Ten medals, no gold: Pakistan's best Asian Games haul in 24 years, assessed

Pakistan's contingent returned from the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with ten medals: two silver and eight bronze. The total placed Pakistan 29th on the medal table and represented the country's best showing at the Games since 2002, when it won 13 medals including a gold.

It was a clear step forward from Hangzhou 2023, where Pakistan won three medals and finished 31st. Yet the absence of a gold medal for yet another edition means the campaign is best described as encouraging rather than transformative.

Where the medals came from

Squash was the most productive sport, contributing a men's team silver and individual bronze in the men's singles. Cricket also reached the podium, with the men's team taking silver and the women's team bronze.

The remaining bronze medals came from a wide range of disciplines:

• Men's hockey, after a 5-3 comeback win over South Korea on 3 October 2026, Pakistan's first Asian Games hockey medal since 2014.
• Men's volleyball, after a 3-0 win over China on the same day, the country's first Asian Games medal in the sport since 1962.
• Shooting, through Ghulam Mustafa Bashir in the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol on 1 October 2026.
• Mixed martial arts, through Asim Khan, Pakistan's first Asian Games MMA medal.
• Esports, through the PUBG Mobile team.

The positives

The spread of medals is the most encouraging aspect. A decade ago Pakistan relied heavily on a handful of traditional sports, but in Japan it found the podium in team sports, racket sports, combat sports, a target sport and esports. Volleyball's historic bronze and hockey's return to the medals were singled out in post-Games reviews as genuine milestones.

The numbers also show steady recovery. After totals of four in 2006, eight in 2010, five in 2014, four in 2018 and three in 2023, ten medals marks a meaningful rise.

The missed chances

Post-Games reporting identified kabaddi and the men's javelin as events where Pakistan had realistic medal hopes but came away empty-handed. Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem finished fourth in the javelin final on 28 September 2026 with a best of 80.29m.

Administrative problems also cost Pakistan. The Express Tribune reported that most of the shooting squad, including the Hangzhou 2023 bronze medallist Kishmala Talat, could not compete because of late paperwork and travel difficulties, leaving only two Pakistani shooters on the range.

Context on the table

China topped the standings with 341 medals, including 169 gold, illustrating the scale of the gap between Asia's leading sporting nations and countries such as Pakistan.

What comes next

The lesson from Aichi-Nagoya is that Pakistan has more medal-capable athletes and teams than its recent record suggested. Converting bronzes into silvers and golds will require better-planned preparation, uninterrupted participation in international events and smoother administration, so that athletes such as the shooting squad are not left behind. If those foundations improve, the 2030 Games could finally bring the gold that eluded Pakistan once again.