India and Pakistan will clash for the Asian Games gold at Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin. India are the defending champions and firm favourites to lift the title.
The Men in Blue have also enjoyed a dominant run against Pakistan over the last few years, giving them a clear edge ahead of the contest. But Pakistan will be keen to turn things around. Although the team is nowhere near the quality of the Indian side, Pakistan don't carry the burden of previous defeats as most of the players haven't played against this Indian side before. They'll enter the game as underdogs and look to surprise India with a nothing-to-lose approach. Meanwhile, India-Pakistan matches are not just about cricket given the tense rivalries the countries share. Following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India have maintained distance from Pakistan, even though the teams continue to play despite calls for a boycott. The BCCI has maintained that there will be no bilateral matches between India and Pakistan, but they'll play Pakistan in multi-national events. But they've refused customary handshakes with the Pakistan players as part of the protest. They've also refused to collect the winning trophies from PCB Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Asia Cup. Naqvi has created a lot of drama over the trophy presentation, going the distance to create unnecessary controversies. India have always informed in advance that they will not receive the trophy from Naqvi, who also holds a prominent position in the Pakistan government, but he has ignored their sentiments and remained adamant about handing over the trophy on his own. Naqvi well knows that India will not receive the trophy, but he has used his power as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to make India's win more about himself. But India have least bothered about the trophies. The good news, however, is that Naqvi won't be there to create more drama during the Asian Games final on Saturday. ICC chairman Jay Shah will be present for the final and will present the trophy to the winning team. "ACC President, Mr Mohsin Naqvi, will miss Finals Day at #AsianGames2026 due to prior commitments, but sends his very best wishes to all four teams ahead of the Gold and Bronze Medal Matches," the ACC wrote in a post on X.
