LAHORE: Pakistan defeated Malaysia 3-0 in the third-place playoff to win bronze medal in the U-18 Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Japan on Saturday.

Uzair Ahmed opened the scoring early in the match from a penalty corner. In the 23rd minute, Aisam Haider converted a penalty stroke to double the lead. Adeel sealed the win with Pakistan’s third and final goal in the closing moments of the game.

Pakistan kicked off their campaign with a resounding 3-0 victory over China before suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat at the hands of Malaysia. The national team then registered a commanding 5-2 victory over Bangladesh to top the Group B standings and thus qualified for the semi-finals where they lost to arch-rivals India 5-3.

Meanwhile, India recorded a comprehensive 4-1 victory against Japan in the final to clinch their third title.

Ashish Tani Purti starred with a hat-trick scoring goals in the second, 28th and 34th minutes while captain Ketan Kushwaha (30th minute) also found the back of the net. Numada Gaku (52nd minute) scored for Japan.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2026