Nagoya, Sep 26 Indian teen sensation Anahat Singh made a stunning turnaround after losing the first two games to humble Japan’s higher-ranked Satomi Watanabe and storm into women’s singles final of the Asian Games squash event, while Abhay Singh also made it to the final in men’s section on Saturday.
Both Anahat and Abhay, who beat Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 3-0 in men’s singles semifinals, are just one match away from booking a spot in 2028 Olympics. Both the men’s and women’s singles gold medallists in Asian Games will get a direct qualification to 2028 Games.
The 18-year-old Anahat registered the biggest win of her career as she rallied from 0-2 deficit to beat world number six Satomi 3-2 in a thrilling semifinal match that lasted 51 minutes at Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena.
Playing in his second Asian Games, Anahat won 9-11 11-13 12-10 11-6 11-3, exacting sweet revenge for her 2-3 lost to the same player in another five games thriller.
“The last time she won, I was 2-0 up and I ended up losing. And I mean, it was the other way around this time,” Anahat said after the match.
“I still have a match left. If I end up playing the number one seed, she’s a great player. I’ve played her numerous times before. I’m just excited to get on the court and see what I can do,” said the junior world champion.
She had a collision with Satomi in the second game, and both the players were off the court for a while. The match was briefly stopped and Anahat received medical attention.
“I bit my tongue. So it was bleeding, nothing serious,” she said.
Anahat was playing catch-up in the first game but she was able to make it 6-6. Satomi stepped up to take 9-7 lead and then to 10-8. The Indian kept herself in for a chance but Satomi took it 11-9.
The second game went almost the same as the first but Anahat made a late rally to make it 10-10 and even went 11-10 ahead. But the Japanese made a fine recovery to make it 11-11 and then went on the win it 13-11.
It seemed that Anahat’s chances of making a comeback was as good as over. But the steely resolve of the player from Delhi came to the fore. She was trailing all through the third game and was 8-10 down. From there on, she made a remarkable comeback, winning the next four points to win the third game and stun the partisan home crowd.
The fourth game saw Anahat trailing initially but the score was even at 6-6. From there, she again won five consecutive points in a remarkable show of control, precision shots and finely executed drops to make the semifinal tie 2-2.
Anahat was in the ascendancy and she did not let go of the momentum she was having. In the deciding game, Anahat simply decimated a hapless opponent who seemed to have sniffed victory.
The Indian had at least three beautiful drops and she forced her opponent to a series of unforced errors to walk away with a well-deserved win.
In the final on Sunday, Anahat faces world number 5 Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia who beat Chan Sin Yuk of Hong Kong in the other women’s singles semifinals.
Abhay, who won a gold in the men’s team event and a bronze in mixed doubles, had a relatively easier win (11-3 12-10 11-6) against his Pakistani opponent in the semifinal match that lasted 35 minutes.
In the final on Sunday, Abhay faces NG Eain Yow of Malaysia, who beat Pakistan’s Zaman Noor in the other semifinal.
“It was not an easy one. I think I did well to make it easy, but respect to your opponent. No Asian Games match is going to come easy,” Abhay said later.
“I think all the people listening to you love the India-Pakistan stuff, but for us it’s just another opponent, just another match. Too many people put too much work into us, you have to come in and do them justice.”
Earlier, the mixed doubles duo of Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar settled for the bronze medal after suffering a heartbreaking 1-2 (10-11 11-2 10-11) loss to Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi.
It is the sixth Asian Games medal for 40-year-old Joshna. She already has a haul of two silver and three bronze medals at the continental event.
“As much as it is very disappointing, we also feel very proud. We played really well. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way. All credit to our opponents for coming back up and fighting their way to win the match,” Joshna said later.
“With squash, some of the (scoring) decisions affect your game quite a bit. It’s just about regrouping, getting back to the plan, focusing on what we need to do as a team and individually. I try not to let the decisions affect us.”
On her coping mechanism after defeat, she said “I eat a lot of chocolate (laughs). Chocolate is my coping mechanism. But, before the Games I’ve taken this vow that I won’t eat chocolate for three months. So I’m off chocolate.
“I have to find other ways to regulate my emotions. I will have chocolate at the end of the Games. But it’s three months now and I’m really struggling,” she said in a lighter vein.
(PTI News)
