Asian Games: Pakistan win fifth medal with PUBG Mobile bronze as cricket and hockey semi-finals loom

Pakistan won their fifth medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday when their PUBG Mobile team took bronze in the esports competition, finishing behind Thailand and China.

The Pakistan team of Mohammad Huzaifa, Shayan Asad, Falak Sher, Hasnain Rehman and Syed Sameer finished with 100 points. Thailand won gold with 128 points and China took silver with 114, Dawn reported.

How the bronze was won

Pakistan built their medal over two days of play:

• Day one: 39 points
• Day two: 61 points across the final six matches
• Best games: 16 points in match seven, 10 each in matches eight and nine, 12 in match 11 and 12 in the final match

In the last match of the event, Japan finished first with 18 points, Thailand second with 14 and Pakistan third with 12, enough to lock in a place on the podium.

Pakistan’s medals so far

All five of Pakistan’s medals in Japan are bronze:

• Women’s cricket: The team beat Bangladesh by 31 runs on September 22 to win bronze
• Mixed martial arts: Asim Khan
• Squash: Noor Zaman and Ashab Irfan, who both reached the semi-finals
• Esports: The PUBG Mobile team

Bigger chances still to come

Pakistan’s best hopes of improving the colour of their medals lie in the team sports still alive.

• Cricket: The men’s team will play Bangladesh in the semi-finals on Thursday, after rain washed out every quarter-final and sent the higher-ranked sides through. India face Sri Lanka in the other semi-final.
• Hockey: Pakistan reached the semi-finals by thrashing Oman 7-2 at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on Monday. Rana Waheed scored a hat-trick, Sufyan Khan added two, and Ghazanfar Ali and Muhammad Ammad scored one each. Pakistan had 58 percent of possession and won 11 penalty corners to Oman’s none.

Buses to the wrong venue

The Games have also been marked by transport mix-ups. South Korea’s men’s volleyball team became the latest side taken to the wrong place when an organiser-provided shuttle bus drove them to Okazaki instead of their training venue in Inuyama, forcing them to cancel a morning practice. They still beat Taiwan 3-1.

Pakistan’s own men’s volleyball team were earlier sent to the wrong arena for their match against Uzbekistan, delaying the game by 45 minutes. Pakistan’s volleyball captain has since criticised the logistics at the Games.

“Each boarded a bus heading to the wrong destination. We sincerely apologise to both teams for the inconvenience,” said Ayumi Sakamoto, a spokesperson for the local organising committee. She said organisers would make sure teams and vehicle destinations were properly checked and displayed.

Why it matters

Five bronze medals across four sports show the breadth of Pakistan’s challenge in Japan, from cricket and squash to combat sports and esports. With the cricket and hockey teams both in the semi-finals, the coming days offer Pakistan its best chance of a first gold or silver. Read our earlier reports on the cricket semi-final line-up and on the squash bronze medals.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and The Express Tribune.