Senior players Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa lost their matches against Joey Chan and Annie Au, 1-3 and 0-3, respectively. Sunayna Kuruvilla, who is Pallikal's cousin, kept India in the hunt with a fighting win over Tze Lok Ho in the second singles.
The experienced Ghosal, seeded second in the tournament and ranked 30th in the world, needed just 43 minutes to thrash the 10th-seeded Malhotra. Ghosal kept his rival on the run with an array of shots and dominated the proceedings.
India's gold haul from track-and-field continued at the Asian Games on Thursday, culminating in its best showing at the continental showpiece in close to seven decades. However, there was heartbreak in the hockey arena as its men's team was beaten by Malaysia in the semi-finals.