India’s wait for an individual squash gold medal at the Asian Games continued as Abhay Singh lost 9-11, 5-11, 5-11 to Malaysia’s Ng Eain Yow in the men’s singles final on Sunday.Abhay, ranked 26th in the world, was unable to match the Malaysian world No. 17’s consistency in the gold-medal clash as Eain Yow completed a straight-game victory to defend his Asian Games title, according to ESPN.
The result earned Abhay a silver medal but also meant he missed out on the Olympic qualification spot that was reserved for the men’s singles gold medallist, with squash set to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Abhay began the third game positively but could not maintain his momentum as Eain Yow gradually took control to close out the contest.
The silver is India’s 31st medal at the ongoing Asian Games, taking the country’s tally to four gold, 13 silver and 14 bronze medals. India are 12th in the medal standings at the time of writing.
The 28-year-old Abhay had reached the final after defeating Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 in the semifinals. He became only the second Indian man after Saurav Ghosal to reach an Asian Games singles final.
An Arjuna Award recipient in 2024, Abhay reached a career-high PSA ranking of No. 22 in April 2026 and is currently ranked No. 26.He has also enjoyed a productive 2026 season, winning the Indian Open in Mumbai and his third Tuanku Muhriz Trophy title in Malaysia. He was part of India’s gold-winning team at the 2025 SDAT Squash World Cup in Chennai.
Abhay’s defeat leaves the spotlight on 18-year-old Anahat Singh, who will take on Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam in the women’s singles final later on Sunday.
Anahat had produced a remarkable comeback in her semifinal, recovering from two games down to defeat Japan’s world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe 9-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 11-3.A victory for Anahat would give India its first individual Asian Games gold in squash and also secure the Olympic qualification spot on offer for the women’s singles champion.