New Delhi: In a thrilling showdown at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, the Indian men’s squash team led by Mahesh Mangaonkar, Saurav Ghoshal, and Abhay Singh displayed remarkable performances to secure a gold medal on Saturday. They triumphed over Pakistan with a score of 2-1 in a fiercely contested final match.
This is what Victory ✌️ tastes like then🤗
The Golden Boys of 🇮🇳 Squash, proudly flaunting their 🥇at #AsianGames2022
Check this out!#Cheer4India#HallaBol#JeetegaBharat#BharatAtAG22 pic.twitter.com/I1EubuqNUC
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 30, 2023
In the first match of the tie between arch-rivals, it was Pakistan’s Iqbal who started the game fiercely as he raced off to a 5-1 lead early on over Mahesh Mangaonkar.
Mangaonkar lost in straight games against Iqbal 8-11, 11-3, 11-2. After a competitive first game, in which Mangaonkar was 11-8, Nasir won the next two 11-3, 11-2 to give Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the tie.
In the second match, veteran player Saurav Ghosal turned the tie in India’s favour as he won 11-5, 11-1, 11-3 against Muhammad Asim Khan.
Abhay Singh took a 4-point lead early in the decider match against Pakistan’s Noor Zaman. Abhay walked away with the first game of the all-important final match.
Abhay brought out his acrobatics, diving to reach a couple of shots. Noor Zaman showed off his understanding of angles, making the most of side walls. Some more amazing athleticism from Abhay was not enough, as Zaman levelled the final match at 1 game apiece.
In the fourth game of the match, an unforced error from Zaman brought Abhay right back into it. The 25-year-old gave India the game and took the decider into a decider.
In the decider game, Abhay showed off his understanding of the court and the angles involved to pick up a couple of quick points and go into the lead. The decider saw some fantastic shots, but in the end, it was a massive unforced error from Zaman, who hit the tin again, that gave Abhay the point.
Zaman had two gold medal points, but Abhay Singh dug deep to get four points on the trot again, giving India a gold medal in the final.
Earlier today, Indian tennis duo Rohan Bhopanna and Rutuja Bhosale clinched the gold medal in the tennis mixed doubles.
𝙂𝙊𝙇𝘿 𝙄𝙏 𝙄𝙎!🥇🌟
🇮🇳 mixed doubles duo, @RutujaBhosale12 and #TOPSchemeAthlete @rohanbopanna have clinched GOLD, showcasing their unmatched talent and teamwork on the world stage. 🏆🎾
Let's applaud their remarkable victory at the #AsianGames2022 with pride and passion!… pic.twitter.com/kpZs1JcLq4
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 30, 2023
In the opening set of the match, Rohan and Rutuja faced a tough challenge, ultimately conceding the first set to Chinese Taipei’s En-shuo Liang and Tsung-hao Huang with a score of 6-2.
However, the Indian duo showcased remarkable resilience, staging an impressive comeback. They went on to assert their dominance, clinching victory in the following two sets with scores of 3-6 and 4-10, securing the overall win.
As of now, India is in fifth place in the medal standings at the 19th Asian Games, with a total of 36 medals, including 10 gold, 13 silver, and 13 bronze medals in India’s tally.