Muhammad Ashab Irfan and Noor Zaman have advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals in Nagoya, Japan on Friday to give Pakistan another squash medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The feat brought an end to a wait of 24 years for Pakistan to get two men to the last four of the Asian Games singles. The last time was during the Busan Games in 2002 when Mansoor Zaman and Shahid Zaman made it to the semi-finals.
Seed No.3, Noor Zaman, beat the Hong Kong, China’s Henry Leung, Chi Hin, in four games at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena. The Pakistani began with a bang, taking the first two games before Leung hit back in the third.
In the fourth game, Noor bounced back to put the game away 11-7, 11-6, 3-11, 11-4. The outcome put him in the semi-finals and ensured that Pakistan would get at least a bronze in the men’s singles event.
Ashab Irfan also bounced back from a poor start to his game against Veer Chotrani of India. Chotrani won the first game 11-6 but Irfan won the next three games 11-8, 11-3 and 11-3 to make it 3-1.
With the two wins, Pakistan will be in both men’s singles semi-finals. Noor will play defending champion Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia and Irfan will take on Abhay Singh of India.
The semi-finals are set for Saturday and the winners will advance to Sunday’s finals. As per the Asian Games squash protocol, the two teams that lose the two semi-final matches will be awarded with a bronze medal.
The tournament has extra significance as squash is to be introduced in the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The gold medal winner in the men’s and women’s singles categories at the 2026 Asian Games will qualify for the Olympics.
The development thus provides both players a chance to fight for an Asian Games medal along with a qualification spot for the Olympics.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games’ squash event will be taking place at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena. Singles and mixed doubles play continues through Sept. 27 with team play beginning Sept. 28.
With the latest haul of medals, Pakistan’s haul in the Asian Games is now a testament to the country’s rich tradition of producing squash champions and international titles and has raised memories of the nation’s glory in the sport.
