Anahat Singh becomes first Indian woman to win Asian Games singles silver

Anahat Singh won silver in the women’s singles squash event after losing the Asian Games final to Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam. The 18-year-old became the first Indian woman to win singles silver but missed direct qualification for the LA28 Olympics

Nagoya: India’s teenage squash star Anahat Singh secured a silver medal after losing the women’s singles final to Malaysia’s defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam 4-11, 4-11, 7-11 at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena here on Sunday.

Anahat, the reigning Junior World Champion, became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in the Asian Games women’s singles event, while Sivasangari successfully defended the gold she won at the Hangzhou Games.

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Anahat also missed out on the first direct qualification spot for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with the winner of the Asian Games singles event guaranteed a quota for the Games, where squash will make its Olympic debut.

The 18-year-old had a tough battle against the more experienced Malaysian, going down 4-11 in the opening game as Sivasangari controlled the rallies with her dominant attacking play.

The Malaysian continued to dictate proceedings in the second game, winning it 11-4 before closing out the match 11-7 in the third.

Anahat had earlier produced a fighting performance in the semifinal, defeating World No. 6 Satomi Watanabe from two games down and saving two match points to become the first Indian to reach the women’s singles squash final at the Asian Games.

Earlier in the day, India’s Abhay Singh also settled for a silver medal 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 final.

Abhay became only the second Indian man after Saurav Ghosal, who won singles silver in 2014 and 2023, to claim a silver medal in the event. However, his defeat in the final also meant he missed out on direct qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics.

The 44-minute contest was closely fought in the opening game before Eain gradually took control, denying Abhay a chance to mount a comeback and successfully defending the title he won at Hangzhou 2022.