KARACHI, Pakistan: Pakistan squash players Noor Zaman and Mohammad Ashab Irfan have advanced to the quarter-finals of the men’s singles competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya after securing straight-game victories.
Noor Zaman defeated Kuwait’s Ammar Altamimi 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 to record his second consecutive win in the tournament and book his place in the last eight.
Ashab Irfan also produced a strong performance, overcoming Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Al Nasfan 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 to join his compatriot in the quarter-finals.
Pakistan pair advances in mixed doubles
Pakistan also secured progress in the mixed doubles event, where Asim Khan and Mehwish Ali recovered from losing the opening game to defeat Japan’s Erisa Sano and Naoki Hayashi.
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The Pakistani pair won 8-11, 11-10, 11-4 and will face Hong Kong’s Toby Lam Ye Tsee and Nam Cheuk Lai in the quarter-finals.
However, Pakistan’s other mixed doubles team of Nasir Iqbal and Sehrish Ali exited the competition after losing 11-2, 11-6 against Hong Kong’s Hong Ming Tong and Ye Ka Lee in the pre-quarter-finals.
Pakistan continue participation across sports
In boxing, Maria Rind was eliminated from the women’s 51kg preliminaries after losing to Mongolia’s Yesugen Oyuntsetseg through a referee stoppage in the third round.
Fatima Zehra, a Glasgow Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, will compete in the women’s 60kg preliminaries against Tajikistan’s Mijgoma Samadova, while Irfan Khan will face South Korea’s Gichae Kim in the men’s 90kg preliminaries.
Pakistan have entered two male and two female boxers in the Asian Games competition.
The country’s last Asian Games boxing medal came in 2014, when Mohammad Waseem won bronze.
