Road to Jakarta Asian Games 2018: Indian squash team to test its mettle from 23 August

2018 Asian Games is an upcoming acid test for a sport, where India has just found its new found ability to upset the equations for even the best of the game. The squash team, who had ended their Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 on a significant high, will now test their mettle with the best at the Jakarta Asian Games 2018, when the squash event begins from 23 August.

To be held in Hall D of Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, the squash event looks quite promising for Team India, who would like to emulate their historic performance from Incheon Asiad 2014, where they clinched a historic gold, apart from two silver medals and a bronze each.

Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex: Venue for squash at Asian Games 2018

Day 1, i.e. 23 August, which is the day for the preliminaries, shall see the individual players in action. While Saurav Ghosal shall look forward to reclaiming the gold he missed at Incheon by a whisker, his compatriot in the men's team, Harinder Pal Sandhu, shall be looking forward to making his own mark.

Asian Games 2018: Can Saurav bring back the gold?

On the other hand, star squash players Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa will spearhead the Indian challenge in the women's singles. For Dipika, who missed a chance to make it to the finals the previous time, this is the right opportunity to make herself count.

The second day, i.e. 24 August shall witness the squash players playing for a berth in the final four, as the remaining contenders meet in the quarterfinals, following which the semifinals and the medal playoffs shall be conducted for the individual categories on the 25th and 26th of August respectively.

27 August onwards, the equations shall change as the team event goes underway. For the Indian men's team, who had created history by winning their first ever gold medal in the previous edition, this is a golden opportunity to consolidate on that golden success.

Asian Games 2018: Time for women's team to break barriers

On the other hand, the women's team, who missed the opportunity to create a historic golden double and had to settle for a silver medal, will give it their all to claim back the medal which slipped from their hands that moment.

The quarterfinals shall be conducted for both the teams on 30 August, following which the semifinals shall be conducted on the 31st of August and the medal playoffs shall be conducted on the 1st of September.

Following is the complete schedule for the squash event at Jakarta Asian Games:-

1. Day 1 [23 August]:- Preliminaries [Men's Singles and Women's Singles]
2. Day 2 [24 August]:- Quarterfinals [Men's Singles and Women's Singles]
3. Day 3 [25 August]:- Semifinals [Men's Singles and Women's Singles]
4. Day 4 [26 August]:- Medal Playoffs [Men's Singles and Women's Singles]
5. Day 5 [27 August]:- Preliminaries [Men's Team and Women's Team]
6. Day 6 [28 August]:- Preliminaries [Men's Team and Women's Team]
7. Day 7 [29 August]:- Preliminaries [Men's Team and Women's Team]
8. Day 8 [30 August]:- Quarterfinals [Men's Team and Women's Team]
9. Day 9 [31 August]:- Semifinals [Men's Team and Women's Team]
10. Day 10 [1 September]:- Medal Playoffs [Men's Team and Women's Team]

Following is the Indian squad for squash at the Jakarta Asian Games 2018:-

Men's Team:- Ramit Tandon, Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Sandhu, Mahesh Mangaonkar

Women's Team:- Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Sunayna Kuruvilla and Tanvi Khanna.