The Indian squash contingent enjoyed a successful opening day at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya on Monday, September 28, with both the men’s and women’s teams securing victories against their Chinese counterparts. While the men’s squad delivered a clinical performance to sweep their Pool A tie, the women’s team demonstrated significant resilience to overcome an early deficit and claim a 2-1 win in their Pool C encounter.
The men’s team set the tone for the day with a commanding 3-0 result. Suraj Chand initiated the proceedings by defeating Du Shaoqian in straight games, 11-4, 11-3, 12-10. Although Chand dominated the opening two games, he faced a stern challenge in the third, where he was forced to save a game point before closing out the match in 30 minutes. Veer Chotrani followed with a swift 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 victory over U Haizhen, requiring less than 20 minutes to extend India's lead. Velavan Senthilkumar then rounded off the clean sweep by dispatching Zhou Penglin 11-3, 11-2, 11-4.
Women's team stages comeback
The women’s team faced a more difficult path to victory after an initial setback. Sameena Riaz, daughter of former Indian hockey Olympian and Asian Games gold medallist Mohammed Riaz, appeared to be in control after taking the first two games against Ziuan Yin. However, the momentum shifted as Yin mounted a comeback, eventually winning the 41-minute marathon 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 14-12.
With the team trailing 0-1, Tanvi Khanna provided the necessary response, leveling the tie with a clinical 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 win over Zhang Yuning in just 17 minutes. The responsibility of securing the victory fell to veteran campaigner
