Pakistan’s table tennis campaign at the Asian Games got off to about as tough a start as possible, with the women’s team exiting the group stage without winning a single match and the men’s side losing both of their opening ties.
Women’s Team: Winless Through the Group Stage
Pakistan’s women were eliminated from Group F after a 3-0 defeat to India at the Sky Hall Toyota on Monday, capping a campaign in which they didn’t win a single match across three ties. Against India, 15-year-old Aleena Khan was beaten 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 by experienced player Sutirtha Mukherjee in just 10 minutes. Kulsoom Khan, 19, lost in straight games 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 to Syndrela Das, before Fatima Khan fell 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 in 11 minutes against India’s top-ranked player, Sreeja Akula.
The pattern had already been set the day before. Against Singapore, Aleena, Kulsoom, and 55-year-old Nosheen Aslam all lost in straight games. The same trio — Fatima, Kulsoom, and Nosheen — then suffered equally one-sided defeats to Indonesia, leaving Pakistan without a single game won across the entire tournament.
Men’s Team: A Similarly Difficult Start
| Tie | Result |
|---|---|
| vs. Iran | Lost 3-0 |
| vs. Indonesia | Lost 3-0 |
| vs. India | Played later Monday |
Taha Bilal and Abbas Khan were unable to win a single game in either of their opening two ties. Mohammad Khan provided the sole bright spot, taking one game against Indonesia’s Mohammad Negara — the only game Pakistan’s men managed to win across their first two matches.
Final Thoughts
With the women’s team already eliminated and the men facing a similarly steep group-stage challenge, Pakistan’s table tennis campaign at these Asian Games has started about as roughly as it could have. The result adds to a mixed overall picture for Pakistan at the Games so far, where strong starts in some sports have been offset by difficult openings in others.
