Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 26 (ANI): Indian squash pair Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar settled for the bronze medal in the mixed doubles event at the Asian Games 2026 after a thrilling three-game defeat against Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yi and Tang Ming Hong in the semi-final on Saturday.
The Indian duo went down 10-11, 11-2, 10-11 in a closely fought contest and settled for the bronze medal. The opening game saw both pairs engaged in long rallies, with neither side able to build a significant lead. Joshna and Velavan fought hard to stay level, but the Hong Kong pair edged ahead in the closing stages to take the game 11-10.
The Indian pair bounced back strongly in the second game, producing an attacking display to dominate the proceedings. They raced to a 3-0 lead and extended it to 7-2 before winning the game 11-2 to force a decider.
In the final game, Lee and Tang started strongly to take a 5-2 lead, but Joshna and Velavan fought back to level the score at 6-6. The Indian pair continued their momentum and moved ahead 10-7, needing just one point to close out the match.
However, the Hong Kong pair staged a late comeback, winning four consecutive points to clinch the decider 11-10 and secure a place in the final. With the semifinal defeat, Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar finished with a bronze medal in the mixed doubles squash event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Meanwhile, India’s Sawan Barwal scripted history by winning the silver medal in the men’s marathon with a national record time of 2:11:37.
In shooting, Ashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod secured silver in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions team event. Tilottama finished third with 590 points and Vidarsa sixth with 588 points to qualify for the individual final.
In archery, India finished second in the women’s compound team qualification event, with Chikitha Taniparthi (705), Jyothi Surekha Vennam (699) and Prithika Pradeep (695) combining for 2099 points.
In men’s recurve team qualification, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan and Yashdeep Bhoge finished third with a score of 2039, with Dhiraj topping the individual qualification rankings with 698 points, setting an Asian and national record.
In athletics, Tejaswin Shankar and Thowfeeq Noushad continued their decathlon campaign. Tejaswin finished first in the long jump with 7.53m and Thowfeeq third with 7.37m, placing second and fourth respectively in the overall standings. In the shot put event, Tejaswin finished fifth with 13.16m (677 points), while Thowfeeq stood tenth with 10.76m (531 points). Tejaswin moved to third overall with 2484 points, while Thowfeeq was ninth with 2290 points.
Sprinter Animesh Kujur advanced to the men’s 200m semifinals after winning his heat with a timing of 21.10 seconds.
In canoe sprint, Harshwardhan Shaktawat advanced to Final B after finishing fifth in the men’s kayak single 500m semifinal. Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar qualified for Final A after finishing second in the mixed kayak double 500m semifinal, while Raju Rawat and Neha Devi Leichonbam finished eighth in the mixed canoe double 500m final.
In fencing, India’s women’s foil team defeated Indonesia 45-24 and men’s sabre team beat Philippines 45-27 to reach the quarter-finals. However, the men’s sabre team lost 25-45 to South Korea, while the women’s foil team went down 14-41 against Japan in the quarter-finals.
In badminton, Lakshya Sen exited the men’s singles competition after losing to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 12-21, 21-15, 14-21 in the second round.
In table tennis, Yashaswini Ghorpade lost to Japan’s Miwa Harimoto in women’s singles round 3, while esports player Paritosh suffered a 0-5 defeat against Dongshin Kang in the Puyo Puyo Champions quarter-final. (ANI)
Asian Games 2026: Joshna Chinappa-Velavan Senthilkumar settle for squash mixed doubles bronze
