KAKAMIGAHARA, Japan: Pakistan secured a place in the men’s hockey semi-finals at the 2026 Asian Games with a commanding 7-2 victory over Oman, setting up a semi-final clash with India on October 1.
Pakistan finished second in Pool B with 12 points, behind Malaysia, who topped the group with 15 points. The national side won four of its five pool matches, with its only defeat coming against Malaysia.
Rana Waheed Ashraf was the standout performer against Oman, completing a hat-trick. Sufyan Khan scored twice, while Ghazanfar Ali and Muhammad Imad also found the net as Pakistan maintained control of the contest.
Sufyan opened the scoring from a penalty corner in the 22nd minute and added another shortly after Oman equalised. Waheed then extended Pakistan’s advantage before Ghazanfar and Waheed struck again as the Green Shirts built a substantial lead. Ammad Butt and Waheed completed the scoring for Pakistan.
The result confirmed the semi-final line-up. Pakistan will face India in the first semi-final on October 1, while Malaysia will meet South Korea in the other last-four encounter.
Pakistan had earlier defeated Thailand 9-0, Uzbekistan 5-1 and China 3-0 before suffering a narrow 5-4 loss to Malaysia.