Sports Bulletin

Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD (January 11, 2022): PAF, WAPDA, Central Punjab, Southern Punjab, Police, Higher Education Commission (HEC), and Army have won their matches in the National Kabaddi Championship after defeating Bannu, Sukkur, Central Punjab, POF, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar and Railway respectively at Punjab Stadium Lahore. As many as 14 teams are competing for the top honour, as the final will be played on January 16, 2022 at the same venue. Police, Peshawar, North Punjab, Bannu, Central Punjab, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Quetta, South Punjab, Railway, Army, Islamabad, WAPDA and Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) are talking part in the championship 2022. Results (Day-2): PAF beat Bannu 32-18 WAPDA beat Sukkur 37-22 Central Punjab beat POF Wah 52-47 Southern Punjab beat Islamabad 31-12 Police beat Quetta 33-10 HEC beat Peshawar 50-30 Army beat Railway 67-20

Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD (January 10, 2022):-Police, North Punjab, Central Punjab, Higher Education Commission (HEC), South Punjab, Pakistan Army and WAPDA registered victories in the 42nd National Kabbadi Championship (Circle Style) that kicked off Punjab Stadium Lahore on Monday. As many as 14 teams are competing for the top honour, as the final will be played on January 16, 2022 at the same venue. Police, Peshawar, North Punjab, Bannu, Central Punjab, HEC, Quetta, South Punjab, Railway, Army, Islamabad, WAPDA and Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) are talking part in the championship 2022. Results (Day-1): Police beat Peshawar 34-17 North Punjab beat Bannu 27-09 Central Punjab beat Sukkar 32-11 HEC beat Quetta 15-7 South Punjab beat Railway 54-38 Army beat Islamabad 41-16 WAPDA beat POF 27-12

LAHORE (Sports Reporter):-Peshawar defeated Lahore-Gujranwala by 48-20 in the final match while Faisalabad-Sahiwal team got third position in the 2nd Inter-Regional Junior National Kabaddi Championship Under 23 Weight (Asian Style) at Nishtar Park Sports Complex on Monday. Secretary Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Rana Sarwar, Deputy Director Tariq Wattoo, Chief Consultant SBP HafeezBhatti, Administrator NPSC Gymnasium Hall Mustafa Shah were also present on this occasion. Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum distributed prizes among the winning and runners-up teams and prominent performers of the event. Earlier, he was warmly received upon reaching the venue and introduced with the participating players and officials. He also had group photographs with them on this occasion. Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum said: We are promoting all games among the young generation in all parts of the province. “Though Kabaddi belongs to Punjab, it is encouraging development that this traditional game is spreading across the country swiftly”. Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum appreciated the exciting and thrilling competitions of 2nd Inter-Regional Junior National Kabaddi Championship. He also congratulated the winning team.   

LAHORE (Sports Reporter):-The second Under-23 Inter-Regional Junior National Kabaddi Championship Asian style is being played at Nishtar Gymnasium Hall Punjab Sports Board Punjab under the banner of Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF). Peshawar beat Quetta 47-14 in the first match of the tournament while Bannu beat Sargodha 45-22 in the second encounter. Sukkur outclassed Multan 46-16 while Peshawar won the fourth match by 54-27 points against Sargodha. The fifth match was between Bannu and Quetta that won by Bannu won by 65-38. Lahore overcame Faisalabad 59-46 in the 6th match. Sargodha Lahore and Faisalabad qualified for the semi-finals. The first semi-final will be between Peshawar and Faisalabad while second semi-final will be between Lahore and Sargodha on Monday at same venue.

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (July 4, 2020):-Islamabad Kabaddi Association (IKA) on Saturday elected its new office bearers for the term of next four years, as Mohammad Kamran Adil, Rao Mohammad Faisal and Haji Mohammad Sharif were unanimously elected as Chairman, President and General Secretary of IKA. House met at a local hotel that was also attended Secretary, Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Rana Mohammad Sarwar while Mohammad Rizwan was present in the meeting as representative of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA). On this occasion, Rao Faisal thanked the House to him elect unopposed President and assured the house that all possible steps would be taken for the promotion of Kabaddi in the federal capital. Names of office bearers: Mohammad Kamran Adil (Chairman), Rao Mohammad Faisal (President), Haji Mohammad Shareef (Secretary), Farhat Abbas Kazmi (Vice President), Chaudhary Mohammad Sultan (Treasurer), Arslan Bablo and Mohammad Shahid Iqbal (Members of Executive Committee).

By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (February 28, 2020):-Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force met the players of Pakistan National Kabaddi team at Air Headquarters, Islamabad today (Friday). He felicitated the team for winning Kabaddi World Cup, 2020, which was held at Lahore. Interacting with the players, the Air Chief lauded the performance of players who brought laurels to the country by winning the biggest event in the sport which is very popular in the rural areas of Pakistan. He further said that winning the final against arch rival India was an icing on the cake, which has made the whole nation proud. He added that it was a proud moment for PAF, as 07 players including the captain Chief Warrant Officer Mohammad Irfan are part of the Pakistan Air Force Kabaddi team, which is also the title holder of National Championship. The Air Chief also awarded cash incentives to the national heroes.

By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-Pakistan Kabaddi team inked news history when they overcame defending champions India by 43-41 in the high-voltage tension-filled final of Kabaddi World Cup 2020 and became world kabaddi champions for the first time at Punjab Stadium on Sunday night. Iran toppled Australia 54-33 and earned bronze medal. It is important to mention here that whenever Kabaddi world cup event took place in India, everyone point out the cheating of India. Also, local media of India and International media hinted out number of errors in the final against Pakistan. We were host and show everything to world with camera when Indian players showed their dissatisfaction over any decision of umpire we showed then reply and started the match again after their satisfaction. Both Pakistan and their arch-rivals India demonstrated best kabaddi throughout the tense final match. India, with the score of 24-18, took a lead of six points in the first half. However, Pakistan regrouped and bounced back in the second half and gradually regained their confidence and ultimately won the historic final against their strong opponents by 43-41. Punjab Governor Ch Mohammad Sarwar graced the grand closing ceremony as chief guest. He awarded gold medals, winning trophy and Rs 10 million to triumphant Pakistan team while India received silver medals and Rs 7.5 million. Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti, Punjab Minister for Agriculture Malik Nauman Langrial, Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat, PKF President Shafay Hussain, Secretary Sports Punjab Ehsan Bhutta and Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh were also present on this occasion. All the players of Pakistan particularly captain M Irfan, Waqas Butt Shafiq were in best of their performance in a battle of nerves. Before the start of final, Pakistan’s legend singer Ibrab-ul-Haq mesmerized the public gathered in capacity in the stadium to witness the most exciting and stirring battle of attrition. Security was so much maintained that a large number of people were not allowed in the stadium despite having tickets. Pakistan captain Irfan Mana won the toss and decided to raid. In the very first attempt, Pakistan applied pressure on their blue attired rivals to go up in points through Mohammad Shafiq Chishti. But Vinay Khatri leveled the score. In the fluctuating encounter as one teams took the lead the other came with an equalizer. Navjot Singh Jota, Ravi Deora and ArshChola remained prominent performers for India in the tense clash. At 3-all Pakistan main raiders Shafiq and Waqas Butt conceded three back to back points to be at the back foot at 3-6 and then 4-7. The difference of three points which was increased to six between them remained intact with India showing better strength and technique. And by the close of first half, Pakistan was down with six points at 18-24. In the second session, Pakistan was in the receiving end as India maintained its lead. At the time when the points were at 24-28 with home team being down, there were some technical hiccups with India claiming Pakistan raider failed to cross the line in 30 seconds but were awarded point and after several reviews the committee declined India's appeal. Pakistan later had an incredible fight back from there on to come on equal terms at 32-32 and then went ahead two points. During the entire time the fans remained on their toes and expressed joy on Pakistan's fight back at 36-34. Here too the game was again stopped with India calming point on a double touch but that too was rejected by referees. Just minutes before the finish, Pakistan raider claimed a double touch point which India opposed but the later was awarded a point. Their nerve-wrecking attempts continued till the final whistle and ultimately the two teams separated with Pakistan's winning 43-41. Earlier, Iran proved too strong for Australia in the third and fourth position match of the mega event here. Iran maintained its grip on the game from the start till the final whistle. Though in between Australia penetrated to get some points but Iran kept things in total control. Iran led the match 30-16 in the first half and won the match 54-33 by the end of the game. Ramandeep Singh Peeta was declared the best raider while Ali Raza Safari was adjudged best stopper. As many as nine teams including Pakistan, India, Germany, Azerbaijan, Iran, Canada, Sierra Leone, England and Australia participated in the tournament organized jointly by the Punjab government, Sports Board Punjab and the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF). The matches were played in three venues – Punjab Stadium Lahore, Iqbal Cricket Stadium Faisalabad and Zahoor Elahi Stadium Gujrat.   

Salman Khan LAHORE (February 13, 2020):-As expected Pakistan outplayed comparatively inexperienced Australian kabaddi team by 62-25 in a Pool ‘B’ match and booked a place in the semifinal on the 5th day of Kabaddi World Cup 2020 at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on Thursday. In Pool ‘A’, India grabbed the top spot by defeating Iran by 50-39 and confirmed their place in the last 4 stage of Kabaddi World Cup. Iran and Australia are the other two teams who reached the semifinals from Pool A and B respectively. Pakistan chose to raid first after winning the toss against Australia. Pakistan raiders skipper Irfan Mana, Lala Obaidullah, KaleemullahJatt, Bilal Mohsin Dhillon were in best form and scored valuable points against Australia. On the other hand, Pakistan stoppers Musharraf Janjua, Shani Basra and Zafar Iqbal and their teammates exhibited similar form during the comfortable victory of their team. Pakistan captain Irfan Mana and Bilal Mohsin Dhillon shared the award of best raider whereas Shani Basra was named as top stopper of Kabaddi World Cup match against Australia. Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports Malik Umer Farooq and Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh, President Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Ch Shafay Hussain distributed prizes among the top performers. Secretary PKF Rana Sarwar, Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad Muhammad Ali and CPO Muhammad Sohail Ch were also present on this occasion. The fifth day action was witnessed by a large number of kabaddi lovers. Earlier, after winning the toss, defending champions India maintained their supremacy against strong Iran team winning a tense clash by 50-39. Players from both the sides exhibited top class kabaddi during the tough contest. In the first half, Iranian players managed to carry their points parallel to India at 26-23, however, India widened the points gap in the second half and ultimately won the mach by 50-39. India’s Deepak Kashi, Navjot Singh Jota, Vinay Khatri and ArshJhola remained prominent performers for the victorious team while MesalQamri, Mustafa Saadqi and Ameer Muhammadi accumulated valuable points for their team. India’s Vinay Khatri and ArshJhola were adjudged best raider and stopper respectively against Iran. It is pertinent to mention here that players of both the teams competed without shirts in the second half following a controversy. The jury ordered the players to play match without shirts on the request of Iranian players. Though Sierra Leone won the toss against Germany but they lost their match badly by 43-14. Strong German team dominated their opponents in both raiding and stopping departments throughout the match. Germany’s Manpreet Singh and Kuldeep Singh were the best raider and best stopper of this one-sided match. Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports Malik Umer Farooq and DG Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh distributed prizes among best players of the matches. Schedule of Feb 14 matches: Two more Kabaddi World Cup matches will be played at Zahoor Elahi Stadium in Gujrat on Feb 14, 2020. Pakistan will face Azerbaijan in the first match at 2.30pm while the second match will be played between India and England at 3.45pm on the 6th day activity of grand kabaddi event.   Kabaddi World Cup points table Pool A Teams             P          W         L          Pts India                3          3          -           6 Iran                  4          3          1          6 Germany         4          2          2          4 England           3          1          2          2 Sierra Leone    4          -           4          0 Pool B Pakistan           2          2          -           4 Australia          3          2          1          4 Canada            3          1          2          2 Azerbaijan       2          -           2          0.   

Salman Khan LAHORE (February  11, 2020):- Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti has said that matches of Kabaddi World Cup 2020 have been organized quite successfully on the first three days at Punjab Stadium; he was talking with media personnel at the Punjab Stadium media box on Tuesday. Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti and President Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Ch Shafay Hussain and a large number of kabaddi lovers witnessed exciting kabaddi matches. Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said: “By holding Kabaddi World Cup, we have promoted Pakistan’s soft image to international community that Pakistan is a peaceful country. “Holding grand Kabaddi World Cup is a clear message for India and rest of the world that Pakistani people are sports loving. Punjab govt has made best security arrangements for all guest teams during their stay in Pakistan”. Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti further said that security situation has been excellent due to wonderful coordination of our law enforcing departments. “The kabbadi lovers have fully enjoyed the thrilling matches of Kabaddi World Cup 2020 in Lahore and we are quite upbeat to witness similar exciting kabaddi clashes among best kabaddi players of the world in Faisalabad and Gujrat”. Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti informed that after three days’ matches in Lahore, the participating teams will travel to Faisalabad on Feb 12, 2020 and then Gujrat for three days. “After completing their Faisalabad and Gujrat matches, the teams will return to Lahore for semifinal and final matches on Feb 15 and 16, 2020”. Australia trounced Azerbaijan by 53-24 in the first match on the third day of Kabaddi World Cup 2020 while Germany emerged winner in the second match 49-28 against England. India toppled Sierra Leone by 45-18 in the third and last match of Kabaddi World Cup 2020 on Tuesday. It is pertinent mention here that Kabaddi World Cup 2020 is being organized jointly by Punjab govt, Sports Board Punjab and Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) at three cities of Punjab Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujrat from February 9 to 16, 2020. Three more matches will be played on the 4th day of Kabaddi World Cup 2020 on Wednesday in Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium. Canada will face Azerbaijan in the first match at 1.30pm while the second match will be played between Iran and Germany at 2.45pm. Inexperienced Sierra Leone will meet strong England kabaddi team in the third match of the day at 4.00pm.   

Faraz Ahmed Kayani ISLAMABAD (January 1, 2020):-The Organizing Committee of the World Kabaddi Cup 2020 rescheduled the international event due to bad weather. Earlier, the World Kabaddi Championship was scheduled to be played from January 12 to 19 and it will be organized from February 9 to 16 this year 2020. According to weather forecast heavy fog, severe cooled waves and rains were expected during the previous dates. Organizing Committee has decided to change the dates from 12–19 January 2020 to 09–16 February 2020 for successful conduct of the above said competition.