Pakistan’s men’s volleyball team made a strong start to their Asian Games campaign on Sunday, defeating Kazakhstan 3-1, while Noor Zaman beat compatriot Mohammad Ashab Irfan in an all-Pakistan squash playoff as the country’s medal tally reached four bronze medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

Pakistan won their Pool A opener 25-16, 25-22, 17-25 and 25-20 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium.

The team will face Uzbekistan on Monday before taking on hosts Japan in their final group match.

Pakistan Volleyball Team Starts Asian Games With Victory

Murad Khan led Pakistan’s scoring with 21 points, including 17 successful spikes and four blocks.

Usman Faryad Ali added 14 points, while Jehan Murad scored 11 and Musawer Khan contributed nine.

Pakistan finished with 92 total points compared with Kazakhstan’s 83 and proved more effective in attack, converting 55 of 114 spike attempts against Kazakhstan’s 48 from 113.

Blocking remained an area for improvement, however, with Kazakhstan recording 10 successful blocks compared with Pakistan’s seven.

The victory gives Pakistan an early advantage in Pool A, which also includes Uzbekistan and Japan.

Iran are the defending men’s champions after winning the previous three editions, while hosts Japan are also among the teams competing for medals.

Noor Zaman Wins All-Pakistan Squash Playoff

At the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, Noor Zaman defeated fellow Pakistani Mohammad Ashab Irfan 3-0 in the men’s singles third-place playoff.

Noor won 11-7, 11-7 and 11-3 in a match lasting 26 minutes.

The result did not affect the medal positions, as both players had already secured bronze medals after losing their respective semi-finals on Saturday.

Noor lost 3-0 to Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, while Ashab was beaten in straight games by India’s Abhay Singh.

Their progress to the semi-finals secured Pakistan’s return to the individual squash medal table after a 17-year gap.

The two players also became the first Pakistanis since 2002 to reach the semi-finals of the individual squash event at the same edition of the Asian Games.

Pakistan’s Medal Tally Reaches Four

The two squash bronze medals took Pakistan’s medal tally to four at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

Pakistan’s other bronze medals have come from the women’s cricket team and Asim Khan in the men’s 60kg MMA event.

The squash results added two more medals to Pakistan’s tally following the semi-final defeats of Noor and Ashab.

Mixed Results for Pakistan in Other Sports

Pakistan suffered a defeat in fencing, with the men’s épée team losing 7-5 to Qatar in the round of 16 at the Aichi Sky Expo.

Mohammad Abdulali and Baryal Waqas Khan won individual relays, but Pakistan were unable to overturn Qatar’s advantage.

In shooting, Rabia Kabir finished 41st in the women’s 25m pistol qualification with a score of 278-4x. Kishmala Talat was listed as a non-starter.

South Korea’s Yang Jiin topped the qualification with 292-11x, followed by Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan and Vietnam’s Trinh Thu Vinh.

Athletics provided a positive result as Ansar Abbas qualified for the men’s long jump final with a personal-best jump of 7.28 metres.

Abbas finished seventh in qualifying. Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anvarov topped the standings with 8.00m, while India’s Murali Sreeshankar qualified second with 7.84m.

Pakistan Tennis Team Records Mixed Results

Pakistan’s tennis campaign also began on Sunday with mixed results.

Aqeel Khan and Mohammad Shoaib advanced to the men’s doubles second round after defeating Mongolia’s Mandakh Davaadash and Sonompuntsag Enkhjargal 6-2, 6-0.

The Pakistani pair dominated the match, winning 54 points compared with their opponents’ 23.

Mahin Aftab Qureshi, however, exited the women’s singles after losing 6-1, 6-1 to Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej.

Muzammil Murtaza also suffered a first-round defeat, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Jordan’s Zaid Al-Mashni.

Ushna Sohail was beaten 6-1, 6-0 by Kazakhstan’s Yuliya Putintseva in the women’s singles.

The experienced pairing of Aqeel Khan and Ushna Sohail also lost their mixed doubles opener 6-2, 6-1 to Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev and Zhibek Kulambayeva.

Aisam Qureshi and Mahin also suffered defeat, losing 6-3, 7-5 to Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Shevchenko and Anna Danilina.

Hockey and Cricket Teams Face Key Fixtures

Pakistan’s hockey and cricket teams are also approaching important fixtures at the Games.

The hockey team suffered its first defeat of the competition on Saturday, losing 5-4 to Malaysia. Pakistan will face Oman on Monday with a place in the semi-finals at stake.

Pakistan’s men’s cricket team will also begin its campaign on Monday against Hong Kong in the quarter-final.

Led by Sahibzada Farhan, the team trained in Nisshin on Sunday, although overnight rain affected the session and left the outfield wet.

Meanwhile, Arshad Nadeem and Mohammad Yasir are scheduled to compete in the men’s javelin final on Monday, providing Pakistan with another opportunity to add to its medal tally.