The Green Shirts made a dominant start to the blockbuster fixture, clinching the opening set 25-19 in just 23 minutes and asserting early control.
India offered significant resistance in the subsequent set, which lasted 34 minutes, but Pakistan held their nerves in the tightly contested duel to eventually prevail 25-23 and move just one away from a high-reward victory.
The Green Shirts, fuelled by momentum, completely outclassed India in the third and final set, winning it by 25-18 in just 25 minutes, and rounding up a comprehensive victory.
Leading the way for Pakistan was opposite Murad Khan as he scored 19 points, including 18 successful spikes, followed by Ali Usman Faryad with 13, while Mohammad Hammad chipped in with nine.
The Green Shirts also dominated the statistical battle, recording 75 attack points compared to India’s 60, while also leading in blocks 5-4.
India, however, held the edge in service points, while also forcing more opponent errors, 20, one more than Pakistan.
For the unversed, Pakistan made a dominant start to the Asian Games 2026 men’s volleyball competition as they inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Kazakhstan in their campaign opener.
The Green Shirts followed it up with yet another resounding victory, a 3-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan, to seal their place in the knockout stage with a match to spare.
In their final pool match, however, the national team suffered a gruelling 3-0 defeat at the hands of host nation Japan, dubbed one of the favourites for the gold medal, alongside defending champions, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Meanwhile, Pakistan defeated Hong Kong, China 2-1 in the men’s team squash semi-final at Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena on Thursday to book a place in the Asian Games final and secure at least a silver medal.
Earlier, Pakistan defeated South Korea 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games men’s team squash competition at the Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena.
