Nagoya: India’s mixed doubles pair Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar secured a bronze medal after losing to Hong Kong, China pair Lee Ka Yi and Tang Ming Hong in the semifinal at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena on Saturday.
In a nerve-racking match, the Indian pair lost the semifinal 1-2 (10-11, 11-2, 10-11) and failed to reach the final. Chinappa and Senthilkumar had three match points in the nail-biting third game when they were leading 10-8, but conceded all those opportunities with Chinappa hitting one over the bounds to concede the decider and settle for a bronze.
This is Chinappa’s sixth Asian Games medal, with the veteran previously winning three bronze and two silver medals. However, her cabinet still misses the elusive gold medal from the continental event.
Chinappa and Senthilkumar had already secured a medal for India when they moved into the semifinals after their quarterfinal win over the Philippines’ Jemyca Aribado and David Pelino 2-0 (11-3, 11-5) on Friday.
Chinappa is not part of the singles event as India fielded Anahat Singh and Tanvi Khanna in the singles category. Anahat is gunning for her first Asiad final as she faces Japan’s Satomi Watanabe in the singles semifinals, having beaten Tanvi on Friday in an all-Indian quarterfinal affair.
India’s Abhay Singh will be up against Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan in the men’s singles semifinal on Saturday.
Indian squash players came into the 2026 Asian Games after a fruitful campaign at Hangzhou 2023, where India won five medals in squash, including two golds, one silver and two bronzes.
The men’s team won gold, while India also topped the podium in the mixed doubles event. The country added a silver medal in men’s singles through Saurav Ghosal and bronze medals in the women’s team and mixed team competitions.
Anahat Singh was part of the bronze-medal-winning women’s and mixed teams at the previous Asian Games, while Joshna and Tanvi also featured in the women’s team event.
Harinder Pal Sandhu, a gold medal winner from the men’s team in Hangzhou, is the coach of the Indian squash team at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.