Asian Games bracing for India, Pakistan animosity to hit cricket clashes in Japan

India and Pakistan are likely to clash in the latter stages of the men’s and women’s Asian Games cricket this month, and officials are bracing themselves for the bad feeling between the two to spill over in Japan.

On Sunday, India’s women refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy ⁠from Asian Cricket ⁠Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi after beating ⁠Sri Lanka in the final in Dubai, repeating the stand made by their compatriots at the men’s tournament last year.

Naqvi is the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and also his country’s interior minister, and the team’s decision to snub the trophy presentation reflects the poor political relations between the neighbouring states.

The nature of the cricket competition in Japan means India’s women don’t enter until the quarter-finals, and the first time they could face their rivals would be in a battle for gold, or, more unlikely, bronze.

In the men’s contest, the two sides have been kept apart in the group stages and would, again, not meet until medals are on the line.

India and Pakistan engaged in a brief military conflict last year that almost escalated into full-scale war. They do not play each other bilaterally in cricket and only meet in ICC and ACC tournaments on neutral venues.

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