Indian men's squash team set a final clash with Pakistan after they defeated defending champions Malaysia in a one-sided semifinal encounter.While Abhay Singh secured a 3-1 (11-3 12-10 9-11 11-6) win over Muhammad Addeen Idrakie Bin Bahtiar in the opening match, the experienced Sourav Ghosal then defeated Eain Yow NG 3-1 (11-8 11-6 12-10 11-3).With their wins, Singh and Ghosal wrapped the match and Mahesh Mangaonkar was not required to play the third match of the tie.India who lost against Pakistan in the pool stage by a narrow margin, will now seek revenge when they meet their arch-rivals at 1:00 PM on Saturday.

Even as the Pakistan cricket team landed in India less than 48 hours ago, a video has gone viral on social media that showcases Pakistan Cricket Board chief, Zaka Ashraf, referring to India as a 'Dushman Mulk' (enemy nation).Ashraf, during an announcement regarding an increase in match fees and remuneration for Pakistani players to boost team morale, emphasized that Pakistan had gone to play in what he termed an "enemy nation" for the quadrennial tournament.In a video posted by 'Pakistan Untold' on social media platform X, Ashraf said, "You should keep in mind that when the players go to an enemy country or where the competition is being held, you should support them so that they can perform well."Pakistan have come to India after a 7-year long period for the ODI World Cup that begins on October 5.

Two-time world champion, Nikhat Zareen, has clinched a coveted spot at the Paris Olympics and guaranteed herself a medal by storming into the 50kg semifinals at the Asian Games 2023. In her third bout of the tournament, Nikhat exhibited an exceptional performance, achieving a swift RSC (referee stops contest) victory over Nassar Hanan of Jordan in the quarterfinal, concluding the match in just 53 seconds. Initiating the bout with a sharp jab, the reigning Commonwealth Games and World Champion maintained dominance with a series of precise combination punches. Her dominance was so profound that the referee had to give the Jordanian boxer three standing counts before calling off the contest. In other contests, Parveen, a World Championship bronze medallist, displayed exceptional skills, overpowering local favorite Zichun Xu 5-0 and advancing to the quarters. On the other hand, Lakshya Chahar had an early exit, succumbing 1-4 to Kyrgyzstan's Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu in the 80kg Round of 16 bout. For the women's events, the semifinalists in the 50kg, 54kg, 57kg, and 60kg categories, as well as the finalists in the 66kg and 75kg, will secure berths for the Paris Olympics. Additionally, Olympic quotas will be awarded to the gold and silver medallists in each of the seven weight divisions in the men's event. (With PTI inputs)

India had a fantastic day 6 at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, adding 3 gold medals to climb to fourth in the medal tally. On September 30, day 7 of the multi-sport event, India will be hoping for much of the same from their athletes, with a number of medals events taking place in athletics, shooting, boxing, tennis, badminton, and weightlifting among other sports. Shooting will once again take centrestage, with Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS aiming for glory in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event that will begin at 6:30 am IST. In addition, Stage 1 of the men's and women's trap qualification will also take place at the same time. India have won 18 medals in shooting so far, their best-ever haul in the sport at the Asian Games. Weightlifting events will also begin on September 30, with Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu making her Asian Games debut in the Women's 49kg category. All of India will be hoping for Mirabai to replicate her heroics from the Tokyo Games in Hangzhou. Along with Chanu, Bindyarani Devi will feature in the Women's 55kg category. In Tennis, Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale will be in action in the mixed doubles final in Tennis. Bopanna and Bhosale will be hoping to bring home the gold after Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had to settle for a silver medal in the men's doubles event. After Nikhat Zareen assured India of a medal on Sep 29, many boxers including World Champion Lovlina Borgohain will look to replicate her compatriot by reaching the semifinals. Apart from Lovlina, Sachin Siwach, Nishant Dev, Preeti Pawar and Narender Berwal, will also be in action on Saturday. A number of Indians will also be in the fray in athletics, including Murali Sreeshankar (high jump), Jyothi Yarraji (Women's 100m hurdles) in the qualification rounds. Check out the full schedule for India on day 7 of Asian Games - September 30 Golf 4:00 am: Anirban Lahiri (T9), Shubhankar Sharma (T21), SSP Chawrasia (T29),Khalin Joshi (T29) in Men's Individual and Team events, Round 3 4:00 am: Aditi Ashok (T2), Pranavi Sharath (T10) Avani Prashanth (T15) in Women's Individual and Team events, Round 3 Equestrian 5:30 am onwards: Eventing Dressage Team and Individual - Vikas Kumar, Apurva Dabhade, Ashish Limaye Shooting 6:30 am: 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team - Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS 6:30 am: Men’s Trap-75 qualification (Phase 1) - Kynan Chenai, Prithviraj Toindaman, Zoravar Singh Sandhu 6:30 am: Women’s Trap-75 qualification (Phase 1) - Rajeshwari Kumari, Manisha Keer, Preeti Rajak Roller Skating 6:30 am: Women’s Speed Skating 10000m Point-Elimination Race - Heeral Sadhu, Aarathy Raj 7:05 am: Men’s Speed Skating 10000m Point-Elimination Race - Anandkumar Velkumar, Siddhant Kamble Athletics 6:35 am: Men’s Long Jump Qualification - Jeswin Aldrin (Group A), Murali Sreeshankar(Group B) 6:38 am: Women’s Heptathlon 100m Hurdles - Swapna Barman, Nandini Agasara (Heat 2) 6:45 am onwards: Women’s 100m Hurdles - Jyothi Yarraji (Heat 1), Nithya Ramraj (Heat 2) 7:05 am onwards: Men’s 1500m - Ajay Kumar Saroj (Heat 1), Jinson Johnson (Heat 2) 7:20 am: Women’s Heptathlon High Jump - Swapna Barman, Nandini Agasara 4:40 pm: Women’s Heptathlon Shot Put - Swapna Barman, Nandini Agasara 5:30 pm: Women’s 400m Final - Aishwarya Mishra and Himanshi Malik (if qualified) 5:40 pm: Men’s 400m Final - Muhammad Anas Yahiya and Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi (if qualified) 5:50 pm: Men’s 10000m Final - Gulveer Singh, Kartik Kumar 6:35 pm: Women’s Heptathlon 200m - Swapna Barman, Nandini Agasara Bridge 6:30 am onwards: Men’s team, Women’s team and Mixed team Round Robin 2 Kurash 7:00 am onwards (all rounds) Men’s 66kg - Keshav Women’s 52kg - Pincky Balhara, Suchika Tariyal Canoe Sprint 7:20 am: Men’s Canoe Single 1000m - Niraj Verma (Heat 1) 7:48 am: Women’s Kayak Double 500m - Binita Chanu Oinam and Parvathy Geetha (Heat 2) 8:16 am: Men’s Canoe Double 500m - Ribason Ningthoujam and Gyaneshwor Philem (Heat 1) 12:45pm: Men’s Canoe Single 1000m Semifinal - Niraj Verma (if qualified) 1:00 pm: Women’s Kayak Double 500m Semifinal - Binita Chanu Oinam and Parvathy Geetha (if qualified) 1:16 pm: Men’s Canoe Double 500m Semifinal - Ribason Ningthoujam and Gyaneshwor Philem (if qualified) Volleyball 8:00 am: India vs North Korea, Women’s Pool A match Table Tennis 10:15 am: Manush Shah/ Manav Thakkar vs Jonghoon Lim/Woojin Jang (South Korea), Men’s Doubles quarterfinal 11:00 am: Manika Batra vs Yidi Wang(China), Women’s Singles quarterfinal TBD: Sutirtha Mukherjee/Ayhika Mukherjee vs TBD, Women’s Doubles quarterfinal Tennis 10:30 am onwards: Rohan Bopanna/Rutuja Bhosale vs Tsung-hao Huang/En-shuo Liang (Chinese Taipei), Mixed Doubles final Handball 11:30 am: India vs Nepal, Women’s Group B match Boxing 12:15 pm: Lovlina Borgohain vs Suyeon Seong (South Korea), Women’s 75kg quarterfinal TBD: Sachin Siwach, Men’s 57kg Round of 16 TBD: Nishant Dev, Men’s 71kg quarterfinal TBD: Preeti Pawar, Women’s 54kg quarterfinal TBD: Narender Berwal, Men’s +92kg quarterfinal Weightlifting 12:30 pm: Women’s 49kg - Mirabai Chanu 4:30 pm: Women’s 55kg - Bindyarani Devi Chess 12:30 pm: Men’s and Women’s Team Round 2 Squash 1:00 pm: India (if they qualify) vs Pakistan, Men's Team final Badminton 2:30 pm: India vs TBD, Men’s Team Semifinal Diving 5:00 pm: Men’s Synchronised 3m Springboard Final - London Singh Hemam and Siddharth Pradeshi Hockey 6:15 pm: India vs Pakistan, Men’s Pool A match Also read: Palak and Esha Singh's remarkable show seals Gold and silver for India in Women's 10m Air Pistol Final

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss the ODI World Cup opener against England as he continues his knee rehabilitation. Williamson will play as a batter-only in Friday's first warm-up match against Pakistan here with the aim of batting and fielding in Monday's second and final warm-up against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram. Williamson had to undergo a surgery after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament during the IPL earlier this year. Coach Gary Stead said the priority was ensuring Williamson had time to progress his return to match fitness. "Right from the start we've taken a long-term view on Kane’s return to play," said Stead. "His recovery is tracking well and it’s now a matter of making sure he can cope with the rigours and intensity of international cricket. "We'll continue to take a day by day approach to Kane's rehabilitation and certainly won’t be putting any pressure on him to return before he is ready." Tom Latham will captain the side in the first warm-up match against Pakistan. Senior pacer Tim Southee, who is recovering from a surgery on his fractured thumb, will depart for India on Saturday. He is expected to be available for the World Cup opener against defending champions England.

Indian tennis pair of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale clinched a spot in the final of the mixed doubles event at the Asian Games 2023, guaranteeing India at least a silver medal. The second-seeded pair, Bopanna and Bhosale, emerged victorious against the third-seeded Chinese Taipei pair of Yu-hsiou Tsu and Hao-ching Chan. After the match was tied at one set apiece, the Indians claimed victory in the super tiebreak, sealing the match with a score of 10-4. Their final challenge is against another mixed doubles pair from Chinese Taipei, Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang, in the gold medal showdown scheduled for Saturday. Earlier in the day, the Indian men's doubles pair of Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had to settle for a silver medal after losing the gold medal match.

India's brilliant show in shooting continued with Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar clinching the silver medal in the Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions event. Aishwary, with 459.7 points, finished second behind China's Linshu Du, who made a new Asian Games record with a score of 460.6 points There was heartbreak though for Swapnil Kusale, the other Indian in the fray. Swapnil, who was leading the pack after the kneeling and prone positions, ended up throwing away the advantage in the standing position, where a shot of 7.6 saw him finish in fourth position. Aishwary's silver was India's 5th medal in shooting on day 6. Indian shooters have already won 18 medals at this year's Asian Games, their highest-ever haul in the sport at Asiad.

The Indian women's squash team signed off with a bronze medal after going down fighting to Hong Kong in the semifinals at the Asian Games here on Friday. The trio of veteran Joshna Chinappa, Anahat Singh and Tanvi Khanna went down 1-2 to Hong Kong. Joshna was the only Indian who won her match as she defeated world number 24 Tze Lok Ho 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8) to level the tie after Tanvi went down meekly (3-0) to Sin Yuk Chan in the opener. Playing against a high-ranked and experienced opponent in Lee Ka Yi, 15-year-old Anahat tried her best. The teenager saved eight match points as she went from 10-2 to 10-10 in the third game but eventually lost (0-3) 8-11, 7-11, 10-12 and the tie.

The Indian women's badminton team, led by PV Sindhu, faced a tough challenge against Thailand, ultimately losing 0-3 in the quarterfinals and exiting the Asian Games on Friday. The Thai team, featuring former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, world no. 12 Pornpawee Chochuwong, and world no. 17 Supanida Katethong, posed a formidable opposition for India. Despite the daunting task, India struggled to mount a strong fight. Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu was the only player to secure a game, battling in her 21-14 15-21 14-21 match against Chochuwong in the initial women's singles encounter. Following this setback, the responsibility to revive India's chances rested on the shoulders of World number 17 Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. However, they lost momentum and fell 19-21 5-21 to Jongkolphan Kittitharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, ranked 10th, in the women's doubles. In the third match, left-handed Ashmita Chaliha faced a defeat, with Busanan Ongbamrungphan winning 9-21, 16-21, thereby diminishing India's hopes of a medal. The Indian women's badminton team had secured a bronze medal in the 2014 edition held in Incheon. Later in the day, the men's badminton team, led by HS Prannoy, aims to secure India's first badminton medal in the 19th edition as they confront Nepal in the quarterfinals. Also read: Palak and Esha Singh's remarkable show seals Gold and silver for India in Women's 10m Air Pistol Final

Yet another gold medal in shooting! The Indian trio of Swapnil Kusale, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Akhil Sheoran clinched gold for India in the Men's 50m Air Rifle team event. The Indian marksmen also created a new world record of 1769 points in qualification, leaving China behind in second. While Swapnil topped the qualification charts, Aishwary Tomar finished second behind him. Akhil Sheoran was 5th in the qualification round. While Swapnil and Aishwary also qualified for the individual event final, Akhil Sheoran missed out despite finishing 5th. While the top 8 shooters usually progress to the final round, only 2 shooters are allowed from a country. And hence, Akhil Sheoran won't feature in the final despite finishing in the top 8. Asian Games 2023 India Schedule Sep 29: Medal events- Shooting, Athletics, Squash, Tennis; Day 6 timings