Eala's Gold Bid Ends as India and Pakistan Set Asian Games Cricket Final

 Alex Eala competes in the Asian Games tennis event in Nagoya, Japan.

Alex Eala's bid for an Asian Games tennis gold medal ended in Nagoya when China's Wang Xiyu recovered to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Filipino top seed will receive a second singles bronze medal, while India advanced to a men's cricket final against Pakistan after defeating Sri Lanka.

Eala took the opening set but could not maintain the advantage as Wang changed the match's direction. The Chinese player levelled the contest in the second set before completing the comeback in the deciding set.

The result ended Eala's hope of winning a maiden Asian Games gold medal and also removed her chance to secure qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic tennis tournament through the event. She had skipped the China Open to represent the Philippines in Nagoya.

Eala will finish with another singles bronze after also earning that medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago. She previously won a mixed doubles bronze at Hangzhou, making the Nagoya result her third Asian Games medal.

India's men's cricket team reached the gold-medal match after beating Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the semi-final. Sri Lanka made 169 for seven, but India chased the target with six balls remaining.

Abhishek Sharma scored 88 from 50 balls and captain Shreyas Iyer added 61 from 38 as India reached 173 for three. Their partnership carried the defending champions into another Asian Games final.

Pakistan also advanced after defeating Bangladesh by 31 runs in the other semi-final. The result set up an India-Pakistan gold-medal showdown in the men's T20 competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

India and Pakistan will meet in the final on Saturday at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. The match will decide the men's cricket gold medal after both teams progressed through weather-affected stages of the tournament.

The final brings together the defending champions and Pakistan, who will attempt to stop India from retaining the Asian Games title. India reached the final through a successful chase against Sri Lanka, while Pakistan recovered from the semi-final contest against Bangladesh to secure the other place.