Asian Games: Pakistan lose to India, secure silver in squash

Noor Zaman lost the last game to Abhay Singh

By Web Desk
September 30, 2023
Pakistan squash team. - PSF

India beat Pakistan 2-1 in the final of the men’s squash team event and won the gold medal in the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China on Saturday.

Pakistan performed brilliantly throughout the tournament but fell short in the final and could secure a silver medal.

The Green Shirts started on a high note with Nasir Iqbal giving his side a bright start after beating Mahesh Mangaonakar 3-0 in the first match of the three-match final.

Nasir won with scores of 11-8, 11-3 and 11-2.

But, the Blues came back in the game courtesy of Saurav Ghosal's stunning performance as he beat Mohammad Asim Khan 11-5, 11-1 and 11-3 in a one-sided contest.

It all came down to the final match between Noor Zaman and Abhay Singh.

The intense five-set nail-biter between two talented players lasted for 65 mins after which India emerged triumphant.

Singh won the first game without much difficulty but Zaman’s excellent comeback in back-to-back games made things tough for his Indian counterpart as he took a decisive 2-1 lead after the third game.

However, after Singh’s excellent display in the fourth game, it all came down to the final set which lasted for 14 minutes — the longest of this match.

Zaman was leading the game 10-8 and was just one point away from securing the gold for his country but Singh did not give up and continued to push back and eventually won the accolade for his country by winning the last game 12-10.

Abhay Singh won the match with the scores of 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 and 12-10.

Comments

    Rehmatullah commented one year ago

    Lost just because of poor mind game of Nopr Zaman, who was winning 9-7 & 10-8 in 4th & 5th game but lost

    Kashif commented one year ago

    Poor pressure. Noor zaman Who could had imagined bharat will also beat pak in Squash. Shame on new generation players n federation.