Nagoya, Tanvi Khanna scripted a stirring fightback but Anahat Singh’s opening-match loss proved crucial as the Indian women’s squash team signed off with a bronze medal after losing to Hong Kong 1-2 in the semifinals of the Asian Games here on Thursday.
A lot rode on 18-year-old Anahat as India, already assured of a medal, hoped to better their Hangzhou 2022 show. 17 Indian squandered four match points to go down 2-3 against world No. 25 Sin Yuk Chan in a thrilling opening match. Up against Sin Yuk Chan, Anahat made a superb start, taking the first two games, and was leading 10-6 in the fourth game before squandering four match points to allow Sin to make a roaring comeback. Tanvi was 4-1 up in the fourth game. Lee took a 9-7 lead before the Indian clawed back with two points. The Indian made a late fightback to save five match points before losing the game, going down 4-11 7-11 9-11 in just 21 minutes.
In the deciding singles, Joshana was pitted against Ho, but the Indian was unable to keep pace physically with her opponent as she lost the first two games and was down six match points in the third. However, the world No. Lee grabbed a game point, which Tanvi saved before earning a match point herself. After squandering it, she converted her second match point as India stayed afloat.
