HANGZHOU - Pakistan’s players impressed in the squash singles event during the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Sunday.
Pakistan’s Asim Khan beat Aaron-Jon Widjaja Liang of Singapore 3-1 to qualify for the round of 16. Asim lost the first game but went on to win the next three to clinch victory. Meanwhile, Nasir Iqbal defeated Natthapat Theerasilp of Thailand 3-0 to qualify for men’s singles round of 16.
In the women’s singles, Pakistan’s Noor-ul-Ain beat Khulan Purevjav of Mongolia 3-0 to book her spot in the round of 16. However, Pakistan’s players lost to India in both mixed doubles clash on the same day.
India’s Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh eased past Pakistan’s Farhan Zaman and Sadia Gul 2-0 in Pool D. Meanwhile, Noor Zaman and Mehwish Ali lost to Harinder Pal Singh and Dipika Pallikal by the same scoreline in Pool A.
Earlier, India beat Pakistan 2-1 in the final of the men’s squash team event and won the gold medal on Saturday.
SHAJAR DISAPPOINTS IN ASIAN GAMES
Pakistani athletes continued their subpar performance in the track and field events on Sunday in the ongoing Asian Games 2023 which are being held in Hangzhou, China.
In the 200m heat, Pakistan’s top athlete Shajar Abbas and female sprinter Tameen Khan both failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Shajar Abbas completed the 200m race in 21.53 seconds and finished 17th overall. Abbas — who was far behind his personal best in the 200m heat — also stepped outside the lane once during his race.
On the other hand, Tameen was disqualified for lane infringement in her race. It must be noted that Abbas massively underperformed and failed to impress in any of the heat. Earlier, in the 100m heat, he failed to qualify for semi-final as he finished sixth with a timing of 10.59.
PAKISTAN TO FACE IRAN IN ASIAN GAMES KABADDI
Pakistan Kabaddi team will start their journey against defending champions Iran on Monday (today) in the first match of the Asian Games kabaddi event.
Pakistan Kabaddi team, which won bronze medal in the last edition of Asian Games, already reached Hangzhou to participate in the mega event that will start on Oct 2 and will run till Oct 7. Pakistan team staged in Group B of their respective event along with Iran, Korea and Malaysia while India, Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Chinese Taipei are in Group A.
