Pakistan secure another Asian Games medal as Noor, Ashab reach squash semis
Pakistan secured another medal at the Asian Games on Friday after Noor Zaman and Mohammad Ashab Irfan won their respective singles matches to reach the semi-finals of the squash competition.
Third-seeded Noor defeated Hong Kong’s Chi Hin Henry Leung, while fifth-seeded Ashab overcame India’s Veer Chotrani at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena to put Pakistan into the medal rounds of the event.
Noor, Pakistan’s top-ranked player in the draw, was pushed by Leung but held his nerve to secure a place in the last four. Ashab also produced a strong performance against the fourth-seeded Indian, recovering from losing the opening game to win 3-1.
Ashab prevailed 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 to avenge Pakistan’s defeat to India in the men’s team final at the previous Asian Games.
The victories mean Pakistan are assured of at least a bronze medal in the men’s singles competition, with the losing semi-finalists awarded bronze.
It is the first time since 2002 that two players for Pakistan have made it to the Asian Games semi-finals
The two Pakistanis had reached the quarter-finals without dropping a game, with Noor defeating Kuwait’s Ammar Altamimi 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 and Ashab overcoming Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Al Alnafsan 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 in the last 16 on Thursday.
Noor and Ashab will now contest their respective semi-finals on Saturday, with a place in Sunday’s final at stake.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s mixed doubles pair of Asim Khan and Mehwish Ali saw their run halted at the quarter-final stage — the lone blemish on an otherwise promising day for the country’s racquet sport.
Asim and Mehwish, who had battled back from a game down to reach the last eight, could not summon another comeback, going down to Hong Kong’s Cheuk Nam Lai and Yee Lam Toby Tse 6-11, 7-11 in 20 minutes.
In fencing, Pakistan’s men’s foil team crashed out at the table of 16 stage, losing 45-12 to China at the Aichi Sky Expo.
The trio of Mohammad Waqas, Abdul Musawir and Baryal Khan managed just eight bout wins across nine relays, with China controlling the tie from start to finish.
Pakistan also received one yellow card and one red card during the match, further denting their hopes against the hosts. The defeat ends Pakistan’s run in the men’s foil team competition.
At the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Mishael Aisha Hayat Ayub finished second last in the women’s 50m butterfly heat with a time of 30.95 seconds. Overall, the 24-year-old finished 25th among 27 competitors, with Chinese Taipei’s An-chi Han the last to qualify in 27.13.
Hamza Asif also failed to advance from his heat, finishing fifth in the men’s 50m breaststroke in 30.47 seconds.
His time placed him 35th among 40 swimmers, with Kazakhstan’s Aibat Myrzamuratov taking the last qualifying spot in 27.86.
The badminton campaign got off to a disastrous start as Pakistan lost both of their fixtures in the men’s singles and mixed doubles at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium. Mohammad Ali Larosh lost his first-round singles fixture against Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev 2-1.
Larosh made a slow start, losing nine points on his own service to drop the first game 11-21.
The 30-year-old then came back strongly in the second, breaking his opponent 14 times to wrap up the game 24-22 on the third game point and force a decider.
The decider proved an end-to-end thriller, with Larosh at one point five points up, but the Kazakh held his nerve to overcome the deficit and knock out Larosh 22-24 as he failed to save the second match point.
Larosh could not make amends in the mixed doubles, as he and Mahoor Shahzad bowed out after being brushed aside by South Korea’s Yun Jaeh Kim and Hajeong Jang 1-21, 10-21.
In athletics, Pakistan’s Noreen Hussain failed to register a mark in the women’s pole vault final.
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