Asian Games 2026: Anahat Singh Stuns World No. 6 Satomi Watanabe In 0-2 Comeback To Reach Women’s Squash Final | Watch |
Aichi-Nagoya: Indian squash star Anahat Singh produced a stunning comeback to defeat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe and reach the women’s singles final at the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday.
Anahat fought back from 0-2 down to beat the world No. 6 Japanese player 3-2 in a thrilling semifinal contest. The Indian, ranked 17th in the world, lost the opening two games narrowly, going down 9-11, 11-13 as Watanabe used her variations, pace changes and sharp angles effectively to put Anahat under pressure.
With her back against the wall, Anahat showed remarkable composure in the third game. After trailing 8-10 and saving two game points, she fought back to win the game 12-10 and kept herself alive in the contest.
The momentum then shifted completely in Anahat’s favour as she dominated the fourth game, winning it 11-6 to level the match at 2-2 and force a deciding game.
In the decider, Anahat continued her attacking play and outplayed Watanabe to seal the game 11-3, completing a memorable comeback victory. With the win, Anahat advanced to the women’s singles final, where she will compete for the gold medal.
Meanwhile, India enjoyed a strong medal-winning day at the Asian Games 2026, with the women’s kabaddi team clinching gold after defeating Iran 37-34 in the final. Athletics also brought glory as Sawan Barwal won silver in the men’s marathon with a national record time of 2:11:37.
In shooting, Ashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod secured team silver in the women’s 50m rifle 3P event. Tilottama and Vidarsa later featured in the individual final, finishing fourth and fifth respectively after a closely fought contest.
Squash delivered another medal as Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar won bronze in mixed doubles after losing their semifinal against Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi.
In badminton, India had positive results with Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda advancing to the pre-quarterfinals after defeating Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev and Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching, respectively. However, Lakshya Sen exited after losing to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the men’s singles second round.
In boxing, Kapil Pokhariya advanced to the men’s 91kg quarterfinals with a 5-0 win over Iran’s Sam Estaki, while Jadumani Singh bowed out after losing to the Philippines’ Carlo Paalam in the men’s 55kg round of 16.
Indian archers continued their strong showing in qualification rounds. Chikitha Taniparthi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Prithika Pradeep finished second in women’s team compound qualification, while Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan and Yashdeep Bhoge secured third place in men’s team recurve qualification, with Dhiraj setting Asian and national records.
In squash, Anahat Singh produced a stunning comeback to defeat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe and reach the women’s singles final, overcoming a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2.
In athletics, Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad continued their decathlon campaign, with Tejaswin finishing first in the long jump and remaining in medal contention. Animesh Kujur qualified for the men’s 200m semifinal after topping his heat.
India also progressed in fencing, with the men’s sabre and women’s foil teams winning their round-of-16 matches before suffering quarterfinal defeats. In canoe sprint, Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar reached Final A in mixed kayak double 500m, while Harshwardhan Shaktawat advanced to Final B.
Table tennis players Yashaswini Ghorpade and Manush Shah exited in the singles rounds, while esports player Paritosh lost in the Puyo Puyo Champions quarterfinal. India’s mixed canoe double team of Raju Rawat and Neha Devi Leichonbam finished eighth in the final.
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