Pakistan suffered their first defeat in hockey, while squash players Ashab Irfan and Noor Zaman secured bronze medals after losing their respective singles semi-finals at the Asian Games 2026 at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena on Saturday.
Malaysia handed Pakistan their first defeat of the Asian Games, securing a 5-4 victory in their Group B match.
Pakistan had taken a 4-3 lead after Sufyan Khan scored his fourth goal of the match in the fourth quarter. However, Malaysia fought back, scoring twice in the final five minutes to seal the win.
The two sides were level at 3-3 at the end of the third quarter, with Sufyan scoring all four of Pakistan’s goals.
Malaysia are currently top of Group B, with Pakistan second. Pakistan will play Oman in their final group-stage match.
Separately, Pakistan’s Ashab Irfan and Noor Zaman both lost their semi-finals but secured bronze medals in squash.
In the first semi-final, Ashab was outclassed by India’s Abhay Singh in a straight-game defeat, while Zaman suffered a similar loss to Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng in the subsequent knockout fixture.
Ashab, who booked his place in the semi-finals by defeating another Indian opponent, Veer Chotrani, was not allowed to settle in the high-stakes fixture and thus conceded the opening game 11-3 in just nine minutes.
He offered a notable fightback in the subsequent game but still ended up conceding 11-2, while Singh clinched the deciding game swiftly 11-6 in just eight minutes to round up a thumping victory.
Zaman, on the other hand, had a relatively spirited start to his respective semi-final as he traded points with Yow NG before pulling ahead 7-5 in the first game, but the Malaysian staged a sensational comeback as he secured six points on the trot and clinched the opener 11-5 in just 14 minutes.
Yow NG was even more lethal in the subsequent game, brushing Zaman aside 11-2 in just four minutes to move one away from a high-reward victory.
The Malaysian continued his demolition in the third game, which he also clinched in four minutes, beating Zaman 11-4, to set up the gold-medal match with India’s Singh.
Despite ending up losing their respective semi-finals, both Ashab and Zaman secured a bronze apiece for Pakistan. They, however, will still lock horns in the third-place playoff, scheduled to be played at the same venue on Sunday.
2026-09-26 17:57:00
