Pakistan beat India 3-0 in men's volleyball quarterfinal at Asian Games 2026
Pakistan defeated India 3-0 in the men's volleyball quarterfinal at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, ending India's chances of a medal in the event. The match was decided in straight sets, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18.
India's campaign continued on Day 12 of the 20th Asian Games, with athletes competing across multiple sports in Aichi-Nagoya. Earlier on the day India defeated Vietnam 2-0 in the men's quadrant Group A match to book their place in the semifinals and confirm a medal at the Asian Games. India's wait for a first Asian Games medal in men's volleyball since 1986 continues after the quarterfinal defeat.
In the quarterfinal, India recovered early after falling behind, with a three-point run that included an ace from captain C. Jerome Vinith putting them 5-4 ahead. Pakistan then built a significant lead later in the opening set, creating a 20-14 advantage before closing out the set. Pakistan's blocking and net play repeatedly disrupted India's rhythm during key stretches.
The second set featured multiple momentum swings: India used a successful review to level the score at 13-13 and surged to 16-13, with Ashwal Rai and Jerome Vinith prominent in the rally. Pakistan responded by erasing the deficit and then produced a decisive scoring run to take the lead; Joel Benjamin produced a spike to bring India within one at 21-22, but Pakistan converted set points after a Musawer spike and an eventual winning hit from Usman.
Outside volleyball, Sumit Dalal lost to Iran's Sajjad Abbaspourragani in the men's Greco-Roman 60kg quarterfinal; the bout finished 1-1 but Abbaspourragani advanced on VPO1. Dalal, the reigning junior Asian champion, will still have a chance to enter the repechages if the Iranian wrestler reaches the final.
In women's and racket sports, Tanvi Khanna fought back in the must-win second singles against Hong Kong's Ka Yi Lee, losing the first game 4-11 before winning the second 13-11 to level the match at 1-1. In the women's squash team semifinal Chan Sin Yuk edged Anahat Singh 3-2 in a five-game match that finished 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-13, 10-12; Anahat had led 2-0 and had four match balls.
Several Indian athletes advanced in other events: Yamini Mourya progressed to the women's 57kg quarterfinals after defeating Qatar's Fatena Bu-Qahoos by ippon and is due to face Mongolia's Ariunzaya Terbish in a bout scheduled within the next hour. Aman Sehrawat staged a comeback to beat Mongolia's Borgil Tuvshinbaatar 8-6 in the men's Greco-Roman 77kg round of 16 and will meet Qatar's Shahin Badaghimofrad in the quarterfinals. Mansi moved into the women's 62kg quarterfinals with a 6-1 victory over Kazakhstan's Irina Kuznetsova and will face South Korea's Subeen Jo.
Yamini's quarterfinal has been scheduled within the next hour, Aman will face Shahin Badaghimofrad in the 77kg quarterfinals, and Mansi's clash with Subeen Jo awaits in the women's 62kg quarterfinals; India remain active across shooting, boxing, table tennis, archery, squash and other events on Thursday at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.