HANGZHOU: Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India 2-1 on Saturday in the final of the men’s squash team event of the ongoing Asian Games 2023.

Pakistan, who put on a dominant show throughout the tournament, came up short in the final against India and settled for a silver medal.

The national squash team got off to a promising start to the blockbuster final, courtesy of Nasir Iqbal beating Mahesh Mangaonakar 3-0 in the first match of the three-match final.

Nasir won the match with the scoreline of 11-8, 11-3 and 11-2.

Saurav Ghosal then scripted India’s sensational comeback in the must-win game for his team as he crushed Mohammad Asim Khan after a one-sided affair.

Ghosal brought Pakistan and India level on terms with a statement 11-5, 11-1 and 11-3 victory over Asim.

Pakistan’s Noor Zaman and India’s Abhay Singh then competed in an intense five-set final of the Asian Games 2023 squash event which lasted for 65 minutes before India emerged triumphant.

Singh won the first set in a comprehensive manner before Zaman pulled off an astonishing recovery by claiming the next two sets and took a 2-1 lead.

This time it was Singh, who pulled things back with a close-fought victory in the fourth set and forced the match to the decider.

The fifth and final set of the match spanned for 14 minutes.

Zaman had attained a 10-8 lead over Singh and moved one point within of bagging a gold medal for his country but Singh continued to fight and eventually succeeded to win the prestigious accolade for his nation by winning the decisive set 12-8.

The final scoreline of the enthralling clash between Singh and Zaman read 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 and 12-10.

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