Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng and Sivasangari Subramaniam have secured places in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after defending their Asian Games squash titles in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Their victories on Sunday made them the first squash players to earn Olympic qualification for the sport’s debut at the Games. Under the LA28 qualification system, the Asian Games is the first continental qualifying event, with the men’s and women’s singles winners receiving quota places.
Ng was the first to make history.
The 28-year-old defeated India’s Abhay Singh 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 in the men’s singles final at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena. The victory secured Malaysia’s fifth gold medal at the Games and gave Ng an early Olympic berth.
Ng also retained the title he won at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. He went through the tournament without dropping a game.
Later in the day, Sivasangari completed Malaysia’s double in the singles events.
The world No. 5 defeated India’s Anahat Singh, ranked 17th, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 to retain her women’s singles crown. Her victory secured Malaysia’s sixth gold medal and the second Olympic quota in squash.
For Sivasangari, the result marked another step in a rapid rise at the top of the sport. She won silver at the 2018 Asian Games before taking gold in Hangzhou four years later.
She said the Olympic qualification made the victory especially significant.
“By winning this, I get the ticket to the Olympics, which is something really big,” Sivasangari said after the final.
She added that she now wants to improve her world ranking and eventually challenge for the top position before targeting Olympic gold in Los Angeles.
The Asian Games qualification places are part of a wider pathway for LA28. Five men’s and five women’s places will be allocated through designated continental Games, while other places will be determined through world rankings, universality places and a final qualifying tournament.
Squash will make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028, bringing the sport onto the Games programme for the first time.
For Malaysia, Sunday’s results delivered a significant milestone: two of its leading squash players are now the first athletes in the sport to secure their places at the Olympic Games.
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