Squash has been officially confirmed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to be included in the sports programme of the LA28 Olympic Games. This historic decision provides world-class squash players with the unparalleled opportunity to showcase their skills and sportsmanship on the grandest sporting stage.

Expressing his overwhelming joy, Mr. David Mui, MH JP, President of the Asian Squash Federation stated, “The inclusion of squash in the LA28 Olympic Games is fantastic news for the entire squash community. We firmly believe that this will further promote squash and inspire more individuals to participate and support the sport. On behalf of the Asian squash Federation, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the IOC and LA28OCOG for their unwavering support and recognition. We also extend appreciation to all the parties involved, whose dedicated efforts and contributions have turned this dream into reality.”

 

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Dear member nations,

It’s my great pleasure to inform you that squash has been selected by LA28 OCOG for proposal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to be included in the LA28 Olympic Games!

To echo the joint statement announced by World Squash Federation (WSF), US Squash and the Professional Squash Association (PSA), Asian Squash Federation also shows our support and welcomes the decision by the LA28 Organising Committee to recommend squash for inclusion in the LA2028 Olympic sports programme. This decision marks a momentous and thrilling milestone in the history of squash.

We greatly appreciate the continuous effort and hard work of all parties involved to ensure that squash would have a best chance to be included in the LA2028 Olympic Games. My sincere gratitude would also go to LA28OCOG for their support and recommendation.

Let’s hope for a favourable outcome from the imminent IOC Session in Mumbai on Monday, October 16.

 

Regards,

David MUI, MH, JP

President

Asian Squash Federation

Please click here to read the announcement made by LA28 regarding the proposed new sports.

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On a thrilling final day of squash at the 19th Asian Games, Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam and Eain Yow Ng captured the two singles golds, while Indian duo Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Harinder Sandhu won gold in the first ever Asian Games mixed doubles event.

In a tense and emotionally charged women’s final, Malaysia’s Subramaniam edged out Hong Kong, China’s Sin Yuk Chan in a five-game thriller that either player could have won.

The pair met earlier this year in the final of the Asian Championship, with Chan getting the better of Subramaniam in five games.

Today, though, it was revenge for the Malaysian, whose victory at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre underlines her return to form after recovering from a serious traffic accident last year.

3/4 seed Chan spoke before the match about how her best shot at the title was with her attacking weaponry and she more than lived up to her word, frequently disrupting the Malaysian with fantastic work at the front of the court.

After Chan took the first game 11-8, Subramaniam dragged herself level with a 15-13 game two win.

The third game went to a tie-break, too, as Chan regained her lead with a 12-10 victory only for Subramaniam to level again with an 11-9 win in game four to force a fifth game.

In an epic final encounter, it was Chan who made the first move towards the title, with the 21-year-old moving into an 8-5 lead.

Subramaniam, however, dug in incredibly in a frenetic conclusion, reeling in Chan’s lead to earn championship ball at 10-9.

Chan recovered from the onslaught well and saved championship ball to force yet another tie-break, but could not capitalise as Subramaniam clinched Malaysia’s fifth consecutive Asian Games women’s singles title with a 12-10 victory.

“I was flag bearer and now, to win two gold medals, it seems like a movie to me,” Subramaniam – who was also part of the Malaysian women’s team that won gold earlier in the competition – said afterwards.

“I don’t think anyone would have expected me to win two gold medals after the last year-and-a-half. I started playing well only in maybe April or May but before that, I was really struggling. I had a lot of challenges to go through and I cannot believe this at the moment.”

Following Subramaniam’s victory, Malaysian Men’s No.1 Eain Yow Ng then secured Malaysia’s third squash gold of the Games as he came from behind to beat India’s Saurav Ghosal.

Ghosal, who beat Ng in the team event at this year’s Games, made the stronger start as he recovered from going 1-6 down to winning game one 11-9 in what looked to be an ominous sign for the Malaysian.

Despite the seemingly demoralising turn of momentum against him, Ng’s head did not drop and he levelled with an 11-9 win of his own before pulling ahead with a comfortable 11-5 win in game three.

Towards the end of game three, there seemed to be an air of inevitability about the conclusion, with Ng finding it increasingly comfortable to hold off a tiring Ghosal’s attacks.

Sure enough, this pattern continued in the fourth game, and the 25-year-old was able to bring the contest to a close and earn the gold with an 11-7 win.

Afterwards, Ng said: “It’s huge!

“What a way to do it. I’m just soaking it in at the moment… at times, it just felt like there was no way we could win a point. Everyone was just picking everything up.

“All credit to Saurav. What a legend. If you watch him over the last two weeks he has played unbelievably.”

Despite that defeat for Ghosal, his second in the individuals final following a 2014 loss to Kuwait’s Abdullah Almezayen, the 37-year-old will take consolation from his team gold medal earned earlier this week and by the gold medal won by his compatriots Pallikal Karthik and Sandhu.

That win for the Indian pairing, which came against Aifa Azman and Mohd Syafiq Kamal to prevent a Malaysian clean sweep on the day, will go down in squash history with mixed doubles squash making its Asian Games debut this year.

Top seeds Pallikal Karthik and Kamal were tested severely by the No.2 seeds in a thrilling contest, which was played at a hectic and crowd-pleasing pace.

The Indian pairing – as they did in their quarter-final and semi-final – made a slow start to the final, with Azman’s attacking instincts and Kamal’s coverage combining well as the Malaysians earned three game balls at 10-8.

Pallikal Karthik and Sandhu, however, clung on brilliantly to save the first two to level and then converted the sudden death game ball at 10-10 to take a vital 1-0 lead.

In a see-saw second game, the Indian pair were once again pushed to the brink by the Malaysians.

The contest looked effectively over when Pallikal Karthik and Sandhu went 6-1 up, only for a tremendous rearguard action by Azman and Kamal to earn the No.2 seeds game balls at 10-9.

Yet again, however, the Indian pair held firm, drawing level before Sandhu fired the ball into the corridor of uncertainty in the middle of the court, which both Azman and Kamal left, to the roars of the Indian bench.

“My mum was crying, my husband, my sister and my best friend – they were all watching together. I think the whole family was… I’m just happy to be going back with a gold,” Pallikal Karthik said afterwards.

Sandhu added: “I was playing for [Pallikal Karthik], nothing for me. I just wanted to make sure I do as much as I can for her on court.

“She just kept backing me. I was like a kid in school when you’re not doing well and the teacher is constantly behind you. I played like that on court!”

Result: 19th Asian Games Women’s Individual Championship, Final
[3/4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [3/4] Sin Yuk Chan (HKG) 3-2: 8-11, 15-13, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10 (64m)

Result: 19th Asian Games Men’s Individual Championship, Final
[1] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (72m)

Result: 19th Asian Games Mixed Doubles Championship, Final
[1] Dipika Pallikal Karthik & Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt [2] Aifa Azman & Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 2-0: 11-10, 11-10 (34m)

Medal Winners: 19th Asian Games

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The top two seeds in the women’s singles draw at the 19th Asian Games crashed out in the semi-finals as Sivasangari Subramaniam and Sin Yuk Chan upset the seedings to reach the final, while in the men’s draw top seeds Eain Yow Ng and Saurav Ghosal clinched their places in the gold medal match with 3-1 and 3-0 wins.

In the mixed doubles, which is making its Asian Games debut in Hangzhou, Indian top seeds Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Harinder Sandhu, and Malaysian No.2 seeds Aifa Azman and Mohd Syafiq Kamal fought back from a game down in their matches to make the final.

Despite being seeded lower than No.1 seed Satomi Watanabe, Malaysian 3/4 seed Subramaniam will have drawn confidence from her dominant 9-1 record against the Japanese star going into the match.

Subramaniam, who now looks back to her very best following a lengthy spell on the sidelines last season, was a cut above Watanabe throughout their 30-minute encounter, with the 24-year-old dominant in the centre as she frequently pinned Watanabe to the back on her way to an 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 win.

Despite the defeat, Watanabe will take consolation from her bronze medal, the first ever individual medal won by a Japanese squash player at the Asian Games.

“I just tried to focus on my game and I did really well to be winning in three. I thought I did well with that and just happy to be in another final tomorrow,” Subramaniam said afterwards.

Subramaniam will face fellow 3/4 seed Chan in tomorrow’s final after the 21-year-old beat Hong Kong, China compatriot and No.2 seed Tomato Ho in straight games, with Chan consistently beating the struggling Ho at the front of the court with an impressive attacking display.

Afterwards, Chan said: “It feels fantastic. This is my first Asian Games and it’s really great to be in the final.

“Playing against teammates is always tough because we all get nervous, but I handled the pressure well.”

In the men’s semi-finals, the top two seeds were able to secure their place in the final, though Malaysia’s Ng was forced to do things the hard way by Abdulla Al Tamimi of Qatar.

The 3/4 seed edged a tight first game 12-10 before the No.1 seed hit back with an 11-7 win in game two.

Al Tamimi, who wowed the crowd with his typically exciting winners as well as some excellent retrieving, looked to be moving into the lead again when he went 9-6 up in game three, but could not push on, with Ng going on a scoring run to take the game 11-9 before clinching the match with a comfortable 11-5 win in game four.

Like Watanabe, Al Tamimi will likely take solace from making national sporting history, with the Qatari going home having earned his country’s first ever Asian Games squash medal.

Afterwards, Ng said: “I changed my mindset today and was really just enjoying some good squash! A few times I hit the widest crosscourt in the world and he was still getting it and all I could do was smile at how good it was.

“I just want to enjoy the occasion, the atmosphere and show everyone what I can do.”

Ng will take on 2014 silver medalist and three-time bronze medalist Ghosal in tomorrow’s final after the Indian No.1, playing in his sixth Asian Games, swept aside 5/8 seed Henry Leung of Hong Kong, China in straight games.

“It took me a while to get over [the 2014 final defeat]” Ghosal admitted afterwards. He added: “I am just grateful that I have the opportunity to come back and play another final.”

The mixed doubles final, meanwhile, will feature the top seeds, though both were forced to do things the hard way in pulsating semi-final matches.

Indian duo Pallikal Karthik and Sandhu, who won the  “Exciting Hangzhou” KINME Cup Asian Squash Mixed Doubles Tournament here earlier this year, struggled in their first game against No.6 seeds Ka Yi Lee and Chi Him Wong, who took the first game 11-7.

As they did in their quarter-final comeback win against Philippines, the top seeds soon found the perfect response, with the pair finding gaps in the Hong Kong, China defences as they drew level with an 11-7 win of their own in game two before squeezing home with an 11-9 win in game three.

“I am just happy that I get to have my twins watch me play and hopefully we both can do it tomorrow,” Pallikal Karthik said afterwards.

Malaysian duo Aifa Azman and Mohd Syafiq Kamal, meanwhile, also fought their way back. After dropping the first game 11-7 to India’s Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh, the No.2 seeded Malaysian duo came roaring back with an 11-2 win in game two.

Singh and Singh appeared to have one foot in the final when they went 9-6 up in game three, but Azman and Kamal gathered themselves spectacularly, hurtling around the court and pouncing on errors from 15-year-old Anahat Singh to score four points in rapid succession and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

“[At 6-9 down] we said ‘if they want to take a point, they’ll have to kill us.’ We weren’t going to give them easy points!” Kamal reflected.

The finals in the mixed doubles and singles events take place tomorrow, October 05.

Play begins at 14:00 (GMT+8) at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre with the mixed doubles final. In the singles competitions, the women’s final takes place at 16:00, with the men’s final following at 17:00.

Click here to view detailed results from the semi-finals of the doubles and singles competitions at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Keep up with the results and schedule on the official tournament website. Find out more about the Hangzhou Asian Games at asiansquash.org and at worldsquash.org.

Results: 19th Asian Games Women’s Individual Championship, Semi-Finals
[3/4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [1] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 (30m)
[3/4] Sin Yuk Chan (HKG) bt [2] Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (26m)

Results: 19th Asian Games Men’s Individual Championship, Semi-Finals
[1] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [3/4] Abdulla Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-1: 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (52m)
[2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [5/8] Henry Leung (HKG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-1, 11-6 (32m)

Results: 19th Asian Games Mixed Doubles Championship, Semi-Finals
[1] Dipika Pallika Karthik & Harinder Sandhu (IND) bt [6] Ka Yi Lee & Chi Him Wong (HKG) 2-1: 7-11, 11-7, 11-9 (39m)
[2] Aifa Azman & Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt [4] Anahat Singh & Abhay Singh (IND) 2-1: 8-11, 11-2, 11-9 (38m)

Draw: 19th Asian Games Women’s Individual Championship, Final
[3/4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) v [3/4] Sin Yuk Chan (HKG)

Draw: 19th Asian Games Men’s Individual Championship, Final
[1] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND)

Draw: 19th Asian Games Mixed Doubles Championship, Final
[1] Dipika Pallika Karthik & Harinder Sandhu (IND) v [2] Aifa Azman & Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS)

 

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