HANGHZOU: The Indian men’s squash team defeated Nepal 3-0 to reach the final and assured a medal for its country in the ongoing 19th Asian Games on Thursday. The Saurav Ghosal-led team beat Singapore, Qatar and Kuwait before losing to arch-rival Pakistan in their earlier pool matches.
In the match against Nepal, Abhay Singh gave India a 1-0 lead with an easy 11-2, 11-4, 11-1 win against Amrit Thapa Magar.
In the second match of the tie, Mahesh Mangaonkar registered an 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 win over Arhant Kesharto Simha without breaking a sweat and gave India a 2-0 lead.
Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu registered a 3-0 (11-1, 11-2, 11-6) victory over Amir Bhlon in the final match and wrapped up a 3-0 win for India.
The semifinals of the team squash events at the Asian Games will be played on Friday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Squash Court.
Earlier in the day, the Indian women's squash team despite suffering a defeat to Malaysia in its final Pool B tie, reached the semifinals of the ongoing 19th Asian Games, assuring the country of at least a bronze medal in the multi-sports event.
It was India's first defeat in women's team squash Pool B while Malaysia won all their five group ties.