Abhay Singh lived up to billing, outclassing Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan in straight games to enter the men’s singles squash final at Asian Games 2026.

The second-seeded Indian was rampant in Game 1 before Irfan upped his game to make it a closer contest. Abhay won with ease nevertheless, as reflected by an 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 scoreline.

Abhay will face the winner of the second semifinal between Pakistan’s Noor Zaman and Malaysia’s NG Eain Yow in the gold medal match. The men’s singles winner will be awarded a direct berth to Los Angeles Olympics 2028, where squash is making its debut.

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Abhay thus joins compatriot Anahat Singh, who mounted an incredible comeback to beat home favourite Satomi Watanabe, in the singles finals. India will have two individual finalists for the first time in Asiad history.

“When an event comes once in 3-4 years, I think you turn up and do well. You don’t really get these chances that often, so yeah, I’m making the most of it,” Abhay said after his semifinal win.

His performance on Saturday was far more poised than in the previous edition at Hangzhou, where Abhay, upon losing in the individual groups, cursed himself for letting his teammates down. He recovered eventually to help the Indian team win gold then.

Speaking about this transformation, Abhay said: “Yeah, I was a bit more immature last time, a bit more mature this time, a bit more calm. So yeah, pumped up, yes, but I know how to keep my nerves a bit better.”

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He added that it was down to “age, experience and working with people”, crediting coach James Willstrop. “Multiple Commonwealth (Games) gold medallist, world number one. If someone knows how to keep their nerve in big matches, it’s players like these.

“So I think that helps, not getting too excited. Maybe sometimes you need to get too excited if you’re not feeling it. So I think it comes a bit from the team. Yes, maturity comes in with age, with maybe losing some big matches like I have in the last three years. So I think that’s been key,” the 28-year-old said.

Asked about the prospect of facing Noor Zaman in the final, Abhay chose to downplay the India vs Pakistan rivalry angle. “I don’t know if I’m playing Noor tomorrow. I think all the people listening to you love the India-Pakistan stuff, but for us it’s just another opponent, just another match. We’re here for gold.”