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India’s hopes of winning two squash gold medals at the Asian Games ended when Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh lost their singles finals to Malaysian opponents. The results added two silvers to India’s tally, which stood at 37 medals, including four golds, at the end of Day 8.
Ng Eain Yow defeated Abhay Singh 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 in the men’s final. In the women’s final, Sivasangari Subramaniam beat Anahat Singh 11-4, 11-4, 11-7. The defeats also ended the Indian players’ hopes of securing direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics through the Asian Games.
India had won four golds, 14 silvers and 14 bronzes, placing it 12th in the standings. China led with 191 medals, including 114 golds, while host Japan was second with 142 medals. Malaysia stood two places above India, with six golds among its 16 medals.
India’s gold medals had come from the men’s and women’s kabaddi competitions, women’s cricket and the mixed team 10-meter air rifle event. In athletics, shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor took silver, as did 10,000-meter runner Gulveer Singh, marathoner Sawan Barwal and the mixed 4×400-meter relay team. Neeraj Chopra, another potential medal contender, did not compete.
India remained in contention in men’s and women’s hockey, with both teams unbeaten, and was also seeking gold in men’s cricket. Rain disrupted the cricket schedule and forced the postponement of games. Indian athletes still had medal opportunities in archery, boxing, weightlifting and other events.
In badminton, P.V. Sindhu’s quarterfinal defeat ended her women’s singles campaign. Unnati Hooda also exited after losing to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 16-21, 21-14, 17-21. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto lost 14-21, 21-18, 18-21 to Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping.
India had better results in boxing. Ankush defeated Tajikistan’s Wekruz Salimov on points in the men’s 80-kilogram category, while Parveen won her women’s 65-kilogram bout against Nalbalkhar Khamidova. Sachin was eliminated after losing his men’s 60-kilogram quarterfinal to Japan’s Shunsuke Kitamoto.
