Pakistan’s hockey team face arch-rivals India in the first semi-final of the Asian Games men’s hockey tournament on Thursday, October 1, with a place in the final on the line. On the same day, Pakistan’s cricketers meet Bangladesh in the cricket semi-finals in Japan.
The hockey semi-final starts at 12:30pm Pakistan time, Radio Pakistan reported. The second semi-final, between Malaysia and Korea, follows at 3pm. The final will be played on Saturday.
How Pakistan got here
Pakistan reached the last four in style, thrashing Oman 7-2 at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on Monday:
- Rana Waheed scored a hat-trick
- Sufyan Khan added two goals
- Ghazanfar Ali and Muhammad Ammad scored one each
Pakistan had 58 percent of possession against Oman and won 11 penalty corners to Oman’s none, a sign of an attack in good form going into the biggest game of the tournament.
Cricket: Pakistan v Bangladesh
The cricket semi-final starts at 5am Pakistan time. India play Sri Lanka in the other semi-final at the same venue on the same day.
Pakistan reached the semi-finals without bowling a ball in the knockouts: rain washed out every one of the four quarter-finals, and the higher-ranked teams went through. The two semi-finals will be the first knockout matches of the men’s tournament to be played.
A day that could shape Pakistan’s Games
Pakistan have won five medals in Japan so far, all bronze:
- Women’s cricket, after beating Bangladesh by 31 runs
- Mixed martial arts, through Asim Khan
- Squash, through Noor Zaman and Ashab Irfan
- Esports, with the PUBG Mobile team
Thursday offers the chance of something bigger. Wins in both semi-finals would put Pakistan into two finals and guarantee at least two silver medals, the country’s best colours of the Games so far.
The rest of the campaign
Pakistan’s athletes have had mixed fortunes elsewhere in Japan. Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem finished fourth in the javelin in rainy Nagoya, where Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage took gold. Pakistan’s volleyball team have kept winning, although their captain has criticised the Games’ logistics after the team was sent to the wrong arena for one match. The women’s cricket team have already delivered a bronze.
Why the hockey match matters
Few fixtures in world sport carry the weight of Pakistan against India in hockey. The two countries share a proud history in the game, with Olympic and Asian titles between them, and every meeting draws huge attention on both sides of the border. For Pakistan, a win over India in a semi-final would be a statement that the national game is on its way back.
What to watch
- Rana Waheed: whether the hat-trick hero can repeat his scoring against India
- Penalty corners: Pakistan’s strength against Oman, and often decisive in big games
- The weather: rain has already wiped out the cricket quarter-finals in Japan
Read our earlier reports on Pakistan’s fifth medal at the Games and on the cricket semi-final line-up.
This article draws on reporting by Radio Pakistan, Dawn and The Express Tribune.
Comments
Comments are reviewed by our editors before they appear. Please keep them civil and on topic. See our terms.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your view.