NATIONAL
Aqeel clinches Hard Court title:
Pakistan’s number one tennis player Aqeel Khan easily overpowered fourth seeded Nomi Qamar in the final of men’s singles event of National Hard Court Tennis Tournament at Model Club recently. Top seed Aqeel proved too good for Nomi and registered a formidable 6-2, 6-3 triumph against the fourth seed to successfully defend the title. Meanwhile, Natasha Afridi became the new Hard Court champion as she stunned top seed Sara Mansoor in Ladies Singles final. Natasha, who was the star of the National Hard Court Tennis Tournament and had already won the doubles title, surpassed Sara in all departments of the game. She won the match 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets to secure the title. Heera Ashiq outplayed Faizan Khurram in U-17 final showdown. Faizan, who had qualified for the final after beating the top seed S Zohair Raza, was unable to match up his skills with Heera who won the match in straight sets. Mrs Shahida Kauser Farooq, distributed prizes in a post match ceremony. Aqeel Khan, winner of Men’s singles was rewarded with Rs 40,000 and a trophy, while his runner-up Nomi received Rs 20,000.
Natasha Afridi was crowned with Ladies singles title and was rewarded with Rs 20,000 while runner-up Sara Mansoor got Rs 12,000.
ACC boss vows promotion of cricket in the continent:
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Nasim Ashraf vowed to foster relations with countries outside the continent while making efforts to raise the standards of the leading members to a level where they could seriously stake a Test claim. Nasim said that he wanted to see improvement in cricketing standards of the leading Test playing nations in Asia. He said Asia is the hub of cricketing activities and enjoys a special status in the world of cricket. “My foremost duty (as ACC chief) would be to raise the status of Asian cricket even further. The continent has got a special place on the cricketing map and it would be highlighted in days to come.” He said that Afghanistan and UAE were making big strides. “Look at Afghanistan, they have shown great improvement and the way they defeated other opponents in the ICC Cup was very heartening for Asian cricket. As PCB Chairman I am delighted to see Afghanistan winning the Division II event as it was Pakistan that initiated promotion of cricket in the war-trodden country. If these teams continue to work on the improvement of domestic cricket, they could be serious contenders for Test status in the years to come,” he said. Since the next Asian Games will be held in China, the local cricket authorities are striving hard to raise a competitive outfit for the occasion. “The PCB has already deputed Rashid Khan to train cricketers in China and he has been doing a good job there,” he said. With the help and guidance of Pakistan, China has already raised 40 school and club teams. Nasim was confident that two to three ACC members would succeed in making it to the 2011 World Cup to be jointly hosted by Asian Test playing countries. “One of the most important tasks I have to do during my tenure would be to help the member teams qualify for the 2011 World Cup.”
Intikhab goes back to Punjab as coach:
Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam confirmed he will work as Indian Punjab coach, setting at rest speculations that Pakistan Cricket Board was planning to appoint him as their national team coach. In a communication to Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) secretary MP Pandove, Alam said he would be taking up the assignment of coaching the senior team. Rumours had been rife that PCB was considering replacing incumbent Geoff Lawson with Alam. PCA said it had already sent a letter to former skipper asking him to join team by September. “The administrative committee of the association met and after going into merits decided to appoint Intikhab Alam, former coach of Pakistan team and manager of 1992 World Cup winning team as coach of Punjab senior team for year 2008-2009,” Pandove said. Intikhab had earlier worked with Punjab team during 2004-05 and 2005-2006 seasons and guided team to Ranji trophy finals. Alam replaces Gursharan Singh under whom the team has not done that well.
Saleh enters knockout stage, Sajjad ousted:
Pakistan’s most prolific cueist Saleh Mohammad stormed into the knockout stage of the Sangsom 6-Red Snooker International Tournament being held in Bangkok, Thailand. Saleh, having been seeded fourth in the Group E, came up with a stunning performance in the first round as he managed to win all his five league matches. He emerged the Group champion in the presence of more fancied cueists. The other Pakistani cueist, Mohammad Sajjad, was unable to match the brilliance of his compatriot and failed to advance to the next round. The reigning national lost four of his five league matches to bow out of the competition. Saleh’s terrific performance is reminiscent of his amazing run in the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2003 in China where he had succeeded in winning 14 matches on a trot on course of forcing his place in the final. With greater financial rewards on offer in a newer version of the game, Saleh has the opportunity of erasing the bitter memory of his crash against all odds in the final of the World Championship about five years ago. Saleh, assured of a place in the last 32 after winning his first three games, stunned the top ranked cueist of his Group, Stuart Bingham of England, 5-4 with the frame scores of 5-49, 0-68, 12-36, 49-0, 25-23, 46-0, 51-22, 12-37, 37-0 in his penultimate league outing. And he made it five out of five by whipping Mohammad Al Joakar of the UAE 5-3 in his last league fixture. Sajjad, placed in Group H, had lifted his game after having suffered defeats in his first couple of games. He had stayed in contention for a place in the last 32 by surprising Michael Holt but his disappointing performance in the last two games caused his early exit from the high-profile event. Sajjad, lacking in experience at the international level, was routed in his last two games. Dave Harold of England trounced him in straight frames with the scores of 36-18, 38-0, 48-0, 36-25, 37-20 while Daniel Wells of Wales smashed him 5-1 with the frame scores of 71-0, 0-66, 43-16, 67-0, 68-5, 72-0. Not surprisingly Harold and Wales shared the top positions in the Group H at the end of the league matches.
PCB to take over Mirpur Stadium:
The Azad Jammu & Kashmir government will formally hand over the MDA-controlled world class Rs 140 million newly-constructed Quaid-e-Azam Cricket Stadium Mirpur to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for holding national and international cricket matches in the stadium. This was disclosed by Chairman Mirpur Development Authority Dr Mohammad Amin Chaudhry while addressing a news conference recently. Dr Amin Chaudhry said that the Mirpur Development Authority had constructed the stadium of international standard from its own resources for the promotion of the first-class cricket in the area. He said the required latest infrastructure was already available in the stadium to play the matches.
Sindh trials for National Swimming:
Trials to select the Sindh team for the 48th National Men’s (Open) Swimming Championship (50m) and the National Water Polo Championship 2008 were held on July 13 at the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) — formerly the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) — Pool. The National Men’s (Open) Swimming Championship (50m) and the National Water Polo Championship 2008 were held from July 18 to 20 at the WAPDA Sports Board (WSB) Sports Complex, Chungi Amarsaddu, Ferozpur Road Lahore. The Championship was organised by the Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) under arrangements of the WSB. The trials were conducted in freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and individual medley in open age categories. The CDGK (KMC) had granted permission to hold the trials on Sunday.
