Pakistan’s men’s volleyball team kicked off its Asian Games 2026 campaign with a convincing 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday, while Noor Zaman defeated compatriot Mohammad Ashab Irfan to clinch third place in the men’s squash singles.
In the squash competition at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, Zaman outclassed Irfan 3-0 in the third-place playoff, wrapping up the contest in just 26 minutes with a 11-7, 11-7, 13-11 victory.
Zaman, who had earlier suffered a straight-games defeat to defending champion Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia in the semi-finals, quickly put that disappointment behind him.
He needed only eight minutes to claim the opening game 11-7 before producing an even more dominant display in the second to win by the same scoreline in six minutes.
Irfan mounted a stronger challenge in the third game, but Zaman held his nerve to edge it 13-11 and seal the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s men’s volleyball team made an impressive start to its Pool A campaign by defeating Kazakhstan 25-16, 25-22, 17-25, 25-20 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium.
After taking a two-set lead, Pakistan briefly lost momentum in the third before regaining control to close out the match in four sets.
Murad Khan led Pakistan’s scoring with 21 points, including 17 successful spikes and four blocks. Usman Faryad Ali contributed 14 points, while Jehan Murad and Musawer Khan added 11 and nine points, respectively. Pakistan’s attacking efficiency proved decisive, with the team finishing on 92 points compared to Kazakhstan’s 83.
Although Pakistan was outperformed in blocking, recording seven blocks against Kazakhstan’s 10, it compensated with a superior offensive display, converting 55 of its 114 spike attempts, while Kazakhstan managed 48 successful spikes from 113 attempts.
Pakistan will return to action on Monday against Uzbekistan before taking on hosts Japan in its final Pool A fixture.
Pakistan remained 33rd in the medal standings with four bronze medals.
China continued to lead the medal standings with 119 gold, 48 silver and 38 bronze medals for a total of 205. Hosts Japan occupied second place with 37 gold, 62 silver and 58 bronze medals (157 overall), while South Korea remained third with 21 gold, 23 silver and 39 bronze medals for a total of 83.
