KARACHI (Dunya News) – Pakistan secured its first medal at the 2026 Asian Games after Karachi-based mixed martial artist Asim Khan won a bronze medal in his event.
Asim Khan suffered defeat in the mixed martial arts semifinal, but under the competition rules, his semifinal appearance guaranteed him a bronze medal. The medal ceremony is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Dalawar Khan, who is serving as team leader alongside Asim Khan at the Games, told a reporter that the fighter had opened Pakistan's medal account and expressed hope that the country would win more medals in the remaining events.
According to Dalawar, the bronze is Asim Khan's first Asian Games medal. He has previously won a bronze medal at the World Championships and a silver medal at the Asian level.
Asim Khan is scheduled to return to Karachi on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Pakistani athletes continued to compete in several other events.
Swimmer Hamza Asif finished second in his heat of the men's 50-metre freestyle but placed 30th overall.
In the mixed triathlon final, Pakistan's team was listed as NDF after Ali Hassan could not complete the event within the stipulated time. Sana Arif, Anisha and Mustaghis Noor completed the swimming, cycling and running stages.
Coach Abdul Ghaffar Gujjar said he was satisfied with his athletes' performances, adding that Pakistan finished 14th in the overall ranking.
Pakistan also faced defeats in mixed doubles soft tennis against Chinese Taipei, South Korea and the Philippines, while the women's table tennis team lost to traditional rivals India in the group stage.