[News] Sports Gossips 4rm Pakistan

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German officials omit Pakistan from list of participants
Pakistan have been omitted from the list of participants of a major international junior tournament in Germany because of a �misunderstanding�, a national hockey official said on Monday.
Jahangir Butt, manager of the national junior team, told that the organisers of an eight-nation junior hockey tournament to be held in August this year have replaced Pakistan with Poland after failing to get a reconfirmation about Pakistan entry in the event from the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).
�We have recently learnt that Pakistan have been dropped from the list of participants by the organisers of the eight-nation tournament because they did not get a reconfirmation from the PHF about the national junior team�s entry in the event,� said Butt, a former Olympian.
Butt said that the former PHF secretary Akhtar-ul-Islam had talked to German hockey officials last year about participation in the eight-nation event to be played from August 6-12. He had told the German hockey officials that the PHF would reconfirm Pakistan�s entry in the event after a discussion between top PHF officials.
However, Akhtar resigned as PHF secretary and was later replaced by Khalid Mehmood, also a former Olympian. Butt said that Khalid Mehmood was unaware of the fact that the PHF had to reconfirm Pakistan�s entry in the tournament. �It has all happened because of a misunderstanding,� said Butt.
The PHF has written to the German officials to re-enter Pakistan in the list of participants. �We are trying to get Pakistan in because it is the biggest junior hockey tournament of the year and we want our team to participate in it,� said Butt.
The manager said that all the major teams of the world would be featuring in the tournament. He said that Germany, Holland, Spain, Australia, Korea and India are among the participating teams. �It is a huge setback for us,� said Butt, who has been made in-charge of Pakistan�s preparations for the 2009 Junior World Cup.

Punjab Green off to flying start in U-15 Football
Punjab Green were off to a flying start on Thursday after they registered a 2-0 win against NWFP Red in a Group B match of the Sixth National Under-15 Football Championship held at the Municipal Football Stadium in Khanewal.
In this encounter held under lights, both teams started the proceedings with some excellent display. However no team was able to strike for the initial forty-two (42) minutes much to the disappointment of the spectators.
It were Punjab Green, the second string of Punjab, who took the initiative in the 43rd minute, when the front-liner Shahid Zameer scored a beautiful goal from the left. After getting 1-0 down, the Frontier team made desperate efforts to bounce back, but failed to do so. In the 55th minute, Usman Manzoor, after getting advantage of the wrong anticipation of the NWFP Red�s defenders in the danger area, found the nets through a sharp slash, taking his team�s lead to 2-0.
After taking a 2-0 lead, Punjab Green were content enough and tried to plug the gaps giving less chances to the oppositions to penetrate. Thus, the match ended at 2-0 in favour of Punjab Green.
Earlier, the District Nazim of Khanewal Sardar Ahmad Yar Hiraj formally opened the championship carrying 13 teams from the country. As per reports, during the opening ceremony, the fireworks and gymnastic display of the boys enthralled the capacity crowd, which had thronged the stadium.
Thirteen teams including two teams from each province, Crown FC Khanewal, Wohaib Club Lahore, Chaman�s Afghan Club, Northern Areas and Islamabad are participating in the event, which will last till July 7.

Pakistan recall Shakeel for Moscow
Pakistan on Thursday brought back talented striker Shakeel Abbasi in an 18-man squad announced for a four-nation hockey tournament to be held in Moscow early next month.
Abbasi, regarded among the best strikers in the world, was unceremoniously axed from the Pakistan squad for last month�s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia. Pakistan finished a disappointing sixth position in the eight-nation contest.
However, several leading players of the country are out of the Moscow-bound team which was announced in Islamabad following one-day trials.
Seasoned fullback Zeeshan Ashraf, midfielder Adnan Maqsood and forward Adnan Zakir, stayed away from the national training camp under progress in Islamabad and were not considered for selection.
The trio is counted among the more experienced players of the country and has represented Pakistan in major events like the Olympics and the World Cup.
The Quetta-based Zeeshan was appointed as the vice-captain of the national team for the Azlan Shah Cup.
He has now been replaced by experienced goalkeeper Salman Akber, who will be Rehan Butt�s deputy during the Moscow quadrangular.
There are several new faces in the Pakistan line-up with Kashif Ali, who plays for Pakistan Steel, coming in for Zeeshan as a fullback. Short corner specialist Imran Warsi and Ehsanullah are the other two fullbacks. Also included in the team are rookie midfielders Waqas Zafar of Army and Bannu�s Majid Khan. Imran Khan is now the senior player in the midfield in the absence of Adnan Maqsood and would be looking for support from fellow midfielders Rana Asif and Muhammad Imran.
Captain Rehan Butt leads the Pakistani attack that includes a new face, Arshad Khan from Army. Talented winger Yasir Islam is back in the side but surprisingly M. Zubair, regarded as an important part of the team�s forward-line, has been dropped. The forward-line includes Waqas Sharif, Shabbir Khan, Tariq Aziz and Akhtar Ali.
Pakistan would be featuring in the Moscow event to be played from July 5-7 alongside hosts Russia, Scotland and Ukraine.
The squad was announced by the national selectors following two sessions of trials played at the Naseer Bunda Stadium in Islamabad. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Zafarullah Jamali and chief selector Khawaja Zakauddin witnessed the trials.
The squad: Goalkeepers: Salman Akber, Nasir Ahmed; Fullbacks: Imran Warsi, Ehsanullah, Kashif Ali; Midfielders: Imran Khan, Rana Asif, Mohammad Imran, Waqas Zafar, Majid Khan; Forwards: Rehan Butt (captain), Waqas Sharif, Yasir Islam, Shakeel Abbasi, Shabbir Khan, Tariq Aziz, Akhtar Ali, Arshad Khan.

All-Pakistan Boxing Tournament in Peshawar in November
The fourth edition of the All-Pakistan National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Boxing Tournament will be contested from November 7-9 here at the Qayyum Sports Complex on a portable ring donated by the Pakistan Sports Trust (PST).
Talking to APP after attending the general council meeting of the association held here a local hotel on Thursday, Waqar Maroof, President NWFP Amateur Boxing Association (NWFP ABA), disclosed that top pugilists from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP, KPT, KESC, Army, PAF, Navy, WAPDA and Railways will take part.
�We have just finalised the dates and the district representatives expressed satisfaction over the schedule announced for various activities at the juniors and seniors levels, Waqar added.
He informed that the NWFP ABA has been running its activities according to schedule. Waqar praised the support and cooperation provided to the association by the president of the Pakistan Amateur Boxing Federation (PABF).
He said the house has prepared a plan at the grassroots level, which has also included provision of playing facilities. The General Council, he said, has unanimously decided to hold more activities at the grassroots level and in this connection it has planned to involve school kids in the game.
Waqar also hailed NBP�s role for promoting sports in the province and boxing in particular.
He said it would be the 4th edition of the NBP All-Pakistan Boxing Tournament in which top pugilists will be taking part in 11 different weight categories.
He stressed the need to promote sports at grassroots level and for this �the Directorate of Schools should feel its responsibility by involving youth in healthy activities�. Without the involvement of school kids it would be difficult to achieve the desired results, he observed.
The 2nd Inter-District Boxing Championship will be organised next month while in the first week of September the NWFP Junior and Cadet teams would take part in their respective events to be held at Lahore.
The house, he said, also gave approval to hold a colourful boxing event to celebrate the Independence Day on August 14. The house, he said, also appreciated the support of the Director PSB Coaching Centre Gul Shad Khan and Director General NWFP Sports Board Maazullah Khan.
The house approved association shields for Prof Anwar Chowdhry, Aqil Shah and Abdul Jalil Mirza and coaches Syed Kamal, Itrat Nazir, Aamir Butt and Arshad Kaleem for their meritorious services in their respective fields.

volleyball series
Pakistan stun India with 3-1 comeback victory
Pakistan stunned India 3-1 on Thursday in the second match of the eight-match volleyball series, and levelled it 1-1.
In this fantastic match of the series held at the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Wah Cantt yesterday, Pakistan made a fine comeback by outclassing the balanced side of India in all departments of the game.
Needing a smart comeback in the series, the hosts started putting pressure on the opponents from the very first whistle. The spikers Naseer Ahmad, Kashif Mansoor and Sanaullah made full use of their fine skills and quite confused India through power spiking and aggressive display.
Pakistan won the first set at 25-22. In this set, the Indians also fought well, and especially the spiker Mandeep Singh unleashed some fiery spells of power spikes on the Pakistani defence.
Pakistan repeated their performance in the second set as well and clinched that at 25-21, taking a 2-0 lead.
However, in the third set, the visitors brought discipline in their ranks, and were successful to reduce the deficit to 1-2, as they gathered that set at 25-14. Pakistan�s blocking in this set proved to be weak.
The Indian spikers Lalit Kumar and Mandeep were remarkable in the game, who fully exploited the relaxed defence of Pakistan by power spiking. Their efforts were fully supplemented by the celebrated blocker Sube Singh, who foiled numerous attacks of the hosts quite skillfully.
After losing the third set, Pakistan were frightful in the fourth set and shattered the Indian defence with aggressive display throughout. Pakistan won this set at 25-13, winning the match 3-1.
The assistant coach of Pakistan Farooq Azam told �The News� after the match that his team made a fine comeback after a loss in the opener. He said �My team played an excellent game.�
India had defeated Pakistan with a similar margin of 3-1 in the opening match of the series that was held at Liaquat Gymnasium, Islamabad on June 26.
The teams would now clash with each other in the third Test of the series at Qayyum Stadium Peshawar tomorrow (Saturday).


Rizwan, Tahir win in Seniors tennis
Rizwan Shams trounced Akhtar while Tahir Gul outclassed Suhail Ahmed in the Third KC Bilal Brothers National Seniors Championship here on Thursday at the Karachi Club courts. Rizwan, without letting his opponent Akhtar gain a single point, registered a 6-0, 6-0 victory in their respective 35-plus match. Tahir was as impressive as Rizwan as he recorded a massive 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Suhail. Meanwhile, in 45-plus group match, Gul Hameed was awarded the victory against PTF joint secretary Khalid Rehmani. Gul had a 6-1 lead in the first set against Rehmani when the later retired from the match.

Pakistan handball team wins Iran event
The Pakistan handball team won the Second Beach Handball Championship which concluded on Thursday at Bandarabbas in Iran. In the four-day meet played on a league system, Pakistan took a stunning start by upsetting the fancied hosts, Iran, in sudden death. The Pakistan team which struck outstanding form and gave a splendid performance beat Japan with a clear margin of 30-18 goals in their last league match to win the title, said a spokesman of the Pakistan Handball Federation here. The Pakistan team comprised eight players and three officials. The team members were Tahir Ali (goalkeeper), Naseer Ahmed, Muhammad Nadeem, Manzoor Ahmed, Tariq Iqbal, Muhammad Sohaib, Babar Sultan and Muhammad Aziz. Rana Muhammad Javed Afzal accompanied the team as manager whereas Asim Rashid and Muhammad Imran were the coaches. The Pakistan team will return on June 30

PSF hires services of Australian Bewick
Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) has struck a two-year deal with Australia�s Steben Bewick to appoint him as national coach, a PSF official said here on Thursday.
PSF secretary, Maj Majid Wasim, told that Steben reached Islamabad on Wednesday and will start his duty soon.
He revealed his (Steben�s) services have been hired by the help of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and Pakistan Sports Trust (PST).
Steben would be dealing with major assignment such as preparing the national squad for the 11th South Asian Games, which would be held in Bangladesh in 2009.
Majid said the PSF is planning to bring talented youth into the main stream. He said Steben will also coach local coaches too so that they are capable of helping Pakistan swimming in coming years.
Steben will also have his work cut out in preparing the squad for the upcoming South Asian Swimming Championship, which be will be hosted by Pakistan in September.
Majid added that Steben, a former international swimmer, has a lot of coaching experience and has also been associated with the Australian national team and is a prominent figure of the Australian coaching organisation.
Majid further added that if Steben is able to make the team perform well, his tenure can further be extended.

Kashif upsets Shahroze to win Sindh Ranking Squash
Kashif Khan kept his best for the big occasion when he won the Karachi Club Sindh Seniors Ranking Squash Championship beating favourite Shahroze Khan 3-2 after a thrilling final, here at the KC centre-court on Thursday.
Fourth seed Kashif demonstrated superior court-craft and showed strong play in a pressure situation to carve out a 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-10 (2-0), 9-11, 11-9 victory in just under an hour�s see-saw contest.
An inspired Kashif of Karachi started well by picking the opening game 11-10 on a tie-breaker.
But Shahroze came back with a vengeance and snatched the second game with brilliant strokes, nicks and drops 11-6 to draw level.
The third game saw Shahroze in control and serving for the game at 10-7. However in a remarkable turnaround Kashif seized the game 11-10 on a two point tie-breaker.
Hyderabad�s Shahroze kept his reputation intact when he overpowered Kashif 11-9 in the fourth game to set up an exciting finish.
Kashif showed better tactical play and committed less unforced errors and that proved vital as he wrapped up the final set to seal victory.
Top seed Habiba Khan as expected won the women�s title after an interesting 9-6, 10-8, 9-7 win over Anam Aziz in a mere 20 minutes.
KC Convener Sports Muhammad Hanif presented the trophy and cash prize of Rs 5,000 to Kashif Khan while Shahroze got the runner-up trophy and Rs 2,800. Habiba Khan collected a trophy and Rs 2,500 prize money and Anam got Rs 1,400.
Secretary Sindh Squash Association Tahir Jamil Khanzada was also present on the occasion.

Mohsin Khan, Hamza Haroon new Junior Golf champions
Mohsin Khan of Sindh emerged as the champion in the under-21 category and Hamza Ali Haroon was the star in the under-18 event, after the conclusion of the National Junior Golf Championship at Islamabad Club�s challenging course on Thursday.
The event for the top juniors of the country produced ample twists and turns to upset quite a few reputed ones after three highly competitive rounds of golf, said the information provided here by the Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF).
It was a little agonising to see Ali Sher take so many tumbles on the final day. This young one with considerable ability lost his direction in the final go and the shot making was poor, indeed nervousness had taken over and as a result he lost strokes with gay abandon, his card of 85 yesterday leaving him devoid of honours.
Mohsin Khan of Sindh revelled in the conditions of the course and as he made his mark on the fairways through accurate hitting and superb putting, the glory of the championship was all his, the final round score of gross one under 71 was a very decent display of golfing skills and although his first round score of 83 was a poor one, he recovered through good back up rounds of 73 on the second day and 71 on the final day.
The final rounds score was earned through two birdies on holes 3 and 11, 15 pars and only one boggy, on the 5th hole.
In the under-21 category, five competitors who came into the final reckoning were Mohsin Khan (Sindh) 83+71=227, Abrar Ahmed (Sindh) 75+78+74=227, Ayaz Gul (Sindh) 75+76+77=228, Rafiq (Sindh) 84+74+71=229 and Muhammad Rehman (Punjab) 78+77+75=230.
The Under-18 years new champion Hamza Ali Haroon, who plays at the Islamabad Golf Club, was finally paid off for his routine daily practice and through a pleasing round of 71 on Wednesday, he secured the top position for himself by a wide margin of seven strokes over Wamiq Shakeel who ended up as runners-up.
Wamiq Shakeel�s performance in the last round was creditable and his gross par score of 72 helped to elevate him to the second slot, after he was placed 7th at the end of the second round.
The top five ones in the under-18 years age category, as announced by Col Zulfiqar Rana, member selection committee, were:
Hamza Ali Haroon (Federal) 79+25+71=225, Wamiq Shakeel (Punjab) 82+78+72=232, Naeem Khan (NWFP) 82+75+75=232, Kamran (Sindh) 85+76+74=235 and Salman Jehangir (Punjab) 81+76+79=236.
Taimur Hassan, Secretary Pakistan Golf Federation, seemed pleased with this talent hunt exercise. The top five in each age category will now go through a formal training programme to fine tune them into players of excellence. These accomplished ones will be paid a monthly scholarship of Rs 5,000 each.


Pakistan players want Carruthers back as bridge coach
Canada�s John Carruthers, who coached the Pakistan Open team on the eve the Peek Freans 14th Asia & Middle East Bridge Championships 2007, has been approached by the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF) to have another stint with the national team before the Bermuda Bowl World Championship to be held in China later this year.
Tariq Rasheed Khan, Honorary Secretary, PBF, informed �The News� here on Thursday, that Carruthers, a Canadian bridge international, has been contacted upon the recommendation of the members of the Pakistan�s Open team who were quite satisfied with his methods of coaching.
�Apart from John Carruthers, the Open team will also be coached for a week or so by one of our own leading players, Munir Ataullah who is widely acclaimed as one of the experts in the modern bidding system,� Tariq Rasheed revealed.
The Pakistan Open team comprising of Abdul Rahman Allana, Jan-e-Alam Fazli, Javed Ahmed, Tahir Masood, Rasheed Jaffer and Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan has been described a wonderful blend of youth of experience by Carruthers.
The Toronto-based Carruthers, who is the editor of the International Bridge Press Association (IBPA) Bulletin, had appeared quite confident before leaving that the Pakistan Open team would be making it to the final of the 14th Asia & Middle East Bridge Championships 2007 to earn them a slot in this year�s Bermuda Bowl World Championship to be staged in China.
Carruthers, having captained Canada�s Open and Women teams in the various international events, was proved correct when the Allana-led Open team not only reached the final but gave the fancied Indians, the eventual champions, a run for their money in the final.
Carruthers, who has been playing in the prestigious American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) for a number of years, had expressed his total satisfaction with the level of commitment shown by his team in the training sessions, held under his supervision, leading to the 14th Asia & Middle East Bridge Championships 2007.
Allana�s team had earned the right to represent Pakistan in the Open event of the 14th Asia & Middle East Bridge Championships 2007 after emerging triumphant in the national trials earlier this year.

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PHF looking to fix Test matches for national junior squad
National hockey officials are trying to fix a series of Test matches for their junior team after it was axed from an eight-nation youth tournament to be played in Germany in August.
A Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) official said on Saturday that the federation is trying to get some matches for the national Under-21 squad against a few leading hockey teams later this year in a bid to give the colts international exposure.
He said that the PHF has written to several countries for Test matches for the junior squad but is still awaiting their responses.
Pakistan were omitted from the list of participants of a major international junior hockey tournament in Germany after the PHF failed to reconfirm their team�s participation in the tournament.
The organisers of the eight-nation junior hockey tournament replaced Pakistan with Poland after failing to get a reconfirmation from the PHF. The event is scheduled to be held from August 6 to 12.
The PHF has now written to the German officials to re-enter Pakistan in the list of participants. The teams scheduled to take part in the event include hosts Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Korea and India
The organisers of the German hockey tournament have told the PHF that they would only be able to re-include Pakistan in the list of participants in case any competing team decides to withdraw from the event.
The eight-nation tournament in Germany was supposed to be Pakistan Juniors� biggest international assignment of the year.
The Pakistanis are currently aiming to prepare a solid squad that regain the Junior World Cup title in 2009.
Pakistan began as one of the title favourites in the previous edition of the Junior World Cup in Holland in 2005 but flopped miserably in the event, finishing a disappointing fifth position.
Earlier this year, the PHF appointed a new team management for the national junior team headed by team manager Jahangir Butt, a former Olympian.
Butt is confident that he and fellow team officials cane prepare a good team for the Junior World Cup but says that his boys will need ample international exposure to come at par with the world�s best teams.

Pakistan can pick and choose: Secretary PHF
The secretary of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Khalid Mahmood said on Wednesday that �teams can pick and choose to participate in or skip any event for reasons suiting them.�
The PHF secretary was referring to Pakistan�s non participation in the Asian Cup Hockey Tournament to be held in Chennai in September in which top hockey nations from across the continent are taking part.
The PHF Secretary told Voice of America �Asia Cup was not an important event for Pakistan� while justifying to skip the competition for the first time.
Some observers fear that such attitude cannot only isolate Pakistan from international hockey but can well provide justification for foreign teams to refuse to participate in any event taking place in Pakistan either on security grounds or other reasons.
Responding to a question regarding Australian and other teams� participation in the Champions Trophy to be held in Lahore in December, Khalid Mahmood said, �According to media reports the danger of Australia�s non-participation is there but the PHF has not yet been officially communicated anything in this regard,� he added

National U-13 footballers win cash awards
The national under-13 football team was honoured with cash prizes on Saturday for its wonderful performance in the AFC Under-13 Football Festival held at the BKSP Institute of Sports Dhaka in May this year.
In this connection a colourful ceremony was held on Saturday at the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Secretariat Lahore during which the President of the federation Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat was the chief guest.
Each player and official of the squad was given away Rs 50,000. The cash prizes for the Under-13 team was announced by the federation a few days after the team finished fourth in the event in which twelve teams from Asia had participated.
In the festival, Iran had emerged victorious, followed by Tajikistan, the hosts Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and The Maldives.
During the five-days, Pakistan had won five matches, lost to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but did enough to earn draw against winners Iran and Kyrgystan. Pakistan scored 16 goals in the event while conceded just seven in the process. The defender Yaqoob from Karachi was also given a special prize of Rs 20,000 for his excellent work in the back field during the festival.

The players and officials who received the cash prizes included �

Goalkeepers: Isanullah (Karachi), Wahab Mehmood (Lahore), Defenders: Awais Anwar (Nowshera), Adeel Khalid, Muhammad Sajid, Maaz Akbar (Faisalabad), Rasool Bux (Quetta), Hassan Salim (Lahore), Asif, Yaqoob (Karachi), Midfielders Muhammad Salman, Mudassir Mukhtiar, Hafiz Ahmad Nisar (Lahore), Fahim Shah, Abdul Waheed, Irfan (Karachi), Strikers: Ahmad Fahim (Khanewal), Waleed Hameed (Peshawar), Muhammad Naveed, Zain Ul Islam (Lahore), Hassan Khan (Sialkot), Muhammad Ikram (Faisalabad).

34th floodlit National Kabaddi Championship
In the 34th floodlit National Kabaddi Championship, teams of the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Airforce and Punjab have won their matches.
Provincial minister for communications Chaudhry Zaheeruddin and nazim Sahiwal Rai Hasan inaugurated the championship at Rai Ali Nawaz Stadium of Chichawatni.
The Higher Education Commission defeated NWFP by 61-44 points, Pakistan Railways beat Islamabad 63-43, Pakistan Airforce humbled Sindh 44-22.

Pakistan beat India, leading volleyball series 2-1
Pakistan defeated India to take the lead by 2-1 in the third match of the 8-Test volleyball series.
In the third match, played in Peshawar, India won the first set 25-22 but after losing the first set, the Pakistani players put the Indians in pressure. They won the second set 26-24 and then also beat India in the third set 25-22.
Later, winning the fourth set 25-20, Pakistan defeated India 3-1 in the third match to take the lead 2-1 in the series.
From Pakistan, Naseer, Irfanullah, Kashif and Mohib displayed brilliant performance in the match.

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National hockey team to leave for Moscow tomorrow
Pakistan hockey team is leaving here tomorrow (Tuesday) for Russia to take part in 4-Nation Hockey tournament being played in Moscow from July 5.
Pakistan, Ukraine, Scotland and hosts Russia are the participating teams of the four-day event. Pakistan will play their opening match against Ukraine on July 5.The final will be played on July 8 and the team will return home on July 9, said a spokesman of Pakistan Hockey Federation on Monday.
Following is the squad: Salman Akbar, Ahsanullah, Imran Warsi, Imran Khan Yousuafzai, Muhammad Imran, Rana Muhammad Asif, Rehan Butt (Captain), Yasir Islam, Shakeel Abbasi, Tariq Aziz, Akhtar Ali, Nasir Ahmed, Kashif Ali, Waqas Zafar, Majid Khan, Muhammad Waqas Sharif, Shabbir Khan and Arshad Ahmed

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2 teams of Punjab in National Under-15 Football C�ship semi-finals
Both teams of Punjab have reached the semi-finals of the sixth National Under-15 Football Championship.
In the first quarter-finals of the event, being played in Khanewal, defending champions Punjab Red faced tough resistance from Crown Club of the host city. However, they succeeded in winning the match in extra time by 1-0.
In the second quarter-finals, Punjab Green defeated Wohaib Club of Lahore 2-0.


Pakistan to play Russia today in 4-nation hockey
Pakistan will play against Russia today in the inaugural match of the four-nation hockey tournament.
Pakistan has the fifth position in the world ranking whereas Russia is placed at 41.
Forward Shakeel Abbasi has returned in the Pakistan team.
Manager-coach of the Pakistan team Islahuddin said that all players of the team are fit and will try to gain psychological supremacy over other participating teams by winning their first match with a huge margin.
He said that though Russia is on very lower level in ranking but we will not consider any team an easy rival.
Teams of Scotland and Ukraine are also participating in the four-nation tournament.


Army leading in Governor Gold Cup Swimming C'ship
The Pakistan Army is leading for all three days so far in All Pakistan Governor Gold Cup Swimming Championship, being played in Peshawar.
Ali Sher of Pakistan Army won the gold medal by crossing the fixed distance in 20 minutes and 2.6 seconds of the 1500 metre free style.

Naik Mansoor Ali of Army crossed the fixed distance in five minutes and 35.15 seconds in the 400 metre individual medley event and won the gold medal.

Waheed Ali, a swimmer of Pakistan Army won the gold medal in the final of the 100 metre back stroke event.

Farman Israr of Pakistan WAPDA succeeded in 50 metre breast stroke. He crossed the fixed distance in 33.42 seconds.

The positions after third day of the contests were: Pakistan Army first, Pakistan WAPDA second and Punjab third.


No Pakistani in top-20 in world squash rankings
No Pakistani player was placed in top-20 in squash rankings announced for the month of July by the Cardiff-based Professional Squash Association (PSA).
There are just six Pakistani players in the top-100 international squash rankings.
Peshawar �s Mansoor Zaman has retained his No 24 position in the list and remains Pakistan�s highest-ranked player on the international circuit ahead of another Peshawar-based player Aamir Atlas Khan (29).
Former Pakistan number one Shahid Zaman remains on No 40 while the other Pakistani players in the top 100 are Farhan Mehboob (68), Shamsul Islam Khan (85) and Bilal Zaman (98).
Peshawar�s Majid Khan had slipped out of the top 100 after experiencing a slump because of indifferent form this season. He drops from 92 to 101 in the new list.
Meanwhile, Egypt players continue to dominate in the international rankings as the country has five players in the top-15 club.
Egypt �s Amr Shabana moves into his 16th successive month at the top of the list. Since first heading the world list in April 2006, the 27-year-old from Cairo has won five PSA Super Series titles, bringing his career Tour title total to 16.
Teenage compatriot Ramy Ashour holds his place at No2 behind Shabana � the 19-year-old from Cairo having picked up four PSA Tour titles this year.
In an unchanged top 20, Australia�s World Open champion David Palmer is at three, ahead of Frenchmen Gregory Gaultier in fourth place and Thierry Lincou at No 5.

2 teams of Punjab in National Under-15 Football C�ship semi-finals
Both teams of Punjab have reached the semi-finals of the sixth National Under-15 Football Championship.
In the first quarter-finals of the event, being played in Khanewal, defending champions Punjab Red faced tough resistance from Crown Club of the host city. However, they succeeded in winning the match in extra time by 1-0.
In the second quarter-finals, Punjab Green defeated Wohaib Club of Lahore 2-0.


Army leading Governor Gold Cup Swimming C�ship
The Pakistan Army is leading for all three days so far in All Pakistan Governor Gold Cup Swimming Championship, being played in Peshawar.
Ali Sher of Pakistan Army won the gold medal by crossing the fixed distance in 20 minutes and 2.6 seconds of the 1500 metre free style.
Naik Mansoor Ali of Army crossed the fixed distance in five minutes and 35.15 seconds in the 400 metre individual medley event and won the gold medal.
Waheed Ali, a swimmer of Pakistan Army won the gold medal in the final of the 100 metre back stroke event.
Farman Israr of Pakistan WAPDA succeeded in 50 metre breast stroke. He crossed the fixed distance in 33.42 seconds.
The positions after third day of the contests were: Pakistan Army first, Pakistan WAPDA second and Punjab third.

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Pak umpire Haider completes umpiring in 20 international hockey matches
Pakistani hockey umpire Haider Rasool who officiated in three matches of a 4-Nation hockey tournament here has completed 20 international matches in his just began career.
Haider, who started umpiring in March 2005, was promoted as an international umpire after supervising his first hockey match in Malaysia during a 6-Nation tournament.
He was among the five umpires deputed by International Hockey Federation to officiate in the event, which was participated by Pakistan, Scotland, Ukraine, and host Russia. He was given three matches which speak about his professional abilities and the reputation he is building as a good umpire.
� For me it was a big honour to stand as umpire in three matches and I am thankful to Allah Almighty for helping me in completing my first 20 international matches �, he told APP here on Sunday after supervising a classification match between Russia and Ukarine.
Haider said at the moment Faizi Mohammad Faizi is only one umpire in FIH World Development Panel and he would be retiring this December after reaching retirement age of 47.

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Aisam reaches Newport quarter-finals
Pakistani qualifier Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi continued to impress on Wednesday, booking a quarter-final berth in the 416,000-dollar Tennis Hall of Fame Championships.
Aisam, ranked 214th in the world, opened his campaign in the grass-court tournament with a bang, eliminating top seed Mardy Fish in straight sets. On Wednesday, he followed up with a 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-4 victory over Nathan Healey of Australia.
Unseeded Dick Norman of Belgium awaits Aisam in the quarter-finals after ousting eighth-seeded Michael Berrer of Germany 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6). This will be the first meeting between the two.
Second-seeded American Vince Spadea bidding to return to the final here after a first-round ouster last year, advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 second-round victory over Chile�s Paul Capdeville.
Spadea reached the final here in 2005 before falling to Greg Rusedski of Britain. However, he followed up that effort with a disappointing opening-round exit here last year, losing to fellow American Robert Kendrick in three sets.
Next up for Spadea is South African veteran Wesley Moodie, who beat Roko Karanusic of Croatia 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
The final match of the first round was also completed on Wednesday as fourth-seeded Fabrice Santoro of France defeated Alexander Peya of Austria 6-4, 6-1.
Santoro will meet unseeded Frank Dancevic of Canada in the second round. The two have faced each other only once, with Santoro earning a straight-sets hard-court victory at Toronto in 2002.

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Hazara Gold Cup Hockey Tournament: PHF names technical officials
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Wednesday named a panel of technical officials for the smooth conduct of the All Pakistan Hazara Gold Cup Hockey Tournament to be held in Abbotabad from July 26 to August 1.
Pervaiz Aslam Kiyani from Rawalpindi will be the tournament director while Zaheer-ul-Haque, also from Rawalpindi, will be the tournament officer. The second tournament officer will be appointed locally and the same rule will apply for the appointment of judges. Former Olympian Fazal-ur-Rehman from Abbottabad will be the organising secretary and Mohammad Jameel Butt of Pakistan Army has been given the task of umpires� manager.

Umpires: Zulfiqar Haider (Police), Dilawar Bhatti (WAPDA), Mohammad Mushtaq (WAPDA), Munawar Hussain (PTCL), Khawaja Naveed (Rawalpindi), Ehsan-ul-Haque Babar (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Anwar (Army), Naveed Asghar (Faisalabad), Mubashir Naeem (Faisalabad), Mubarik Ali (Gujranwala). The PHF has directed the umpires to report at Abbotabad on July 24 while the technical briefing will be held at the stadium on July 25 at 1400 hours


Former Olympian describes Moscow victory as a ray of hope
Former Pakistan hockey captain Rasheedul Hasan has termed national team title victory in a four-nation tournament in Moscow a ray of hope and step forward for rebuilding the team. �The victory comes at a time when hockey is under thick clouds of disappointment and it has given a hope that we can make efforts for a come back to be among world�s top teams,� he told this agency here on Wednesday.

He said knowing the fact that lowly ranked teams participated in the tournament it does not mean that it was easy competition for a Pakistan team that comprised many new players. �We should look into the positive aspects that what we have gained and what we need to improve and how to maintain consistency because Pakistan hockey needs lot more efforts and hard work to be at top,� said Rasheed, a former half line player known for his agility and sprint.

�In today�s modern hockey, which mainly revolves around speed, stamina and fitness, all the teams have a common playing pattern and there is less difference among the top teams and remaining teams due to competitiveness,� he asserted. Rasheed said all the team members and management deserved praise for the victory and they must continue their endeavour to do further better in the coming assignment in Beijing next month. app



'No place for Sohail, Waseem, Saqlain in national team'
Karachi, July 12 (PTI): Accusing the trio of Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Saqlain and Waseem Ahmed of "deserting the team", the Pakistan Hockey Federation has said it would not consider them for selection despite the side struggling in their absence.

The Federation is still unwilling to forgive the three stalwarts for preferring to play in professional leagues in Europe instead of their national team.

Chief selector Khawaja Zakauddin said although Pakistan was struggling to achieve good results at the moment, recalling the three seniors was not an option.

However Zakauddin, himself a former Pakistan captain, said any decision on recalling them could only be taken by the PHF president.

"The president can pardon them for their indiscipline and insensitive behavour. He has the authority to take a decision. Until he gives an all clear, we can't consider them despite our problems," he said.

Sources within the Federation say a lobby has been pushing PHF chief Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to pardon Abbas and company and give them another chance to play for the country.

But Jamali remains adamant and has still not forgiven them.

Sohail, the game's highest goalscorer, and one of the best penalty corner specialists in history, and midfielders Waseem and Saqlain were shunned last year after they chose to play league hockey instead of representing Pakistan at the Doha Asian Games.