Asian Games 2026: Anahat says Olympic spot kept her going in semifinal comeback

The winner of the individual finals in squash will secure a berth in the 2028 LA Olympics and Anahat wants to make it to her maiden Olympics in as straightforward a manner as possible. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

At 18, Anahat Singh has already achieved more firsts in her career than most people do in their entire lives. After becoming India’s first-ever junior world champion, the youngster on Saturday became the first-ever Indian woman to reach the final of the Asian Games, and admitted the Olympic quota was on her mind all through. The winner gets a direct entry to Los Angeles 2028.

“When I was losing, the first thought in my mind was that I can’t let the Olympic spot go by so quickly and that is something that really motivates me. Coming into this event, a lot was expected. I still have a match left; hopefully, I will take it further and get gold on Sunday,” Anahat admitted after the win.

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Abhay Singh, meanwhile, also confirmed a medal for himself by reaching the final and admitted there were a few points he had to prove and was happy to have done so. “There was lot of talk before, people saying I have only done well in team events and doubles, so it’s nice to get on the podium in a singles event,” he declared.

The 28-year-old also insisted that it was as important to respect yourself on the court as the opponent to achieve anything.

India’s Abhay Singh beat Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 3-0 (11-3, 12-10, 11-6) to enter the men’s singles squash final. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

“No one comes to the semifinals of an Asian Games to go down easy. Respect to the kid (Irfan), he’s had some big wins, he is a dangerous player; you need to respect your opponent. But you also need to give yourself respect. There’s a reason I am seeded second in the draw here. There are times I need to go back to remembering why and sometimes that helps,” he declared.

Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar were, however, visibly disappointed after an ill-tempered match. “I think it was obvious that we had already won that match and the referee had overturned his decision on a double bounce from the opponents. But it is what it is, things like this happen and as much as it’s very disappointing, I feel very proud with my partner that we played really well, we played with integrity and unfortunately it didn’t go our way,” Joshna admitted.

Published on Sep 26, 2026

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