Asian Games: Abhay Singh saves match points against Pak in thriller contest to clinch historic gold in squash

India’s men’s squash team scripted history on Saturday, September 30 as they clinched a gold medal in the event in a thrilling contest against Pakistan’s Noor Zaman. The win saw India’s Abhay Singh save two gold medal points to clinch the prize asset in the decisive final. The gold medal is India’s tenth of the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou and first in squash while the overall tally has now risen to 36 medals.

A Glorious Gold 🥇by the 🇮🇳 #Squash men's Team!

Team 🇮🇳 India defeats 🇵🇰2-1in an nail-biter final !

What a great match guys!

Great work by @SauravGhosal , @abhaysinghk98 , @maheshmangao & @sandhu_harinder ! You guys Rock💪🏻#Cheer4India 🇮🇳#JeetegaBharat#BharatAtAG22… pic.twitter.com/g4ArXxhQhK — SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 30, 2023

India beat Pakistan in thriller

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It was not the best start for India as Pakistan dominated the first match in the best-of-three finals with Mahesh Mangaonkar losing in straight games against Nasir Iqbal. The dominant Pakistan star won 11-8, 11-3, 11-2 to rally past Mangaonkar in a one-sided contest. Mangaonkar was earlier beaten 6-11, 11-13, 11-9, 8-11 by Iqbal in the group stage.

India then had a must-win situation as veteran Saurav Ghosal stepped in at the crucial moment. He would conquer the contest 11-5, 11-1, 11-3 to get India back in the gold medal contest. The win came in next to no time as Saurav showcased his experience at the court. Sourav had earlier beaten Muhammad Asim 11-3, 11-5, 11-1 in the group stage meeting and showed no signs of slowing down.

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With the best of the three finals leveled at 1-1, both India and Pakistan had their eyes on the gold with Abhay Singh and Noor Zaman playing in a decisive contest. Having lost to Noor Zaman in the group stage of the Asian Games earlier, Abhay had a score to settle with the Pakistan player. The Indian acer started on the front foot as he pocketed the first game 11-7 assuring early dominance.

Noor would then come back to win the second game 11-9 in a tight finish while he was the dominant force in the third. Despite being level at 7-7, the Pakistani player won four consecutive points in the third game to win and give Pakistan a 2-1 lead in the decisive final contest. With the gold medal slipping away, Abhay would then show high-level commitment to win the fourth game 11-9, despite trailing 7-9 at one stage. Pakistan needed just two points to win the gold medal at that point.

With the match reaching anticlimax, Abhay and Noor went toe-to-toe in the final game to decide the gold medal. However, the Indian star lost concentration at 8-8 as Noor would win the next two points to have two match points. Abhay however won the next four points to win the match and clinch a historic gold medal for India.

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