Asian Games 2026: India volleyball and squash teams win

India’s men’s volleyball team and its men’s and women’s squash sides opened Monday at the Asian Games 2026 with victories, while the tennis and women’s doubles sepak takraw teams endured difficult results. The volleyball side made it two wins from two in Pool C, and the squash teams began their respective campaigns against China with emphatic team results.

India defeated Hong Kong China 25-22, 25-19, 25-21 in the men’s volleyball Pool C preliminary round. The straight-set score gave India a second consecutive 3-0 win after its earlier victory over Vietnam, although Hong Kong China stayed close for much of the contest and regularly kept the margin to one or two points. India will next play Qatar in Pool C on Tuesday.

Volleyball and squash teams make winning starts

The men’s squash team swept China 3-0 in Pool A, with all three Indian players winning their individual matches in straight games. Suraj Chand opened the tie against Du Shaoqian and earned an 11-4, 11-3, 12-10 victory. After winning the first two games comfortably, Chand had to negotiate a tighter third game before closing out the match.

Veer Chotrani followed with a 3-0 win over U Haizhen, taking the match 11-5, 11-5, 11-3. The result gave India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. Velavan Senthilkumar then completed the clean sweep against Zhou Penglin, recording an 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 victory.

India’s women’s squash team also faced China, in Pool C, and recovered from an opening-match defeat to win the tie 2-1. Sameena Riaz was beaten by Ziuan Yin in a five-game contest after initially taking a two-game lead. The loss left India needing victories in the remaining two matches.

Tanvi Khanna responded with a decisive win over Zhang Yuning, prevailing 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 to level the tie. Joshna Chinappa then sealed the team victory against Liu Ziyi. Chinappa won 12-10, 11-4, 11-6, including a close opening game before taking control across the next two games.

The results gave India a clean opening day across its two squash team events: a 3-0 result for the men and a comeback 2-1 result for the women. Alongside the volleyball team’s second Pool C win, those outcomes provided India with three team-event victories on Monday.

Tennis and sepak takraw suffer Monday setbacks

There was disappointment in the women’s tennis doubles first round, where Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale lost to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva and Anna Danilina. The Indian pair took the first set 7-5 but were beaten 3-6 in the second set and lost the match tiebreak 5-10.

Sumit Nagal’s men’s singles match against South Korea’s Hong Seongchan was suspended because of rain. Nagal held a 3-2 lead in the opening set when play was halted, with the match scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

India’s women’s doubles sepak takraw team exited after a 1-2 loss to Japan. The result left India last in Group B. Tuesday will bring India’s next men’s volleyball Pool C match against Qatar as well as the resumption of Nagal’s rain-interrupted singles contest.