Indian men’s and women’s teams assured themselves of medals at the Asian Games after progressing to the semifinals of the squash events here on Thursday.
While the men’s team blanked Nepal 3-0 in its final pool tie, the women were handed a 0-3 loss by Malaysia in their last pool B fixture.
Both teams sealed top two spots in their respective pools to make the semifinals which guarantees them at least a bronze.
The Indian women’s team began the day with veteran Joshna Chinappa enduring a 6-11, 2-11, 8-11 defeat to Subramaniam Sivasangari in 21 minutes. In the second match, Tanvi Khanna squandered a 2-1 lead before going down to Commonwealth Games gold medallist Aifa Binti Azman 9-11, 11-1, 7-11, 13-11, 11-5.
In the concluding league match, 15-year-old Anahat Singh went down to Malaysia’s Rachel Mae Arnold in straight sets (7-11, 7-11, 12-14).
In the men’s team event, Abhay Singh defeated Amrit Thapa Magar 11-2, 11-4, 11-1 in 17 minutes.
In the second match, Mahesh Mangaonkar thrashed Arhant Keshar Simha 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 before Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu completed the whitewash by beating Amir Bhlon 11-1, 11-2, 11-6 in just 12 minutes.
