Asian Games 2026: Ankush Panghal Assures Boxing Medal, Squash Stars Target Gold as Badminton Campaign Falters

Ankush Panghal guaranteed India's first boxing medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, while squash stars Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh reached their respective finals amidst a tough outing in badminton and kurash.

Making his Asian Games debut, boxer Ankush Panghal assured India of its first boxing medal at the ongoing Games by defeating Tajikistan's Nekruz Salimov 5-0 by unanimous verdict in the men's 80kg quarterfinal. The Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallist dominated Salimov to move into the semifinals, guaranteeing at least a bronze medal.

In squash, Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh advanced to the women's and men's singles finals, with the winners earning direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The 18-year-old Anahat mounted a 3-2 comeback against Japan's Satomi Watanabe in the semifinals, while Abhay defeated Pakistan's Muhammad Irfan 3-0 to setup a gold-medal battle against Malaysia's Ng Eain Yow.

India endured a difficult outing in badminton with multiple quarterfinal exits. Teenage sensation Unnati Hooda bowed out against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, while women's doubles duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost 18-21, 9-21 to Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan. Mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were also eliminated, going down 14-21, 21-18, 18-21 to China's world No. 1 combination of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping.

The Indian kurash contingent suffered a winless day as all four athletes were eliminated. In the men's +90kg class, Vishal lost 0-5 to Thailand's Kunathip Yea-on in the quarterfinals, while Yash Kumar Chauhan was defeated by Tajikistan's Shakarmamad Mirmamdov in the pre-quarterfinals. In the women's 57kg discipline, Sangita lost 0-10 to the Philippines' Charmea Quelino in the round of 32, and Bharti went down 0-3 to Iran's Tahereh Azarpeivans in the round of 16.

In the equestrian dressage individual final, India's Vipul Chheda and Jai Sud finished eighth and ninth with scores of 72.680 and 71.490 respectively. South Korea's Dongheon Nam won gold, while China's Jiayi Yu and Jiayi Rao secured silver and bronze. India's overall medal count at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games stands at 30, comprising four gold, 12 silver, and 14 bronze medals.

Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.