Asian Games 2023: Future of Indian Squash

Abhay Singh in tears as he speaks to his parents on the phone, moments after helping India beat Pak in the men’s squash team final on Saturday. Pic/Ashwin Ferro

India's women squash stars Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa doffed their hats to the young Abhay Singh, 25, who played out of his skin to win the deciding match against Pakistan's Noor Zaman 3-2 and help India win gold in the men's team event on Saturday.

"Abhay is the man of the moment. He lost to Noor last week [in the league stage] so to come back and beat him in the final, the biggest stage he's ever played on, is absolutely incredible. He's definitely the future of the game in India," Chinappa, who won the women's team bronze earlier in the day, told mid-day.

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Pallikal felt Abhay has a great head on his young shoulders. "To pull off that win from being match-ball down, Abhay held his nerve brilliantly. He has definitely shown that the future of Indian squash is secure," said Pallikal.

Interestingly, Abhay was on the verge of giving up squash after the Coronavirus pandemic as he wasn't getting the desired results. "Thank God he didn't, else we would not have had this gold medal today," said his gold medal-winning teammate Mahesh Mangaonkar.