Pakistan lose to India, secure silver in squash in Asian games

India Saturday emerged victorious in the men's squash team final at the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.   

Pakistan, who put on a dominant show throughout the tournament, came up short in the final against India and settled for a silver medal.

The national squash team got off to a promising start to the blockbuster final, courtesy of Nasir Iqbal beating Mahesh Mangaonakar 3-0 in the first match of the three-match final.

Nasir won the match with the scoreline of 11-8, 11-3 and 11-2.

Saurav Ghosal then scripted India’s sensational comeback in the must-win game for his team as he crushed Mohammad Asim Khan after a one-sided affair.

Ghosal brought Pakistan and India level on terms with a statement 11-5, 11-1 and 11-3 victory over Asim.

Pakistan’s Noor Zaman and India’s Abhay Singh then competed in an intense five-set final of the Asian Games 2023 squash event which lasted for 65 minutes before India emerged triumphant.

Singh won the first set in a comprehensive manner before Zaman pulled off an astonishing recovery by claiming the next two sets and took a 2-1 lead.

This time it was Singh, who pulled things back with a close-fought victory in the fourth set and forced the match to the decider.

The fifth and final set of the match spanned for 14 minutes.

Zaman had attained a 10-8 lead over Singh and moved one point within of bagging a gold medal for his country but Singh continued to fight and eventually succeeded to win the prestigious accolade for his nation by winning the decisive set 12-8.

The final scoreline of the enthralling clash between Singh and Zaman read 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 and 12-10.