Lagatar24 Desk
Hangzhou, Sep 30: Mahesh Mangaonkar, Saurav Ghosal and Abhay Singh of India’s men’s squash team defeated Pakistan 2-1 in a tense final of the current 19th Asian Games on Saturday, winning the gold medal with a strong effort.
In the best-of-three final match, India defeated Pakistan 2-1 with an incredible display of courage and perseverance to win the gold medal.
In the opening match of the series between the arch rivals, Pakistan’s Iqbal got off to a fast start, outscoring Mahesh Mangaonkar 5-1.
Iqbal defeated Mangaonkar in three games in a row, 8-11, 11-3, and 11-2. Nasir won the following two games 11-3 and 11-2 to secure Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the tie after a close opening game that Mangaonkar won 11-8.
Veteran player Saurav Ghosal defeated Muhammad Asim Khan in the second match, winning 11-5, 11-1 and 11-3 to tilt the tie in India’s advantage.
Early on in the decisive match against Pakistan’s Noor Zaman, Abhay Singh built a 4-point advantage. The crucial final match’s first game was won by Abhay.
Abhay displayed his acrobatic skills, diving to get a couple of shots. Noor Zaman utilised the side walls to best advantage as he demonstrated his knowledge of angles. Abhay displayed more incredible athleticism, but it was insufficient as Zaman tied the last match after one game.
An unforced error by Zaman in the fourth game of the match allowed Abhay to quickly regain the lead. The 25-year-old handed India the victory and forced a decider.
Abhay used his knowledge of the court and the relevant angles in the decisive game to score a couple of early points and take the lead. In the end, Abhay won the point thanks to a major unforced error by Zaman, who once again nailed the target. The finale saw some spectacular strokes.
Zaman had two points for the gold medal, but Abhay Singh fought back and scored four points straight again to give India the victory and the gold.
