India’s Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh stormed into the squash singles finals at the Asian Games 2026, putting themselves within one win of the continental gold medal and a potential direct qualification spot for the LA 2028 Olympics.
While 18-year-old Anahat produced a remarkable comeback against Japan’s world No. 6 Satomi Watanabe, Abhay Singh delivered a composed straight-games victory over Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan to set up a historic double for India.
Anahat completes stunning comeback
Anahat fought back from two games down to defeat Watanabe 3-2 (9-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 11-3) in a gripping women’s singles semifinal.
The Indian teenager appeared to be on the brink of elimination after dropping the opening two games. She then saved game points in the third and recovered from 8-10 down to take the game 12-10.
That comeback changed the momentum of the contest.
Anahat trailed 6-8 in the fourth game but produced another decisive burst, winning five consecutive points to close it out 11-6 and force a decider.
The fifth game belonged entirely to the Indian, who raced to an 11-3 win to complete one of the tournament’s most impressive comebacks.
The victory guarantees Anahat at least a silver medal, giving her a maiden Asian Games singles medal. She had previously been part of India’s bronze-medal-winning women’s and mixed teams at the previous edition.
Abhay Singh reaches men’s final
Abhay, meanwhile, defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 3-0 (11-3, 12-10, 11-6) to book his place in the men’s singles final.
The Indian controlled the opening game and took it 11-3 before facing a tougher challenge in the second. Irfan pushed the score to 10-10, but Abhay kept his composure to win the next two points and take a 2-0 lead.
The third game followed a similar pattern to the opener, with Abhay establishing control and earning four match balls before converting the first to complete the straight-games victory.
The result makes Abhay only the second Indian man to reach an Asian Games men’s singles final, after Saurav Ghosal, who won silver in 2014 and 2023.
Abhay could face another Pakistani opponent in the final, with Noor Zaman scheduled to play Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng in the other semifinal.
Gold could bring LA 2028 qualification
Both Indian finalists now have a major incentive in the gold-medal matches.
Anahat and Abhay can secure direct qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics by winning their respective Asian Games singles gold medals, subject to the applicable qualification criteria.
For Indian squash, the two finalists represent a significant opportunity to add individual Asian Games gold to the country’s medal haul.
With both Anahat and Abhay now through to the summit clashes, India is guaranteed at least two singles squash medals and will have two opportunities to fight for gold.