Iran completed their opening campaign at the Asian Games with a 3:0 victory over Pakistan in the final group match on Wednesday. The result sealed first place for the visitors, who went through all three fixtures without dropping a point. Pakistan remain in second position after their third game of the tournament.
The hosts had shown promise in their opening two matches, beating Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan by comfortable margins. Their form took a turn against Japan, who dismantled them 3:0 on Monday. Pakistan bounced back with a 3:0 win over India on Tuesday, but Iran were too strong on this occasion.
The visitors came into the match already top of the table with eight points from three victories. Their recent results read like a checklist: 3:2 against South Korea, 3:2 versus Indonesia, 3:0 over Thailand, 3:0 past Kyrgyzstan. Only that early 0:3 defeat to Japan had punctured their perfect record.
Pakistan's position feels different now. Two wins, one loss, six points puts them behind the leaders but ahead of anyone else in the group. The gap between the teams is two points, and the quality gap looks wider after this result.
The final scoreline tells you everything about how the match played out. Three goals, no response from the hosts. Iran can raise the tempo when they need to, and they showed that clearly. Pakistan were left flat-footed for much of the contest.
