Pakistan miss Asian Games kabaddi semi-finals for first time after Iran defeat

TOKAI: Pakistan have been knocked out of the Asian Games men’s kabaddi competition after suffering a heavy 51-30 defeat to Iran in their final Group B match, ending their hopes of reaching the semi-finals for the first time in the history of their Asian Games campaign.

Pakistan could win only two of their four group-stage matches and failed to secure the result they needed to progress to the knockout stage.

Pakistan began their campaign strongly, registering a comprehensive 65-22 victory over Malaysia before also defeating Nepal to put themselves in a strong position in Group B.

However, their campaign suffered a major setback against Thailand, who produced a significant upset by edging Pakistan 48-45 in a closely contested encounter at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium.

Pakistan held a narrow 32-31 lead at half-time but struggled to maintain their advantage after the interval. Thailand stepped up their performance in the second half, scoring 17 points compared with Pakistan’s 13 to secure a memorable victory.

Thailand had also defeated Nepal 59-48 in their opening Group B fixture, strengthening their position in the group.

Pakistan then entered their final group match against Iran knowing that a positive result was crucial to their hopes of reaching the semi-finals. However, Iran dominated the contest and secured a convincing 51-30 victory to bring Pakistan’s campaign to an early end.

The elimination represents a significant setback for Pakistan in a competition where they have traditionally been among the leading kabaddi teams.

Kabaddi has been a permanent part of the Asian Games programme since 1990, and Pakistan had reached the semi-final stage at every edition since its inclusion.

Pakistan have won seven bronze medals and two silver medals in Asian Games kabaddi, but they will now return from the competition without a medal in the sport for the first time.

The result brings an end to Pakistan’s long-standing run of semi-final appearances and marks their first-ever medal-less Asian Games kabaddi campaign.