Aichi-Nagoya: Indian squash players Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar advanced to the mixed doubles semifinals at the Asian Games, assuring India of at least a bronze medal in the event.
The Indian pair defeated their Filipino opponents 11-3, 11-5 in the quarterfinals to book their place in the last four.
For 40-year-old Chinappa, the medal comes 16 years after she won her first Asian Games medal. She has now added another podium finish to her distinguished continental record alongside Senthilkumar.
Chinappa and Senthilkumar will face Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yi and Tang Ming Hong in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Indian duo will look to continue their campaign and secure a place in the final when they take on the Hong Kong pair.
The result adds another medal to India’s squash campaign at the Asian Games, with Chinappa’s experience and Senthilkumar’s performance helping the pair progress to the medal rounds.
Meanwhile, India are having a mixed outing across disciplines, with table tennis and shooting providing key highlights. Diya Chitale and Manush Shah defeated Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the mixed doubles quarterfinals to assure India of a medal. However, Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade were knocked out after losing to China’s Lin Shidong and Kuai Man.
In badminton, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced to the mixed doubles. second round after defeating Maldives’ Aminath Abdul Razzaq and Nibal Ahmed.
In shooting, Kamaljeet and Suruchi Inder Singh topped the 10m air pistol mixed team qualification, strengthening India’s medal hopes.
In swimming, Rishabh Das and Utkarsh Patil advanced to the men’s 200m backstroke final, while Dhanush Suresh, Aneesh Sunil and Dhakshan Shashikumar failed to progress in their respective events.
In canoe sprint, Prohit Baroi and Prasanna Kumar advanced to Final B of the men’s kayak double 500m, while Megha Pradeep and Neha Leichonbam were eliminated from the women’s canoe double 500m.
India’s fencing teams exited in the round of 16, with the men’s foil team losing to Hong Kong and the women’s epee team going down to Uzbekistan. In athletics, Anamika Aneesh and Pooja remained seventh and ninth, respectively, in the women’s heptathlon standings after the long jump event.
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