Anahat Singh experienced the exhilaration of a hard-fought win in her singles semi-final. In the five days since, she has twice experienced the opposite, the shoe on the other foot.

First, the same Satomi Watanabe she had edged out in singles beat her in a five-game thriller in the Asian Games team event on Monday. Then Chan Sin Yuk saved four match points before leaving Anahat stunned in the team semi-final.

Joshana Chinappa had come to India’s rescue against Japan but could not do so against Hong Kong. The disappointment doubled in the evening as the men’s squash team, defending Asian Games champions, suffered a shock loss to Malaysia. Both sides had to settle for bronze from events that had promised more.

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Things looked different at the start of the day, as Anahat held firm to claim the first two games of the opening rubber. Chan dug deep to challenge her late in both games, but the teenager produced her trademark backhand drops to come through.

Chan’s persistence paid off in Game 3. She built a lead, forcing a string of errors from Anahat’s racket on her way to taking the game. The drama heightened in the next game, as the Indian struggled with some of the refereeing calls that went against her. She squandered a match-winning position at 10-7 while Chan held firm to force a deciding fifth game.

The Hong Kong player found the forehand corner with disconcerting regularity in the closing stages to complete the turnaround, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 13-11, 12-10.

This was the rubber India could not afford to lose. Tanvi Khanna stepped up in Match 2 against Ka Yi Lee, winning 4-11, 13-11, 11-9, 13-11 in a cat-and-mouse affair. But the damage had been done.

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Veteran Joshana was always going to find it hard against world No. 39 Tomato Ho. Though the 40-year-old gave it her all, it wasn’t enough at this stage of her career. Down 4-10 in Game 3, she saved five match points, but Ho held on and found the winner that took Hong Kong into the final.

While Anahat’s defeat hurt the women’s team, it was Velavan Senthilkumar’s loss to Ameeshenraj Chandaran that stung the men. Velavan is ranked 48th and Ameeshenraj 95th on the PSA Tour, but the Malaysian has now won three matches in a row against the Indian this year.

After taking an attritional opening game, Velavan faded over the next three as his strokeplay wavered. A wicked boast, followed by a turnaround backhand winner into the corner, sealed it for Ameeshenraj, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9.

Abhay Singh had earlier lost in straight games, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8, to his nemesis Ng Eain Yow, but that was along expected lines. Veer Chotrani then beat Sanjay Jeeva 11-4, 11-8, 11-5, also on the cards. Velavan’s loss felled India’s title defence, and cost the country a final rematch with Pakistan.