Nargis wins bronze for Pakistan

KARACHI: Pakistan claimed their second bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games when Nargis defeated Nepal’s Rita Karki 3-1 in the women’s +68 kilogramme karate event on Saturday.

With the bronze, 19-year-old Nargis became the first Pakistani woman to win a karate medal at the Asian Games.

Pakistan are still without a gold or silver medal in the games. They had won their first bronze when men’s kabaddi team lost to South Korea in the semi-finals on Thursday.

In men’s 56kg bantamweight event, Pakistan’s Naqeebullah beat United Arab Emirates’ Majid Alnaqbi in their preliminary round bout to move into the next round.

“The match was very good. My opponent also played well. My target is winning the gold medal in the event,” Naqeebullah said in a statement after the match.

Meanwhile, Mohibullah lost his bout in the light flyweight against Chinese Taipei rival 4-1.

In women’s 57kg featherweight event, Pakistan’s Perveen Rukhsar lost her bout against India’s Parvita 3-0.

In the rifle shooting event, Pakistan’s Usman Chand got first position in the qualification round with 75 points. Abdul Sattar Satti was placed 24th with 65 points. In 25m rapid fire pistol event, Muhammad Khalil Akhtar finished 8th with 577 points, while Ghulam Mustafa Bashir got 12th position with 569 points.

In men’s golf, Ahmed Baig and Taimor Khan reached plus 14 and plus 7 positions, respectively.

Pakistan’s pair of Rizwan Azam and Kashif Ali were defeated 2-0 by Sri Lankan pair in the badminton doubles event.

In Sepaktakraw, Singapore crushed Pakistan easily with score 21-2 and 21-6.

In men’s 400m athletics event, Pakistan’s Muhammad Nadeem finished 22nd, Nokar Hussain got 24th position, while Liaqat Ali was placed at 30th spot in the 100m event.

In sailing, Pakistan’s Raja Qasim Abbas got seventh position in wind surfing in 470 class. In Leisure standard class event of five races, Najeebullah Khan finished 11th.

On Sunday (today), Pakistan hockey team will face Malaysia in their crucial Pool B match. The Green-shirts won their three previous matches against hockey minnows. They hammered Thailand 10-0 before beating Oman 10-0 and Kazakhstan 16-0.

“The match against Malaysia is very important for us. Both the teams know the importance of this contest,” Pakistan manager Hasan Sardar told ‘The News’ on Saturday.

“We will go into the match with a strategy to tackle the Malaysian forwards,” he said.

Hasan said that three comprehensive victories in the Asian Games have helped the boys regain their confidence.

“By scoring so many goals, the forwards have gained confidence, which they were lacking previously,” he said.

But Hasan warned against complacency.

“Our players are performing brilliantly, but Malaysia will not be easy opponents,” he said.