Indian Squash players receive warm welcome in Chennai after Asian Games medal haul

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Indian squash players Dipika Pallikal, Saurav Ghoshal, and Abhay Singh recieved a grand welcome on their arrival at Chennai airport on Saturday for their success at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The Indian team bagged five medals - two gold, one silver, and two bronze -in squash events at the Games.

Saurav Ghoshal said that the squad is very proud of what they have achieved at the multi-sport event and added that this will help to build the future of the Indian squash team to the next level in the near future.

"We are very proud of what we achieved at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. Both the men's and women's teams have done extremely well and hopefully, we can build on this and take Indian squash to the next level in the near future. It has been an unprecedented campaign, thank you, everyone, for all your love and support and we really appreciate it," Saurav Ghoshal told media.

The 37-year-old bagged a silver medal in the squash men's singles on Thursday making him the first Indian squash player to win consecutive individual medals at the Asian Games since 2006 after he faced a 1-3 defeat against Malaysia's Ng Eain Yow.

Meanwhile, Abhay Singh said that he was very happy to win the final match of the men's squash team event against Pakistan and added that the game was tougher since it was against Pakistan.

Abhay also added that his next target is to win a gold medal in the upcoming National Games.

"We are very happy to win the decider match against Pakistan so that we could win a gold medal. Being my first Asian Games, it was very special. The final was very hard since it was an India vs Pakistan match, the game was much harder than usual. A gold medal at the National Games will be my next target," he said.

Abhay bagged a bronze medal in the squash mixed doubles and also clinched a gold medal in the squash men's team event.

In the men's team event, the Indian men's squash team of Mahesh Mangaonkar, Saurav Ghosal, and Abhay Singh defeated Pakistan 2-1 in a high-intensity final at the Asian Games.

Meanwhile, Dipika Pallikal said, "We are very happy and satisfied after coming back from the Asian Games in Hangzhou."

In the medal tally of the ongoing Asian Games, India stands in fourth place with a total of 100 medals, which includes 25 gold, 35 silver, and 40 bronze medals.