Sports Reporter ISLAMABAD:-Team Asean edged out PAF/Jubilee Life Insurance by a narrow margin of 7-6 to win the subsidiary final of the Islamabad Gladiators Polo Trophy 2022 here at the Islamabad Club Polo Ground on Saturday. The thrilling match saw both the teams, Asean and PAF/Jubilee Life Insurance, matching fire-with-fire till the end and when the final whistle after the fourth chukker was blown, the match was tied at 6-6. It was then decided in the fifth (sudden death) chukker, where Haider Asad hammered the match-winning goal to steer Team Asean to a nail-biting 7-6 victory.  With his significant contribution of three tremendous goals, Haider Asad emerged as hero of the match. He was superb with mallet and polo pony and kept on attacking the opponents’ goals that helped him shine and thrash in three goals. His teammates Bauti Fenell and Raja Jalal Arslan also played out their hearts and banged in a brace each.  The players of PAF/Jubilee Life Insurance also gave tough competition to the winning side as all of them showed their class throughout the crucial match and succeeded in converting superb six goals. Hamza Mawaz Khan was in sublime form as he fired in four fantastic goals while sensational Syed Aun Muhammad Rizvi thrashed in two goals but their excellent efforts were futile as they couldn’t finish the match well in the sudden death chukker, thus losing the subsidiary final by just a one-goal margin of 6-7.  On Sunday, the main final of the Islamabad Gladiators Polo Trophy 2022 will be played between Team BN Polo and Kalabagh/Shahtaj at 4:30 pm. Team BN Polo consists of Haider Naseem, Baber Naseem, Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Eulogio while Team Kalabagh/Shahtaj includes Sheikh Adil Waheed, Asfandyar Khan, Raja Temur Nadeem and Guy Gibrat.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-President, Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) Major General (Retd) Mohammad Akram Sahi visited the national athletics training camp at Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Coaching Center Lahore. The camp is organized for 90 days in the collaboration with PSB aiming to train the national players for upcoming international events including 14th South Asian Games, which will be taken place in Pakistan next year 2023. According to an official of AFP, Sixty (60) national athletes (male) and coaches from all affiliated units of the federation are attending the training camp which has been organized to prepare national Athletes for the forthcoming 14th South Asian Games and other international athletics fixtures. Rana Nasrullah Director PSB is the camp commandant and he is supervising athlete training activities being implemented by the camp coaches.  Major General (Retd) Mohammad Akram Sahi, President AFP, who is also Vice President Asian Athletics Association and Chairman South Asian Athletics Federation, visited the camp facility and analyzed the different aspects of this preparatory athletics camp. He appreciated the newly renovated facilities and balanced diet being served to the participants. He advised the athletes and coaches to adopt training techniques based upon scientific research, as this method would produce the desired results. President AFP cautioned the athletes and coaches to avoid the use of performance enhancing drugs which is unlawful and punishable under AFP and WADA laws. He stated that these illegal drugs are detrimental for human health and cause irreversible damage to athletes who use them. It is unfortunate that recently athletes from other national Federations were caught and banned by WADA for doping. It was also decided that National trials for all athletics events will be held on 26-27 April 2022 at Punjab Stadium, Lahore. The purpose of trails is to select the athletes for upcoming international athletics events including 2nd Imam Reza Cup Tournament, which is scheduled from May 29-30, 2022 at Mashhad, Iran.

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-As many as 16 teams will take part in the Inter-Club Basketball Tournament that will be kicked off from Sunday (April 17, 2022) at Multipurpose Sports Center F-6 Islamabad regarding the Ramadan Sports Festival under the banner of Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Municipal Corporation Islamabad (MCI) in the collaboration with Federal Basketball Association (FBA). According to secretary FBA Ouj-e-Zahoor, 16 teams will fight for top honour during the 5-day fixture, as 16 teams have been divided into four pools while top two from each group will move into next round. President FBA, Ejaz Rafi Butt will be chief guest at the opening ceremony. Also top officials of CDA, MCI and FBA will attend the opening ceremony. Teams' Pools: Pool (A): Bulls, Timber Wolves, Jaguars, Rawal Champ Pool (B): Raptors Red, Reapers, Dynamites, Lycans Pool (C): United Kings, Thunders, Raptors White, Bahria Wolves Pool (D): SA Gardner, Generals, Dementors, Ball Magicians     Schedule of Day-1 fixtures: United Kings vs Thunders Jaguars vs Rawal Champ SA Gardener vs Ball Magicians Raptors Red vs Dynamites Bulls vs Timber Wolves Raptors vs Bahria Wolves

BIPIN DANI Former Nepal captain Gyanendra Malla received the highest civilian award in his country. The 31-year-old top order right-hand batter received this "Prabal Janasewa Shree Award from Government of Nepal this week. Speaking exclusively over the telephone, he said, "I would like to thank the Nepal Government for honoring me with this award. I am feeling really proud and honored". "It's always a great feeling that the Government puts value and recognizes my effort and contribution for Nepal as a cricketer for more than 17 years with the highest civilian award". "This is one of the biggest achievements of my life. Proudest moment for me and my family", he added. Paras Khadka, Somnath Kami were among the other cricketer-recipients of this award in the past. Sandeep Lamichhane had recently replaced Gyanendra Malla as Nepal captain.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland: India ended their home stint in perfect fashion taking all 6 points available from the two games against Germany. It was a different script from the game last night as Germany learned from their performance last night and limited India’s penalty corner attempts to just 3 all game. But it was the Indian youngsters who also lifted their game, with young Sukhjeet and Abhishek scoring a goal apiece from the field, to go with a Varun Kumar drag flick goal from a penalty corner, that gave India enough of a lead to see out the game without too much discomfort. Before the match started India’s coach Graham Reid said he was pleased with the result last night but the team would not be taking their opponents lightly as they viewed the final two games of their home leg as a semi-final and a final, so we would not see them take it easy against their relatively less experienced opponents. German coach Andre Henning was also pleased with his young team's performance last game as they created opportunities and hung around in the contest until the final quarter and hoped his team would convert any chances that fell their way today. Both teams played out the game as per their coaches’ instructions, with India trying to impose their will early, while the Germans played more aggressively, harrying the Indian midfield, that was largely untroubled in the first game. India still managed to create early chances, primarily through some great work by Manpreet, where twice he worked his way into the German circle and his pass only needed a touch to open the scoring for India. But Akashdeep and Sukhjeet both couldn’t get their sticks to the crosses and the teams went into the quarter break tied at 0-0. India came out stronger in the 2nd quarter, much as they did last evening after a goalless first fifteen. They threatened to open the scoring through Moirangthem who found acres of space on the right side of the circle after some good switch play by India caught Germany out, but his shot/cross deflected out off a German stick before it could threaten the German keeper. India finally made the pressure pay though, as a long corner saw some great work by a combination of Hardik, Manpreet and Nilakanta. Nilakanta then sent a fast pass towards the goal and Sukhjit smartly got ahead of Danneberg to deflect the ball in. Germany started to get on the front foot towards the end of the first half, but they could only muster one shot on target, that did not trouble Krishan Pathak too much, and he saved to maintain India’s lead heading into the second half. Graham Reid once again spoke at half time about missed opportunities and wanted his team to convert more of the chances they were creating, and his team didn’t let him down. 10 minutes into the 3rd quarter Lalit showed great skill to run into the German circle and baited the German defence into fouling him, winning India their first penalty corner of the game. It was Varun Kumar who took on the corner instead of Harmanpreet, and he showcased the depth India has in that department by blasting a low flick to the left bottom corner of the goal, giving India the 2-goal cushion they desperately desired. Germany were not quick to give-in though, and a great run into the Indian circle from the left baseline by Smith, forced Sreejesh to come charging out and Smith reversed the ball to Boeckel who had an empty goal to slot the ball into, right at the end of the 3rd quarter, setting up a wonderful finish to the game. India retreated a bit in the 4th quarter allowing Germany to commit numbers into attack. The strategy worked wonders for them as it opened up space behind the tight German mid-field and the dangerous Indian counter attacks started catching the German defenders out. India finally managed to convert one of their counter attacks into a goal as a long pass by Harmanpreet found the lively Abhishek at the top of the German circle, and his quick reverse hit was strong and perfectly placed into the corner of the German goal, leaving the otherwise excellent keeper Danneberg with no chance of stopping it. India finished off the last 5 minutes of the game with minimum fuss, except for one penalty corner that was won by the tireless German captain Zwicker. Krishan Pathak pulled off a stunning save on the resulting flick to keep India’s two goal lead intact and allowed them to play the final 2 minutes out with relative ease. The win gives India a 10-point lead at the top of the table, but as coach Reid pointed out before the game, India have played more matches than any other team, so the points buffer at the top is something they wanted to increase with this game and have successfully managed it with 6 points out of 6 taken against Germany.

Sports Reporter ISLAMABAD:-Team BN Polo have qualified for the main final of the Islamabad Gladiators Polo Trophy 2022 after outsmarting Kalabagh by 12-4 in a match played here at the Islamabad Club Polo Ground on Friday. Now the main final will be contested on Sunday and Team BN Polo will clash against Kalabagh/Shahtaj for the main title while the subsidiary final will be played tomorrow (Saturday) between Team Asean and PAF/Jubilee Life Insurance at the Islamabad Club Polo Ground.  On Friday, the crucial match was played between Team BN Polo and Team Kalabagh, which proved a one-sided affair as the former dominated the entire match and didn’t allow their opponents to score more goals, thus winning the encounter with a good margin of 12-4.  Foreign player Eulogio played key role in BN Polo’s triumph as he showed his class and level throughout the match and amused the spectators with his excellent mallet and pony work and hammered superb seven goals. His teammates Baber Naseem and Ahmed Ali Tiwana also did magic with mallet and contributed with two tremendous goals while Haider Naseem also converted one for the winning side.  Team Kalabagh also displayed quality polo but they couldn’t match the pace and venom of Team BN Polo and conceded so many goals, thus losing the encounter with a huge margin of 4-12. Maisam Baloch and Malik Salaar were the only players from the losing side, who converted one goal each while they also had two goals handicap advantage.  The enthralling and exciting match was witnessed and enjoyed by a good number of polo lovers, Islamabad Club officials, polo players and their families. Now the subsidiary final and main final will be played on Saturday (April 16) and Sunday (April 17) that will surely be very tough and challenging ones and the team, which will play better play on the given day, succeed in earning the honours. 

Sports Bulletin Report LONDON:-Joe Root has today stepped down as England Men's Test Captain. Root holds the record for the most number of matches and wins as England Men's Test Captain. His 27 victories put him ahead of Michael Vaughan (26), Sir Alastair Cook, and Sir Andrew Strauss (24 each). After being appointed as Sir Alastair Cook's successor in 2017, Root led the side to a number of famous series victories, including a 4-1 home series win over India in 2018 and a 3-1 triumph away to South Africa in 2020. In 2018 he became the first England Men's Captain to win a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2001, a feat he went on to repeat with a 2-0 victory in Sri Lanka in 2021. He is already England’s second highest Test run scorer of all time behind only Cook and scored 14 centuries as Captain. His tally of 5,295 runs as skipper is the highest by any England Captain and puts him 5th in the all-time list behind only Graeme Smith, Alan Border, Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli. Joe Root, said: “After returning from the Caribbean tour and having time to reflect, I have decided to step down as England Men’s Test Captain. It has been the most challenging decision I have had to make in my career but having discussed this with my family and those closest to me; I know the timing is right. "I am immensely proud to have captained my country and will look back on the past five years with enormous pride. It has been an honour to have done the job and to have been a custodian of what is the pinnacle of English cricket. "I have loved leading my country, but recently it's hit home how much of a toll it has taken on me and the impact it has had on me away from the game. "I want to take this opportunity to thank my family, Carrie, Alfred and Bella, who have lived it all with me and been incredible pillars of love and support throughout. I thanked all of the players, coaches and supporting staff that helped me during my tenure. It has been a great privilege to have been with them on this journey. "I would also like to thank all the England supporters for their unwavering support. We are lucky to have the best fans in the world, and wherever we play, that positivity is something we always cherish and admire, which is a huge drive for all of us out there. "I am excited to continue representing the Three Lions and producing performances that will enable the team to succeed. I look forward to helping the next Captain, my teammates and coaches in whatever way I can." Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer said: “Joe has been an exceptional role model during his tenure, balancing the demands of Test captaincy whilst continuing to shine brilliantly through his own personal performances. He has led by example, and that has resulted in more Men's Test wins than any other England Captain, alongside a number of famous series home and away victories. “Joe’s leadership qualities were exemplified by how he led the team through some of the most difficult and uncertain times we have known, playing during the pandemic all over the world, which speaks volumes for him as a leader and as a person. “I know that every single person who has played or worked under Joe’s captaincy will speak of his integrity and humility as a person, as much as his determination and example as a leader. “Off the field, Joe has been no different. It has been a privilege and a huge pleasure to have worked with him in his capacity as our Men's Test Captain, and I know he’ll continue to drive English cricket forward as a senior player, offering his wealth of experience and advice to support his successor.”

Ali Ahmed LAHORE:-Pakistan men’s national cricket team is scheduled to play seven Tests, 17 ODIs and a minimum of 25 T20Is in the next 12 months as the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed and unveiled their upcoming international commitments. The seven ICC World Test Championship fixtures will be against three opponents – Sri Lanka (2), England (3) and New Zealand (2) – while the 12 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches will be versus West Indies, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and New Zealand (three each). In the shortest format of the game, Pakistan men’s side will feature in the ACC Asia Cup T20 in August/September and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022 from 15 October to 15 November where they are guaranteed a minimum of five T20Is each. Outside the two events, their other T20Is will be against England (seven), West Indies (three) and New Zealand (five). New Zealand, in addition to the five ODIs in April 2023, will also play five T20Is. The women’s national side have a demanding but exciting and challenging 12 months, which will provide them more opportunities to improve and excel as well as to showcase their talent and potential to the world. The women’s side will feature in three ICC Women’s Championship series matches against Sri Lanka, Ireland (both home) and Australia (away), the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the 19th Asian Games in Guangzhou, the ACC Women’s T20 Cup (venue TBC), the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2023 South Africa and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 South Africa. In addition to this, Pakistan women will take on Ireland and Australia in a triangular T20 series in Belfast in the lead up to the Birmingham Games. At this stage, Pakistan Shaheens’ participation in the 19th Asian Games is confirmed, though efforts are being made to add a few more series for the Shaheens so that there are more opportunities for players who are knocking at the doors of the national side. While there is more international cricket for the men’s and women’s sides as compared to the 2021-22 season, Pakistan is set to host more international cricket in the coming season. West Indies, England and New Zealand men’s sides will tour Pakistan twice each, while Sri Lanka and Ireland women will visit Pakistan in May/June and October/November. This exciting and back-to-back international cricket will be in addition to the 2022-23 domestic cricket season, which will run concurrently to the international season. In the 2021-22 season, the PCB delivered 314 matches in 12 tournaments between September 2021 and April 2022. Pakistan international commitments (May 2022 to April 2023): 24 May - 5 June - Sri Lanka Women in Karachi (3 ODIs & 3 T20Is) 5-12 June - West Indies Men in Rawalpindi (3 ODIs) Jul-Aug - Pakistan Men to Sri Lanka (2 Tests & 3 ODIs) 12-24 Jul - Pakistan Women to Belfast for tri-series (4T20Is) 25 Jul-8 Aug - Pakistan Women for Birmingham Commonwealth Games (7 T20Is) Aug – Pakistan Men to Netherlands (three ODIs) 1-17 Sept – Pakistan Men to Sri Lanka for ACC T20 Cup (5 T20Is) 10-25 Sep – Pakistan Women and Pakistan Shaheens to Gangzhou, China, for 19th Asia Games Sep-Oct – England Men to Pakistan (7 T20Is) Oct - ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup (8 T20Is, venue TBC) 15 Oct-15 Nov - ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia, (5 T20Is) 30 Oct-19 Nov - Ireland Women to Lahore/Karachi (3 ODIs & 3 T20Is) Nov-Dec - England Men to Pakistan (3 Tests) Dec-Jan - New Zealand Men to Pakistan (2 Tests & 3 ODIs) 4 Jan-1 Feb - Pakistan Women to Australia (3 ODIs & 3 T20Is) Jan - West Indies Men to Pakistan (3 T20Is) Jan-Feb - ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, South Africa 2-26 Feb - ICC Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa Apr-May – New Zealand Men to Pakistan (5 ODIs & 5 T20Is)

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Alex Gilady passed away at the age of 79, as the IOC expressed its deepest sympathies to Alex Gilady’s family. As a mark of respect, the Olympic flag will be flown at half-mast at Olympic House in Lausanne for three days. A pioneer of television at the Olympic Games, he was first a sports commentator (1968), then Head of Sports (1975), Special Operations (1977), Vice President (1981-1996) and Senior Vice President of NBC Sports, the longstanding Olympic Rights-Holding Broadcaster in the United States of America. His contribution to Olympic broadcasting was recognised by the IOC with his appointment in 1984 to the Radio and Television Commission (in which he stayed until 2015), and 10 years later with his election as an IOC Member. IOC President Thomas Bach said: “With the passing of Alex Gilady we are losing a pioneer of the modern Olympic Movement, particularly in regard to broadcasting, but also far beyond that. He has always stood up for the Olympic values, often when sometimes the situation was not easy for him. “We all appreciated his open personality and his frank way of speaking even if we did not always agree, because with Alex we always knew that he was speaking from the heart.  He was always a genuine person.” President Bach added: “In Alex I have lost a dear friend who advised, inspired and supported me in many respects. In fact, it was Alex who convinced me in 1996 to run for a seat on the  Executive Board for the first time. Since then, he has always been at my side. Above all, he was a great man and a wonderful friend.” Recently, as Vice-Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Gilady established excellent relationships with some of the key members of the Organising Committee. This paved the way to finding solutions for the many issues that had to be addressed, particularly around the unprecedented postponement of the Games. In this role, he made full use of all his experience in the Coordination Commissions for the previous four Olympic Games – Athens 2004 (1998-2004), Beijing 2008 (2002-2008), London 2012 (2005-2012) and Rio 2016 (2010-2016) – and, since 2017, he was already deploying this as part of the Coordination Commission for Paris 2024. Gilady was also a member of the Board of Directors of Olympic Channel Services S.L., Spain (2015-2022) and other IOC commissions, namely International Relations (2014-2015), Public Affairs and Social Development through Sport (2015-2022) and Communications (2015-2022). Following a playing career in second and third division football and basketball, he moved on to take up more roles in sports administration as Chairman of the Television Commission at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF, now World Athletics) between 1985 and 2008 (after which he retired and became Honorary Chairman for life), and Chairman of the TV Council at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) between 2004 and 2019.  Educated at the Naval College, Mevo'ot Yam, Michmoret, in 2007 Gilady was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy by Haifa University, also in Israel. The vast majority of his many awards, though, came from his work in television, in which he was also the founder, President and CEO of Keshet Broadcasting Ltd, a commercial television franchise in Israel, from 1993 to 1999. He took over the Presidency of Keshet Broadcasting again in 2005, a position he occupied until 2017. Gilady was the recipient of seven Emmy Academy Awards for the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Salt Lake City 2002, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012; and an Award for Best Journalistic Story with the subject “The Sea” in 1970.

Sports Reporter ISLAMABAD:-Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has hired the services of two foreign coaches to train the taekwondo players in the camp, which is going on in the premises of Pakistan Sports Complex aiming to upgrade the game skills of players. According to an official of PSB, Pakistan players will participate in the two international events including Asian Games 2022 and South Asian Games 2023 in Pakistan. "Two coaches one from South Korea and one from Iran have been hired to train players. We want to maximize our chances of winning the medals in taekwondo we are putting all resources to achieve our aim. As many as 52 players are taking part in the camp, “official added. President, Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF), Col (Retd) Wasim Ahmed Janjua told this reporter that one coach was hired by ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) while the services of other coach was provided by Korean government, Kukkiwon and Korean Embassy in Islamabad on the request of PTF. “Taekwondo is not part of Commonwealth Games 2022. However, it is part of Olympics, Asian Games, Islamic Games, Indoor Martial Art Games and Youth Games, “he concluded.