Anahat Singh rallies from two games down to beat Satomi Watanabe and reach Asian Games squash final
Anahat Singh rallied from two games down to defeat Japan’s world number 6 Satomi Watanabe 3-2 and reach the women’s singles final at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya on September 26, 2026. The 18-year-old won 9-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 in the semifinal.
The victory was described in the report as the biggest win of Anahat’s career and exacted revenge for a five-game loss to Watanabe earlier this year. Singh had trailed 0-2 before mounting her comeback in the women’s singles semifinal at the continental event.
The semifinal was stretched to five games and included a physical collision when Anahat’s head struck Watanabe’s shoulder as the Indian attempted to retrieve the ball; play was stopped briefly while Anahat received medical attention. The stoppage and the five-game length underlined the match’s intensity as it unfolded in Nagoya.
After falling behind by two games, Anahat recovered to claim the third and fourth games to force a decider, and the report noted that she did not allow her opponent to dictate terms in the final game. The turnaround produced the 3-2 scoreline that sent her into the tournament’s final.
In the mixed doubles semifinals at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the pairing of Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar lost 2-1 to Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi, with game scores of 11-10, 2-11, 11-10. Lee and Tang edged a tight first game, the Indians won the second, and Hong Kong prevailed in another close third game to advance to the final.
The Indian duo had already secured a medal by reaching the semifinals with a win over David Pelino and Jemyca Aribado of the Philippines on Friday, September 25. The result gives 40-year-old Joshna Chinappa her sixth Asian Games medal; she already has two silver and three bronze medals from previous editions of the continental event.
Anahat Singh’s victory propels her into the women’s singles final at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, where she will contest the title following her semifinal win on September 26, 2026.