Abhay Singh was the star of the show as India secured a memorable comeback win over Pakistan in the men’s team squash final to clinch the gold medal at the Asian Games 2023 on Saturday, September 30.
Abhay defeated Pakistan’s Noor Zaman 11-7, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10 in an intense Match 3 to secure the top podium finish for his side as India came back after losing the first game. Things didn’t get off to the best of starts as Nasir Iqbal dominated Mahesh Mangaonkar to win the first match 11-8, 11-3, 11-2.
India then turned to Saurav Ghosal who brought the team back into the contest by breezing past Muhammed Asim Khan 11-5, 11-1, 11-3 to make it 1-1 in the contest. It was time for the final showdown as Abhay and Noor battled it out.
The Indian was able to win the first game 11-7 before Noor came back strongly to win the next two. It seemed like Pakistan was on the cusp of a win when Abhay digged deep into his arsenal to win the fourth game 11-9.
The fifth and final game was a topsy-turvy affair as both men showed great resilience and each point was contested with high intensity. Noor was looking to close the game when Abhay came back to make the game 10-10 and finally win the gold.