Abhay Singh and squash stars chase gold as medal tally holds on ninth day

UPDATE - follow-up to Asian Games 2026, Day 9 Live Updates: Sindhu knocked out; IND's first boxing medal assured: India's medal tally stands at 30 on the ninth day of competition, while Ankush Panghal has assured the nation of a medal in the men's 80kg boxing event following a 5-0 victory over Tajikistan competitor Nekruz Salimov. Squash players Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh prepare for their respective gold medal matches in the afternoon. Abhay faces defending champion Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia, who holds a 7-0 head-to-head record against the Indian player since 2016. In archery, the men's and women's recurve teams, along with the men's, women's, and mixed compound teams, have advanced to the semi-finals after defeating various opponents including China, Chinese Taipei, and Bhutan. Meanwhile, multiple badminton matches concluded with losses for Indian contenders. Pusarla V Sindhu was defeated by China's Chen Yu Fei with scores of 11-21, 21-18, and 10-21. Unnati Hooda lost to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 16-21, 21-14, and 17-21. In doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto fell to China's Feng Yang Zhe and Huang Dong Ping 14-21, 21-18, and 18-21, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela lost to Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralidharan 18-21 and 9-21. In shooting events for the women's 25m pistol qualification precision stage, Esha Singh stands in sixth place with a score of 290, Rahi Sarnobat is 15th with 287, and Manu Bhaker is 16th with 287.