won silver in the 2014 and 2023 editions.
Abhay made a strong start, winning the opening game 11-3 against Irfan, who had defeated India’s Veer Chotrani in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The Pakistani player offered greater resistance in the second game, taking the score to 10-10. Abhay, however, kept his composure to win the game 12-10 and take a 2-0 lead.
The third game followed a similar pattern to the first, with Abhay taking control. He earned four match points before converting the first to seal a straight-games victory and book his place in the gold-medal match.
Abhay could face another Pakistani player in the final, with Noor Zaman scheduled to take on Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng in the second semifinal later on Saturday.
Earlier, India’s Anahat Singh also booked her place in the women’s singles final after producing a remarkable comeback against Japan’s World No. 6 Satomi Watanabe.
The 18-year-old Indian recovered from losing the first two games 9-11, 11-13 to win the next three 12-10, 11-6, 11-3. In the third game, Anahat fought back from 8-10 down and saved game points before taking it 12-10.
Both Indian finalists now have a major incentive in their respective gold-medal matches. According to the source, winning the individual squash gold at the Asian Games will earn them direct qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics, subject to fulfilment of all required criteria.
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