Asian Games 2026: Indian squash teams begin with wins over China

Abhay Singh who won the silver medal in men's Squash at the Asian Games in Japan on Sunday, September 27, 2026. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Indian men's squash team made a flying start to its Asian Games campaign, beating China 3-0 in Pool A, while the women's side recovered from an early setback to win 2-1 in its Pool C match against China here on Monday (September 28, 2026).India's men were barely troubled as Suraj Chand, Veer Chotrani and Velavan Senthilkumar all registered comfortable wins to sweep the tie.Chand set the tone by beating Du Shaoqian 11-4, 11-3, 12-10 in 30 minutes. After racing through the first two games, he was stretched in the third as Du earned a game point, but the Indian held his nerve to close it out.Chotrani then extended India's lead with an emphatic 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 win over U Haizhen in under 20 minutes. Senthilkumar completed the rout, beating Zhou Penglin 11-3, 11-2, 11-4.The women's team had to dig deep after Sameena Riaz squandered a two-game advantage against Ziuan Yin.Riaz, daughter of former India hockey Olympian and Asian Games gold medallist Mohammed Riaz, won the first two games but lost 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 12-14 in a gruelling 41-minute contest.Tanvi Khanna restored parity for India with a dominant 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 win over Zhang Yuning in 17 minutes.Veteran Joshna Chinappa completed the comeback, using her experience to beat Liu Ziyi 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 in 22 minutes and seal the tie for India. Published - September 28, 2026 12:30 pm IST