Abhay Singh had to settle for a silver medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after Malaysia’s defending champion Eain Yow Ng produced a composed performance to beat the Indian 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 in the men’s singles squash final on Sunday.
The silver was not the result Abhay had come this far for, with the Indian also missing out on direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, where squash will make its debut.
“There is nothing to celebrate here, I did not come here to win silver. His opponent’s experience played a part, and I simply did not find an answer. He played some points better, so while some squash was good, some was not. There is no overthinking, you have to switch thoughts when Plan A does not work well. We have the team match tomorrow, so we have to plan for that and keep aiming to improve our world rankings,” Abhay said after the final.
Abhay became only the second Indian man after Saurav Ghosal to win a silver medal in the men’s singles event at the Asian Games. Ghosal had won singles silver in 2014 and 2023.
Eain Yow Ng retains Asian Games squash title with straight-game win
The 44-minute contest at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena was closely fought in the opening game before Eain gradually took control and denied Abhay a chance to force a comeback.
The Malaysian, who had defeated Ghosal in the final at the previous edition, began cautiously as both players engaged in lengthy rallies. Abhay made the first breakthrough with a deft backhand to take a 2-1 lead.
Eain responded with four straight points to move 6-3 ahead, but Abhay fought back. A well-disguised backhand winner and a stroke call helped him level the game at 8-8.
Eain then earned two game points at 10-8. Abhay saved one, but the Malaysian closed out the opener 11-9.
The second game quickly swung Eain’s way. Abhay stayed level at 2-2 before a series of errors allowed the defending champion to move 7-3 ahead. Eain maintained the pressure and reached 10-5 before taking the game to establish a 2-0 lead.
Abhay made a positive start to the third game, moving 4-2 ahead after combining a precise backhand slice with a crosscourt kill.
Eain, however, remained composed and levelled at 4-4 before taking three consecutive points to move 7-5 ahead. Two more points took him to 9-5.
Abhay could not find the response he needed. Eain reached 10-5 and needed only one championship point to seal the contest, with Abhay’s final slice hitting the tin.
The victory saw Eain retain his Asian Games men’s singles title and secure qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. He became the first squash player to qualify for the Games without dropping a game throughout the Aichi-Nagoya competition.
Abhay will now turn his attention to the team event, with India’s team match scheduled for Monday.