HANGZHOU - Pakistan squash team was beat­en by India 1-2 in the final of the men’s squash team event of the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China on Satur­day. With this victory, India emerged as gold medalists of the event. Pakistan performed brilliantly throughout the tour­nament but fell short in the final and could secure a silver medal. The Green Shirts started on a high note with Nasir Iqbal beating Mahesh Mangaonakar 3-0 in the first match of the three-match final. He won with scores of 11-8, 11-3, 11-2. 

But, the Blues came back in the game, thanks to Sau­rav Ghosal’s stunning perfor­mance as he beat M Asim Khan 11-5, 11-1, 11-3. The decisive match was played between Noor Zaman and Abhay Singh. In the first game, Singh won it much difficulty but Zaman’s excellent comeback in back-to-back games made things tough for his Indian counterpart as he took a decisive 2-1 lead af­ter the third game. 

However, after Singh’s ex­cellent display in the fourth game, it all came down to the final set which lasted for 14 minutes. Zaman was leading the game 10-8 and was just one point away from secur­ing the gold for his country but Singh did not give up and continued to push back and eventually won the accolade for his country by winning the last game 12-10. Singh won by 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10. 

Meanwhile in hockey event, Pakistan were abso­lutely battered by India as the Blues handed a 10-2 de­feat to the Green Shirts in Hangzhou, China. The Men in Green will now face Japan on October 2. Pakistan can still qualify for the semifinals by drawing the match while Japan must have to win to reach in the final f our.