Asian Games 2026: Heartbreak for Anahat Singh, Abhay Singh as Indian duo miss out on automatic LA 2028 qualification

Indian squash stars Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh missed out on a direct qualification for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028, after they lost their respective singles gold medal matches at the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday. Had the Indian won their games, they would have qualified directly for the 2028 Olympic Games in the United States.

While Anahat lost 0-3 to Malaysian Sivasangari Subramaniam in women’s singles final, Abhay went down against Eain Yow Ng, also from Malaysia in the men’s singles final. As a result, both the Indians had to settle for silver. In fact, Anahat became the first Indian woman to win silver in squash in the women’s singles at the Asian Games.

Anahat’s match lasted just 27 minutes. The 18-year-old lost the first two games 4-11, 4-11 before going down in the third game (7-11) with a fight. This is India’s 32nd medal at the ongoing Asian Games, having won four gold medals, 14 silver and bronze medals each.

Anahat, the first Indian to win the world junior title, was unable to mount a comeback like she did against world no.6 Satomi Watanabe of Japan on Saturday. Having closely watched the Anahat-Satomi semifinal, Sivasangari came up with a clear plan and executed it to perfection.

The Malaysian did not allow Anahat to dish out a string of winners and instead kept the pressure with relentless attack. It was still a memorable outing for Anahat, who surpassed the great Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal to become the first Indian to reach the women’s singles final in Asian Games’ history.

How Abhay Singh went down in men’s final?

Earlier, Abhay lost 9-11, 5-11, 5-11 to Eain Yow. Ranked 26th in the world, Abhay was unable to match the Malaysian world No. 17’s consistency. Squash is set to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

Abhay began the third game positively but could not maintain his momentum as Eain Yow gradually took control to close out the contest. The 28-year-old Abhay had reached the final after defeating Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 in the semifinals.

He became only the second Indian man after Saurav Ghosal to reach an Asian Games singles final. An Arjuna Award recipient in 2024, Abhay reached a career-high PSA ranking of No. 22 in April 2026 and is currently ranked No. 26. He has also enjoyed a productive 2026 season, winning the Indian Open and his third Tuanku Muhriz Trophy title in Malaysia.

He was part of India’s gold-winning team at the 2025 SDAT Squash World Cup in Chennai. Both Yow and Sivasangari became the first two squash athletes to qualify for the sport’s Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028 besides defending their Asian Games gold medal.