"Winning against Pakistan in the final hits different!" - Indians react as Abhay Singh stars in Squash final against Pakistan
India won the gold medal in squash by beating Pakistan in a thrilling contest at the Asian Games 2023. Mahesh Mangoankar and Saurav Ghosal displayed astute teamwork and individual brilliance to defeat their opponents, however, the hero of the night was Abhay Singh.
After Mahesh lost his opening encounter, Saurav levelled the scoreline with a win. This meant that 25-year-old Abhay was tasked with the monumental prospect of securing gold for the country, and that he did. But it did not come without some nerve wracking moments.
At one point, the Chennai lad was 8-10 down and staring at two match points for his opponent. Nevertheless, he remarkably resurrected his game and won 12-10, leading to joy for the Indians and exhausted exultation for the athletes.
Social media went into a frenzy after the victory and fans and fellow players took to X( formerly Twitter) to express their joy of seeing Abhay Singh's heroics on the world stage.
The official fan account of all Indian Sports and described Singh's hard work and comeback that defied all odds.
"And its GOLD medal for India [Fire Emojis] Squash: India BEAT Pakistan 2-1 in FINAL of Men's Team event. Down by 2 match points, Abhay Singh won the deciding match 3-2 after Saurav Ghosal had equalized the tie at 1-1", it wrote.
Here's how fans reacted to India's momentous triumph and Abhay Singh's heroics:
India's road to the gold medal in Squash at the 2023 Asian Games
India has played 7 games in total, with 6 victories and 1 loss. Here are the results of the matches from match 1 to the final:
Match 1: India 3-0 Singapore - India had a relatively easy start to the tournament with a straightforward victory.
Match 2: India 3-0 Qatar - The team's dominance continued as they walloped Qatar.
Match 3: India 3-0 Kuwait - Another flawless victory for India.
Match 4: India 1-2 Pakistan - The first loss of the event against arch rivals Pakistan. Neverthless, India attained sweet revenge at the most important stage of the tournament - the finals.
Match 5: India 3-0 Nepal: India continued their dominance after a stumble to defeat Nepal
Semi-Final: India 2-0 Malaysia: The team produced a strong performance to down their talented opponents.
Final: India 2-1 Pakistan - A reverse result of the earlier fixture, India truly showed the world their dominance and capabilities with the win.
The Asian Games squash competitions have come to an end with the men winning gold and women winning bronze. A successful tournament for the men in blue, they will look to support their colleagues during the rest of the event. The Asian Games end on October 8th.