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The Indian men's squash team won the silver medal at the 20th Asian Squash Championship in Malaysia. Comprising Saurav Ghosal, Ramit Tandon, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Velavan Senthilkumar, they were the given the top billing at the Championship.
In the final against the hosts and second-seeded Malaysia, the Indian men's squash team fell short and lost 1-2.
The squash team started on a horrid note with Saurav Ghosal, India's top-ranked squash player, going down to Ng Eain Yow in straight games. Ghosal lost by a scoreline of 10-12, 4-11, 8-11.
The Indian did start the first game well and fought hard before going down but came a cropper in the second and third games to lose the rubber easily.
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Ramit Tandon gave glimpses of a fightback and tried to put India on level terms. Tandon stretched Ivan Yeun to four games but couldn't make a match of it as he lost 8-11,11-8, 3-11,1-11.
He bounced back after losing the first game to win the next but Yeun proved to be very strong in the third and fourth games as he brushed past the Indian challenge.
With a 2-0 win and the gold medal in their hands already, the Malaysians seemed to drop their guard in the academical third and last rubber. Mahesh Mangaonkar beat Mohammed Sayfiq Kamal in straight games in what was a consolation win for the Indian men's squash team.
This was the third time the Indian men's squash team had entered the Asian Squash Championship final after having previously done so in 1981 and 2012.
Indian women's squash team loses to Hong Kong
Earlier, the Indian women's squash team won the bronze medal at the Asian Squash Championship. The team, comprising Joshna Chinappa, Sunayna Kuruvilla and Urwashi Joshi, lost to Hong Kong 1-2 in the semi-finals to end with a bronze medal.
The Indian team started on a bright note with ace squash player Joshna Chinappa beating Liu Tsz in four games. Although Joshna lost the first game, she bounced back in style to win the next three in quick time to put India in the driver's seat.
Sunayna Kuruvilla started the second tie in good fashion, beating Ho Tze Lok 11-9 but lost steam soon after to lose the next two games on a whimper. Sunayna tried to stage a comeback in the fourth game but fell short at 11-8 as Hong Kong restored parity.
The young Urwashi Joshi, playing in the decider, couldn't get going, losing to Tong Tsz Wing in straight games.
Although the Indian squash player pushed Wing to 12-10 in the first game, she was decimated in the next two. As a result, the Indian women's team ended with a bronze medal.
Results:
Men's team event: Final: Malaysia beat India 2-1 (Saurav Ghosal lost to Ng Eain Yow 10-12, 4-11,8-11; Ramit Tandon lost to Ivan Yeun 8-11,11-8,3-11,1-11, Mahesh Mangaonkar beat Mohammed Sayfiq Kamal 11-9,11-7,11-8).
Women's team event: Semi-final: Hong Kong beat India 2-1 (Liu Tsz Ling lost to Joshna Chinappa 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 5-11; Ho Tze Lok beat Sunayna Kuruvilla 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8; Tong Tsz Wing beat Urwashi Joshi 12-10, 11-4, 11-6).
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