Pakistan endured a difficult day at the Asian Games on Saturday, with Noor Zaman and Mohammad Ashab Irfan securing bronze medals in squash, while the hockey team suffered its first defeat. The country also saw both boxers eliminated, Mahoor Shahzad exit badminton and Shajar Abbas miss out on the 200m final.

Squash semi-finals end in bronze

Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the squash final came to an end at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena as Noor Zaman and Mohammad Ashab Irfan were beaten in straight games.

Noor, Pakistan’s highest-ranked squash player, faced Malaysia’s top seed Eain Yow Ng in a competitive opening game. The two players were level at 5-5 before Noor moved ahead 7-5. However, Ng responded strongly and won the game 11-7 after 14 minutes.

The 28-year-old Malaysian then dominated the second game. Noor won the opening point, but Ng quickly levelled the score and produced a run of 10 successive points to win 11-2 in only four minutes.

Ng established a six-point advantage at the beginning of the third game before Noor finally got on the scoreboard. The 22-year-old Pakistan player managed to recover two points and saved the first match point, but Ng converted his second opportunity to win 11-4 and secure the match.

Ashab also faced a tough challenge against India’s second seed Abhay Singh. The 22-year-old Pakistani struggled to find his rhythm and lost the opening game 11-3.

He improved in the second game and pushed Singh closer, but the Indian prevailed 12-10. Singh then finished the contest with an 11-6 victory in the third game, completing the 35-minute match.

Pakistan’s unbeaten hockey run comes to an end

Pakistan’s flawless start in the hockey competition was finally broken as Malaysia recorded a narrow 5-4 victory at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium.

Sufyan Khan once again played a major role in Pakistan’s attack, scoring all four of the team’s goals through penalty corners. His four-goal performance took his tournament tally to nine in four matches.

Pakistan struck first in the third minute, but Malaysia quickly responded through Shello Silverius.

Faizal Saari then put Malaysia ahead with a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. Sufyan restored Pakistan’s advantage with goals in the 39th and 43rd minutes, before Saari Fitri levelled the contest at 3-3 at the end of the third quarter.

Pakistan regained the lead early in the final quarter when Sufyan completed his hat-trick of penalty-corner goals in the 46th minute.

Mohammed Ammad saw his effort saved, while Malaysian goalkeeper Zaimi Deris Mat also denied Sufyan a fifth goal and kept out an attempt from Ghazanfar Ali.

Malaysia eventually capitalised on Pakistan’s missed chances. Silverius scored again to make it 4-4 before Azrai Abu Kamal scored in the 57th minute to put Malaysia ahead.

Pakistan pressed for an equaliser late on, especially after Malaysia’s Faris Harizan received a green card. Two penalty corners followed, but Malaysia successfully defended its lead.

Pakistan will conclude its pool campaign against Oman on Monday.

Mahoor Shahzad eliminated

Pakistan’s Mahoor Shahzad was also knocked out of the women’s singles competition after suffering a straight-game defeat against Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

Wardani won the first-round encounter 21-5, 21-11.

The Indonesian quickly established control, moving 4-0 ahead before Mahoor opened her account. Wardani continued to dominate the rallies and secured the opening game 21-5 in 10 minutes. Mahoor failed to score a point from her own serve during the game.

The Pakistani briefly moved ahead at the start of the second game, but Wardani soon levelled the score and produced a five-point run to take a 12-6 advantage.

The 24-year-old Indonesian eventually closed out the match 21-11 on her second match point. Mahoor managed just four points from her serve in the second game and could not produce a run longer than three consecutive points.

Shajar Abbas misses 200m final

Pakistan’s Shajar Abbas advanced from his 200m heat but finished seventh among eight athletes in the semi-final and failed to qualify for the final.

He recorded a time of 21.30 seconds.

Thailand’s Puripol Boonson, who claimed gold in the 100m on Friday, dominated the semi-final with a Games-record 20.10 seconds. India’s Animesh Kujur finished second in 20.81 seconds, with both sprinters progressing to Sunday’s final.

In the women’s 200m first round, Khoula Omer Khan finished ninth and last in her heat after clocking 26.53 seconds.

Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong secured the final qualifying spot from heat two with a time of 23.56 seconds.

Two more boxing exits

Pakistan’s difficult day continued in boxing, with both Fatima Zehra and Irfan Khan eliminated at the Nishio Gymnasium.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Fatima Zehra was defeated by Tajikistan’s Mijgona Samadova in the women’s 60kg category.

The 28-year-old Samadova controlled the opening round and took it 10-8 on four judges’ scorecards. Fatima struggled to recover as the Tajik boxer maintained the pressure in the second round and scored a knockdown.

The second round also went 10-8 in Samadova’s favour on four cards. Fatima fought on until the end, but the third round again went against her, with three judges scoring it 10-8 for the Tajik boxer.

Earlier, Irfan Khan’s Asian Games debut ended in the men’s 90kg category after South Korea’s Gichae Kim knocked him down twice in the opening round.

Four judges scored the first round 10-9 for Kim, while one judge awarded it 10-8 to the South Korean.

Kim produced another knockdown in the second round, prompting the referee to stop the contest and bring Irfan’s campaign to an early end.