The Indian squash pair of Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Singh advanced to the finals of the mixed doubles competition at the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday. In their mixed doubles semifinal, they beat the Hong Kong duo of Lee Ka Yi and Wong Chi Him by 2-1. The Indian team lost the first set by 7-11. However, Dipika and Harinder showed some amazing resilience and character, clinching the second game by 11-7 in a one-sided manner. In the third set, Hong Kong had a neck-to-neck competition with India, but the latter emerged victorious by 11-9 to win the match.
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With this win, the duo are assured a silver medal atleast.
“INTO THE FINALS! @DipikaPallikal and Harinder Pal Singh clinch victory in the squash mixed doubles! They defeated Lee/Wong from HKG with a thrilling 2-1 score in the Semifinals! With this win, they’ve booked their spot in the Finals, securing at least a SILVER MEDAL! #Cheer4India #JeetegaBharat #BharatAtAG22 #Hallabol,” tweeted SAI Media.
Next, Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh will carry on India’s strong Hangzhou campaign taking on Malaysia in the semifinal. They have already been assured of a medal.
Following this, the men’s singles semifinal will witness India’s Sourav Ghosal taking on Hong Kong’s Leung Chi Hin Henry. Saurav is also assured of a medal.
Earlier on Tuesday, Dipika-Harinder registered a 2-1 victory against the Philippines’ Jemyca Aribado and Robert Andrew Garcia in the mixed doubles quarterfinals in squash and assured a medal at the Asian Games.
The Indian pair raced to the finish line after a flurry of quickfire points against the Philippines pair.
Anahat Singh-Abhay Singh defeated Hong Kong’s Tsz Wing Tong and Ming Hong Tang by 2-0. India dominated and sealed the game in straight two sets by 11-10, 11-8. However, in the first set, Hong Kong tried to make a comeback but the Indians made no mistake.
Later, they beat South Korea by 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
Saurav Ghosal beat Japan’s Ryunosuke Tsukue in the quarterfinals by 3-0 to move to the semis.
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