HANGZHOU - Pakistan’s hockey team started their Asian Games journey with a thump­ing 11-0 win against Singapore on Sunday. They will now face Bangla­desh on Tuesday. 

Pakistan started the game slowly as , Mohammad Ammad opened the scoring for the Green Shirts in the sev­enth minute but after that, the score remained the same for the remainder of the first quarter. It was during the second quarter that the Men in Green charged themselves and pushed the already-struggling Singaporean side to the wall. Pakistan scored five goals during the second quarter — making it 6-0 — and ended all of Singapore’s hopes to come back in the game. 

The third quarter was no different than the second one as Pakistan put the ball four more times in the box and extended their lead to 10-0. Paki­stan, who dominated the entire game, played the last quarter with low inten­sity, saving themselves for their next match, and only scored one goal. The match ended with Pakistan registering an astounding 11-0 triumph. 

Ammad, Arshad Liaquat, and Arbaz Ahmad scored a brace each while Mo­hammad Shahzaib Khan, Abdul Wa­heed Rana, Zikriya Hayat, Afraz and Abdul Rehman all scored one goal each. Pakistan will now take on Ban­gladesh on September 26, Uzbekistan on September 28, arch-rivals India on September 30 and Japan on October 2. 

PAKISTAN WOMEN TEAM LOST TO SRI LANKA IN SEMIFINALS 

Pakistan women cricket team crashed out of the race to win gold at the Asian Games 2023 as they lost to Sri Lanka by six wickets in the semifi­nals at Zhejiang University of Technol­ogy Pingfeng Cricket Field on Sunday. 

The Sri Lanka women team opted to bowl first and struck early as Sidra Ameen departed in the third over with a mere 11 runs on the board. Shawaal Zulfiqar was the next one to go, after stitching a brief 31-ball 19-run part­nership with Omaima Sohail. Shawaal Zulfiqar scored 16 off 27 and was fol­lowed by Omaima Sohail to the pavilion on the next ball leaving Pakistan reel­ing at 30-3 in 8.1 overs. Pakistan never recovered and managed to add a mea­ger 45-6, making a total of 75-9 in their allotted 20 overs. Shawaal Zulfiqar top scored with 16 runs. Udeshika Prabod­hani led the bowling for Sri Lanka with the figures of 3-21, while Kavisha Dil­hari claimed two wickets. 

Sri Lanka women started their chase cautiously and lost their first wicket in form of captain Chamari Athapaththu at a total of 17 in four overs. Diana Baig then removed Anushka Sanjeewani, while Umm-e-Hani handed Vishmi Gu­naratne a golden duck to reduce Sri Lanka to 35-3. Harshitha Samarawick­rama and Nilakshi de Silva, then knit­ted a solid 35-run partnership to put Sri Lanka in the driving seat, before the former perished courtesy of a run-out. 

With only six runs needed from four overs, Nilakshi de Silva quickly ended the game in style with a six to lead Sri Lanka to a six-wicket win to qualify for the finals of the Asian Games. Nilak­shi de Silva scored an unbeaten 18 off 31, while Harshitha Samarawickrama gathered 23 off 41. Prior to that, India women team defeated Bangladesh in the first semifinal of the Asian Games by 8 wickets after booking them for a mere 51 runs. They successfully chased the total in the ninth over. 

PAKISTAN VOLLEYBALL TEAM BEATEN BY QATAR IN QUARTERS 

Qatar emerged victorious against Pakistan in a thrilling quarterfinal at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The clash saw the 51st-ranked Pakistan team going up against the 17th-ranked Qatar side. 

The match began with Pakistan dis­playing a strong performance right from the first set. At one point, Paki­stan held a five-point lead, but Qatar mounted a remarkable comeback, overcoming deficits of 20-15 and 24- 22 to snatch the first set from Paki­stan. However, Qatar was unable to maintain their momentum. In the third set, Pakistan dominated Qatar right from the start. Unfortunately for Pakistan, in the fourth set, Qatar didn’t leave any room for a comeback and clinched the victory. The final score of Qatar’s triumph over Pakistan stood at 24-26, 19-25, 25-23, and 18- 25. With this loss in the quarterfinals, Pakistan team will now face India on Tuesday in the fifth position match.