There were high hopes for Abhay Singh to secure an Olympic berth with a gold-winning show in squash, but the Indian player had to settle for a silver medal after a straight-games defeat in the men’s singles final. Abhay Singh, ranked 24th in the world, was beaten 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 by defending champion Ng Eain Yow in 44 minutes. After a tightly contested opening game, the Malaysian controlled the tempo and length and repeatedly forced Abhay into difficult retrievals. The result extended India’s wait for an individual Asian Games squash gold medal. Saurav Ghosal had also finished with silver at the 2014 and 2023 editions.

After winning the silver medal, Abhay spoke to NDTV in an exclusive interview. Here are the excerpts:

Q: Well, I have with me Abhay Singh, who has just won the silver medal in men’s singles squash at the Asian Games. How would you rate this moment? A sense of achievement or satisfaction?

Abhay Singh: Yeah, disappointing, of course, to lose in a big final, but I mean, it’s taken a lot to get on that podium.

Q: At least some satisfaction?

Abhay Singh: No, not really.

I think it’s hard. Maybe when I look back on it a couple of weeks or months later, I’ll think, “Okay, that was a good week.” But tonight, it doesn’t really feel like a very good time.

Q: But you have a chance to convert this into another medal because you have the team event. How much will this propel you towards a bigger medal, maybe even changing the colour of this one?

Abhay Singh: Yeah, it’s nice to have a second opportunity. Maybe it’s about going back to the drawing board with the boys and sitting down with the coaches to see what’s happening and put things right.

Q: You started very well. It seemed that you were going toe-to-toe with your Malaysian opponent. Where do you think the match slipped away?

Abhay Singh: Yeah, I think it was an accumulation of his better squash.

I think he was certainly moving better than I was today. Maybe it could have been a bit of nerves. Maybe it was because he was putting more work into my legs.

Also, it has a lot to do with the experience he’s had in big matches against bigger and better players. But yeah, it being my first singles event and first singles medal at a major event, I think silver doesn’t sound too bad, although at this point it still hurts.

Q: You won team gold last time around and, if I remember correctly, you played the last match against a Pakistan opponent. Do you take any memories from that into these Games?

Abhay Singh: Yeah, I think you look back fondly, but an athlete who lives in the past is going to struggle.

The minute it’s done, it’s done. We have to think about this Asian Games, and once we’re done with this, we’ll probably think about the next one as well.

Like I said, it’s nice to be a gold medallist once in your life, but while the moment is here, it’s about converting these medals into gold this week.

Q: How difficult is it to keep your mind and body in sync over this four-year cycle?

Abhay Singh: Yeah, it’s very important. But fortunately, we’re backed well and have all the support we need from various channels to hire the best support staff who help with things like this.

My team has been unbelievably hands-on with me through the summer, preparing for such big Games. Getting to the final was the first goal, being the second seed.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t go one step further, but a huge thanks to the team for making this possible.

Q: Is LA on your mind? Had you won this match, you would have qualified.

Abhay Singh: Yeah, of course. It wasn’t on my mind too much.

I think there’s still a way to qualify, and I’m not panicking. It doesn’t really occur to me as something that’s going to happen in 18 months. We can think about it 18 months from now.

I just want to go back to enjoying life a bit after next week. But like I said, the mission isn’t done. There’s still a gold medal to win.

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