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 semifinals for the first time in the history of their Asian Games campaign.
Pakistan won only two of their four group-stage matches and failed to secure the result they needed to progress to the knockout stage.
They began their campaign strongly with a comprehensive 65-22 victory over Malaysia before also defeating Nepal, putting themselves in a strong position in Group B.
However, Pakistan suffered a major setback against Thailand, who produced a significant upset by edging them 48-45 in a closely contested match at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium.
Pakistan held a narrow 32-31 lead at halftime but were unable to maintain their advantage after the break. Thailand raised 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 match, strengthening their position in the group.
Pakistan entered their final group match against Iran knowing that a positive result was crucial to their hopes of reaching the semifinals. However, Iran dominated the contest and secured a convincing 51-30 victory, bringing 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 program since 1990, and Pakistan had reached the semifinal stage at every edition since the sport was introduced.
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 ends Pakistan’s long-standing run of semifinal appearances and marks their first-ever medal-less Asian Games kabaddi campaign.
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