Published: September 11, 2026 at 1:59 pm
India’s squash stars Anahat Singh, Abhay Singh, Veer Chotrani and Tanvi Khanna learned their paths at the Asian Games 2026 after the draws for the singles, mixed doubles and team events were confirmed on Thursday.
India’s eight-member squash squad will compete across five medal events. Abhay and Veer are entered in the men’s singles, while Anahat and Tanvi will compete in the women’s singles
Velavan Senthilkumar and Joshna Chinappa, along with Suraj Kumar Chand and Shameena Riaz, form India’s two mixed doubles pairs. All eight Indian squash players will also feature in the respective men’s and women’s team competitions.
The men’s and women’s singles competitions will also serve as the Asian continental qualification event for LA 2028, where squash will make its Olympic debut.
One LA 2028 quota place per gender is available through the Asian Games singles champion, subject to the athlete meeting the qualification criteria, including being inside the PSA world top 50 on May 22, 2028.
Second seed Abhay Singh will begin his campaign from the round of 32
Of India’s four singles players, Anahat Singh was ranked world No. 20, Abhay Singh No. 24 and Veer Chotrani No. 38 in the PSA rankings used for the Asian Games seedings, placing all three inside the top 50. Tanvi Khanna was world No. 63.
Anahat firmly at centre of India’s bid
That puts third seed Anahat firmly at the centre of India’s bid to secure an early pathway to squash’s first Olympic Games. Anahat became the first Indian to win a world junior singles title in July.
Anahat has received an opening-round bye and will start directly in the women’s singles round of 16. Seventh seed Tanvi faces the Republic of Korea’s Dami Kim in the round of 32. Anahat and Tanvi occupy the same quarter of the draw and could meet in the quarterfinals if both progress.
In the men’s singles, second seed Abhay and fourth seed Veer will begin their campaigns from the round of 32.
In the mixed doubles, India are guaranteed at least one quarterfinalist but will lose one of their two entries in the round of 16.
Third seeds Velavan and Joshna and ninth seeds Suraj and Shameena have both received first-round byes but have been drawn against each other in the next round.
India won the inaugural Asian Games mixed doubles title in Hangzhou through Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, while Anahat and Abhay took bronze.
India will also start as the top seeds in the men’s team event, with defending champions Abhay, Veer, Velavan and Suraj drawn alongside South Korea and the People’s Republic of China in Pool A.
The Indian men won their second Asian Games team title at Hangzhou 2023, while the women took bronze. India collected five squash medals overall at the previous edition, including two gold medals.
The women’s team of Anahat, Tanvi, Joshna and Shameena are seeded third and have been placed in Pool C alongside Japan, China and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The singles and mixed doubles events at the Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena will be held from September 23 to 27. The men’s and women’s team competitions will follow from September 28 to October 2.
Asian Games 2026 squash:
Men’s team:
Pool A: India, South Korea, China
Pool B: Malaysia, Kuwait, Philippines
Pool C: Pakistan, Qatar, Thailand
Pool D: Hong Kong China, Japan, Mongolia
Women’s team:
Pool A: Malaysia, Singapore, Macau China
Pool B: Hong Kong China, South Korea, Pakistan, Mongolia
Pool C: India, Japan, China, Iran
India draw: Men’s singles: 2-Abhay Singh vs Arkaradet Arkarahirunya (Thailand) – round of 32; 4-Veer Chotrani vs Mohomed Shamil Mukthar Wakeel (Sri Lanka) – round of 32.
Women’s singles: 3-Anahat Singh vs Anna Ugay (Uzbekistan)/Wai Iynn Au Yeong (Singapore) – round of 16; 7-Tanvi Khanna vs Dami Kim (South Korea) – round of 32.
Mixed doubles: 3-Velavan Senthilkumar/Joshna Chinappa vs 9-Suraj Kumar Chand/Shameena Riaz – round of 16.
