Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar stormed into the Asian Games mixed doubles semifinals with a straight-games win over the Philippines, assuring India of at least a bronze medal in squash.
NAGOYA, Sept 2026 : India’s Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar advanced to the mixed doubles semifinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with a dominant straight-games victory over the Philippines’ Jemyca Aribado and David Pelino on Friday.
The Indian pair produced a clinical performance in the quarterfinals, winning 11-3, 11-5 to book their place in the last four and assure India of at least a bronze medal in the event.
Joshna and Velavan will face Hong Kong, China’s Lee Ka Yi and Tang Ming Hong in the semifinals on Saturday. For Joshna, the result marks another milestone in an illustrious Asian Games career, with the veteran making her seventh consecutive appearance at the continental event.
Joshna won her first Asian Games medal at Guangzhou in 2010 and has remained a regular part of India’s squash contingent since then. Her latest medal will add to her collection, with the mixed doubles partnership with Velavan giving her another opportunity to compete for the gold.
The Aichi-Nagoya edition also carries additional importance for squash players, with the men’s and women’s singles champions set to earn qualification spots for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Squash will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Games.
India entered the tournament after an impressive campaign at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, where the country collected five squash medals — two gold, one silver and two bronze.
The Indian men’s team won gold at Hangzhou, while the country also finished on top in mixed doubles. Saurav Ghosal secured silver in the men’s singles, while India added bronze medals in the women’s team and mixed team events.
Several members of the current squad were part of that successful campaign. Anahat Singh featured in the bronze-medal-winning women’s and mixed teams, while Joshna and Tanvi Khanna were members of the women’s team. Harinder Pal Sandhu, who won gold as part of the men’s team in Hangzhou, is serving as the Indian squash team’s coach in Aichi-Nagoya.
Meanwhile, Indian swimmers also made progress in their respective events on Friday.
Rishabh Das qualified for the men’s 200m backstroke final after clocking 2:00.53 to finish fourth overall across the heats. His compatriot Utkarsh Patil also advanced, securing ninth place with a time of 2:02.13.
Veteran swimmer Sajan Prakash booked his place in the men’s 200m butterfly final after recording 2:00.94, which placed him sixth overall in the heats.
However, Aneesh Sunil and Dhakshan Shashikumar failed to make the men’s 400m freestyle final. Aneesh finished 17th in 3:58.08, while Dhakshan was 18th in 3:58.73.
Only the top 10 swimmers from the heats qualified for the 400m freestyle final, ending the campaign of the two Indian swimmers in the event.
