Pakistan beat India 3-0 to reach Asian Games 2026 semifinals

Dubai: Pakistan defeated India 3-0 in the men’s volleyball quarterfinal at the Asian Games 2026 on Thursday to book their place in the semifinals and end India’s campaign.

Pakistan produced a strong performance at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium, winning 25-19, 25-23, 25-18. India stayed competitive in the second set and led 19-16, but Pakistan recovered to take control before closing out the match in straight sets.

Khan Murad led the scoring with 19 points for the winning side while Ali Usman Faryad added 13 points to the scoresheet.

The victory sends Pakistan into the last four, where they will face the winner of the quarterfinal between South Korea and defending champions Iran. The other quarterfinals feature Thailand against China and Japan against Qatar. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday, with the final and bronze-medal match to be played on Saturday, October 3.

For India, the defeat ends their hopes of winning a medal. They will now compete in the classification matches for fifth to eighth place. Even in the 2022 Asian Games, India failed to qualify for the semis and eventually lost to Pakistan in the 5^th-6^th classification match.

Surprisingly, India lost that match 3-0, the same score with which they lost in Japan.

Pakistan is now chasing a historic achievement. The country has never won the men’s volleyball gold medal at the Asian Games. Their best finish came at the 1962 Jakarta Games, when they claimed bronze, finishing behind Japan and India.

Pakistan have therefore reached the final four with an opportunity to win their first Asian Games men’s volleyball gold. Their semifinal will determine whether that title challenge continues into Saturday’s gold-medal match.