Pakistan hockey team to return empty-handed

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in 16 years, the Pakistan hockey team missed the victory stand in the Asian Games when they were beaten 1-2 by India in the bronze medal match in Jakarta on Saturday.

The Greenshirts went down to Japan by a solitary goal in the semi-finals.

This was Pakistan’s fifth defeat against India in the last three years. The sixth match ended in a draw.

Akashdeep Singh put India ahead in the first quarter with a diving slice into the net from a field effort.

Pakistan did put some pressure on their opponents in the second and third quarters but without any luck. The Greenshirts’ finishing plus the strategy were not up to the mark in this important match.

Harmanpreet Singh then added the second goal for India from their first penalty corner to put matters almost beyond Pakistan.

A minute later Mohammad Atiq found the net from a field effort to reduce the margin. However, Pakistan never looked threatening to pull an equaliser.

After winning the gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games, Pakistan took silver in 2014. In 2006, Pakistan finished third.

Meanwhile in men’s rugby sevens ranking round (9-12), Afghanistan beat Pakistan 15-7.

Pakistan finished eighth in the volleyball tournament when they were beaten 25-20, 23-25, 26-28, 21-25 by Thailand.

Agencies add from Jakarta: China dashed the Unified Korea’s hopes of an emotional women’s basketball gold medal when they won a tense final 71-65 at the Asian Games on Saturday.

Lim Yung-hui top-scored with 24 points in a losing cause as China pulled away from 38-38 at half-time before holding off the Koreans in the final quarter.

Park Ji-su was in tears after the game as the Korean team, featuring players from both sides of the heavily fortified Korean border, came up short.

“I feel we didn’t have enough time to practise together,” said Lim Yung-hui. “We could have got a gold medal... we tried our best.”

The Koreans were supported throughout the tournament by vocal fans brandishing blue and white Korean unification flags and wearing “One Corea” T-shirts.

The two Koreas marched together at the opening ceremony and also formed joint teams in canoeing, in which they won a gold and two bronze medals.

It follows similar gestures at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which set the stage for an unprecedented thaw in relations between the two countries still technically at war.

Japan’s women’s soccer team won the Asian Games gold medal after defeating China 1-0 at the Sriwijaya Stadium in Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang.

Organised attacks and defense, as well as calm and calculated play were key to Japan winning their second Games gold after first tasting success at the 2010 event in Guangzhou, China.

The only goal in the final was scored by Yuika Sugasawa in the 87th minute.

In the early minutes, Japan played more defensively, while China played more of an attacking game.

In the 14th minute, China got a golden opportunity to score but it was fluffed by striker Wang Shanshan who is the Games’ top scorer with 12 goals. Five minutes later, Gu Yansha’s shot on goal was saved by the goalkeeper.

Japan also launched an offensive but China’s defense stood firm.

However, Japan’s midfielder Nakajima Emi long-range pass into the penalty area set up Sugasawa who headed in what was to be the winning goal.