Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI:-Naseem Shah has been included in the Pakistan squad for the first Test against Australia after Haris Rauf was ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19, as the first Test match of the three-match tie will start from March 4, 2022 at Pindi Cricket Stadium. According to media department of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),Haris will remain in isolation for five days and will reintegrate with the squad after a negative test at the end of his isolation period. Following Rauf’s positive test on Tuesday, rest of the squad members and support personnel were retested. All these tests have come out negative. Squad for first Test: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Naseem Shah (Central Punjab), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shan Masood (Balochistan) and Zahid Mahmood (Sindh)

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-A 97-run unbreakable partnership for the 5th wicket between Atif Oryakhail (51) and Rehmat Ullah (50) helped Cricket Federation Uzbekistan (CFU) team to defeat JJ Cricket Club Islamabad by five wickets in the first Twenty 20 cricket match of the series at Bhutto cricket ground G-7 Islamabad. CFU Team won the toss and decided to field first. JJ Club could manage only 156 runs on the board in their allotted 20 overs, as Farma Ullah was major contributor with 59 runs. He hit seven fours during his inning and faced 51 balls. Mohammad Afsar Khan played a sparking innings of 28 runs, as he smashed three fours and couple of sixes in 10 balls innings that amused the spectators and players. Mohammad Khalil contributed 24 runs in the JJ Club’s innings. He faced 22 balls and hit three boundaries. Mirwais Khan claimed three wickets for CFU after conceding 20 runs in his 4 overs. CFU reached on their target in the 3rd ball of penultimate over of the match and snatched a highly regarded victory. Atif was top scorer with 51 not out runs, as he faced only 30 balls and hit three fours and three huge sixes. His teammate Rehmat Ullah also scored an unbeaten half century with the help of six fours and a big six after wasting 30 balls. Mohammad Afsar Khan got three wickets for JJ Club after conceding 28 runs. Summarized scorecard: JJ Club (Batting): 156 for 6 in 20 overs Farman Ullah 59 (51 balls, 4X7), Mohammad Afsar Khan 28 not out (10 balls, 4X3, 6X2), Mohammad Khalil 24 (22 balls, 4X3) CFU (Bowling): Mirwais Khan (3 for 20) CFU (Batting): 159 for 5 in 18.3 overs Atif Oryakhail 51 not out (30 balls, 4X3, 6X3), Rehmat Ullah 50 not out (30 balls 4X6, 6X1) JJ Club (Bowling): Mohammad Afsar Khan (3 for 28) Salman Nawaz (1 for 24), Farhan Khan (1 for 28) Umpires:  Raja Iftikhar & Shaheen Iqbal  

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-The 59th National Badminton Championship started at Lahore with team events, as Azad Jammu & Kashmir beat Balochistan 3-1 in the opening match of the top national event. Results: AJK beat Balochistan by 3-1 1st Singles: Faraz (Balochistan) beat Hamza (AJK) by 21-13, 21-16 1st Double: Uzair & P A Nabeel (AJK) beat Hassana & Imran (Balochiatn) by 21-13, 21-14 2nd Single: P A Nabeel (AJK) beat Hassana (Balochistan) by 21-15, 21-11 2nd Double: Hamzan & Roman (AJK) beat Moin & Faraz (Balochistan) by 21-15, 21-14 Pakistan Police beat Punjab by 3-0 1st Singles: Zohaib Khalil (Police) beat Jalees Konain (Punjab) by 18-21, 21-16, 21-15 1st Double: Tahir & Masood (Police) beat Mujtaba & Umer (Punjab) by 21-13, 21-15 2nd Single: Tahir (Police) beat M Shahzaib (Punjab) by 21-16, 21-11 New Khan beat KRL by 3-0 1st Singles: Anjum Bashir (New Khan) beat Uaakeph Khan (KRL) by 21-13, 21-16 1st Double: Raja Hasnain & Raja Hassan (New Khan) beat Adeel Anjum & Jamshaid (KRL) by 21-10, 21-15 2nd Single: Raja Hassan (New Khan) beat Muteeb Sohail (KRL) by 21-15, 21-16 HEC beat Pakistan Army by 3-2 1st Singles: Muqsit Islam (Army) beat Ahmer Jalal (HEC) by 10-21, 21-18, 21-11 1st Double: Abuzar Rasheed & Yasir Ali (HEC) beat Abdullah & Rehman (Army) by 21-9, 21-14 2nd Single: Abdullah (Army) beat Tayyab Shafiq (HEC) by 21-12, 21-15 2nd Double: Rohan & Rohail (HEC) beat Muqsit Islam & Uzair (Army) by 21-14, 18-21, 21-19 3rd Single: Abuzar Rasheed (HEC) beat Uzair (Army) by 18-21, 21-11, 21-18 Islamabad beat Sindh by 3-0 1st Singles: Ibrahim (Islamabad) beat Shahid Khan (Sindh) by 18-21, 22-20, 21-12 1st Double: Ali Chishti & Ahmad (Islamabad) beat Shahid & Hamza (Sindh) by 18-21, 21-15, 22-20 Team Event Men Quarter Final Pakistan Wapda beat AJK by 3-0 1st Singles: Muqeet Tahir (Wapda) beat Roman (AJK) by 21-9, 21-14 1st Double: Mohammad Ali Larosh & Awais Zahid (Wapda) beat Nabeel & Uzair (AJK) by 17-21, 21-11, 21-9 2nd Single: Raja Zulqarnain Haider (Wapda) beat Nabeel (AJK) by 21-13, 21-14 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Islamabad by 3-1 1st Singles: Murad Ali (KP) beat Ibrahim Rasheed (Islamabad) by 21-16, 21-13 1st Double: Ahmad Hassan Janjua & Ali Chishti (Islamabad) beat Fazal Rehman & Tahir Shah (KP) by 21-13, 13-21, 21-19 2nd Single: Shoaib Riaz (KP) beat Shahab Khan (Islamabad)  BBY 21-14, 21-11 2nd Double: Shoaib Riaz & Murad Ali (KP) beat Shahab Khan & Qasim (Islamabad) by 21-16, 22-20 SNGPL beat Pakistan Police by 3-2 1st Singles: Shahmeer Iftikhar (SNGPL) beat Zohaib Khan (Police) by 11-21, 25-23, 21-18 1st Double: Shahmeer Iftikhar & M Noman (SNGPL) beat Zohaib Khan & Umer (KP) by 21-10, 21-13 2nd Single: Tahir (Police) beat Ahmad Tariq (SNGPL) by 22-20, 21-14 2nd Double: Tahir & Masood (Police) beat Ahmed Tariq & Awais Ahmad (SNGPL) by 17-21, 21-18, 21-9 3rd Single: Mohammad Noman (SNGPL) beat Masood (Police) by 21-13, 21-12 New Khan beat HEC by 3-0 1st Singles: Raja Hasnain (New Khan) beat Tayyab Shafiq (HEC) by 24-22, 19-21, 21-10 1st Double: Raja Hasnain & Anjum Bashir (New Khan) beat Yasir & Rohail (HEC) by 21-19, 22-24, 21-14 2nd Single: Anjum Bashir (New Khan) beat Abuzar Rasheed (HEC) by 18-21, 22-20, 21-5 Team Event Women Quarter Final SNGPL beat HEC by 3-2 1st Singles: Zubaira Islam (SNGPL) beat Quratulain (HEC) by 21-13, 21-11 1st Double: Hadia Ashfaq & Quratulain (HEC) beat Zubaira Islam & Wirdha (SNGPL) by 21-18, 10-21, 21-13 2nd Single: Wirdha Gouhar (SNGPL) beat Hadia Ashfaq (HEC) by 12-21, 21-14, 21-9 2nd Double: Khadija & Asna (HEC) beat Aqsa & Amna by 21-8,21-17 3rd Single: Aqsa Zikriya (SNGPL) beat Khadija Nisar (HEC) by 21-17, 21-8 Sindh beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 3-0 1st Singles: Palwasha Bashir (Sindh) beat Urooj (KP) by 21-11, 21-7 1st Double: Palwasha Bashir & Ammarah (Sindh) beat Urooj & Amber Khan (KP) by 21-7, 21-6 2nd Single: Sana Hanif (Sindh) beat Amber (KP) by 21-7, 21-5 Pakistan Army beat Punjab by 3-2 1st Singles: Amal Muneeb (Punjab) beat Yasmeen Shahzadi (Army) by 21-13, 21-11 1st Double: Sumiya Tariq & Umama Usman (Army) beat Amal & Amna (Punjab) by 21-16, 21-18 2nd Single: Sumiya Tariq (Army) beat Sehar Majeed (Punjab) by 21-8, 21-14 2nd Double: Sehar & Rimsha (Punjab) beat Rida & Yasmeen (Army) by 21-18, 19-21, 21-18 3rd Single: Rida Haneef (Army) beat Rimsha (Punjab) by 21-18, 15-21, 21-18

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI:-Hosts Pakistan overpowered South Africa by 247 runs in the 2nd One-Day International of the historical Pakistan-South Africa Blind Cricket series at Southend Cricket Stadium Karachi. Pakistan earned 2-0 unbeatable lead in the 3-match series. In the morning, the South African Blind Cricket Team won the toss and decided to bowl first. Naseeb Ullah made his debut for Pakistan in this game, he is from Quetta and emerged as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Debutant Naseeb Ullah and Akmal Hayat opened the innings for Pakistan but both openers got out early after scoring 38 and 14 runs respectively. Pakistan lost 2 wickets for 64 runs, thereafter Riasat Khan and Faisal Mehmood played extremely well and together knitted 436 for the 3rd wicket partnership, which broke the world record of highest partnership in ODIs that was 434 (made by Anees Javed and Amir Ashraf vs England in 2010). Pakistan made mammoth 554 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the allotted 40 overs. Riasat Khan made 226 runs off 90 balls while Faisal Mehmood played superbly for his 188 runs off 94 balls. Lwande Bhidla again took 2 wickets for South Africa. The target of 555 runs was too stiff for South Africa and they made 307 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the stipulated 40 overs.  Bhule Bidla was the main run-getter with unbeaten 75* runs off 55 balls with the help of 12 boundaries while Jacob Kotze chipped in with 45 runs. Akmal Hayyat, Riasat Khan, Mohammad Rashid, and Zafar Iqbal claimed a wicket apiece. Result: Pakistan won by 247 runs Man of the Match: Riasat Khan

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Asad Zaman and Bilal Asim excelled on the opening day of the 3rd Tennis Lovers Junior National Tennis Championship 2022 by winning their respective matches in the Under-18 and Under-16 categories here at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah on Tuesday. Secretary Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) Rashid Malik inaugurated the event in a colorful opening ceremony, which was also attended by players, their families and tennis lovers. Malik said that the purpose of conducting national junior tournaments was to promote the beautiful game at grassroots level and provide maximum opportunities to youngsters and kids to exhibit their skills at high level. “I am grateful to all the sponsors who come forward to help the PLTA in conducting a record number of tournaments every year, and this year too, we have plans to organize a record number of tennis tournaments and break the previous years’ record. For this, we need more such generous sponsors, who may come forward to help in promoting tennis especially at junior level, as junior players are our future tennis stars,” he added. Results: Boys Under-18 1st Round Hamid israr beat Omer Shafique 6-0,6-0 Hamza Jawad beat Hanzala Anwar 6-1,6-2 Ali Jawad beat  Husnain Ali  6-4,6-4 Zaeem Ghafoor beat Inam Qadir 6-1,6-2 Bilal Asim beat Arman Kamran 6-3,6-3 Asad Zaman beat Abdul Hanan Khan 6-4,6-2 Boys Under-16 1st Round: Asad Zaman beat Shehreyar Anees 3-6,6-1,7-5 Ahtesham Humayun beat Zain Saeed 6-0,6-0 Bilal Asim beat Inam Qadir 6-0,6-0 Hamza Roman beat M.Sohaan Noor 6-1,6-2 Boys Under-14 1st Round: Abdullah Sajjad Wahla beat Essa Fahad 4-2,5-4(5)  

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-HN Polo Team and Diamond Paints recorded victories on the opening day of the Tower 21 Quaid-e-Azam Open Gold Cup 2022 that started here at the Lahore Polo Club ground on Tuesday. The first match of the opening day saw HN Polo playing better polo against DS Polo/Rizvi’s and emerged as victorious with a close margin of 9-7. Tito Ruiz Guinazu did the magic with mallet and pony and not only played excellent polo against DS Polo/Rizvi’s but also significantly contributed with superb seven goals. He was ably assisted by sensational Saqib Khan Khakwani, who banged in a beautiful brace. It is pertinent to mention here that Saqib was included in the side in place of injured Raja Sami Ullah. From DS Polo/Rizvi’s, Marcos Panelo fired in four fabulous goals while Max Charlton thrashed in three but their efforts couldn’t bear fruit for their side, which lost the match by 7-9. The match commenced with DS Polo/Rizvi’s earning a 40-yard penalty, which they converted successfully to take 1-0 lead. After that, HN Polo dominated rest of the first chukker as they thrashed in three back-to-back goals to secure a good 3-1 lead. The second chukker was dominated by DS Polo/Rizvi’s, who hammered a hat-trick of goals against one by HN Polo to level the score at 4-4. HN Polo bounced back well in the third chukker and slammed in three goals against one by DS/Rizvi’s to earn a 7-5 lead. The fourth and last chukker was evenly poised as both the sides played well and converted two goals apiece, with HN Polo emerging as triumphant with a margin of 9-7. The second match of the day proved to be a nail-biting encounter where Diamond Paints and Rough Riders Polo Team fought well against each other and after a tough fight, Diamond Paints emerged as winners with a narrow margin of 5-4. Juan Ambroggio was the hero from the winning team as he hammered a beautiful brace while while Ahmed Ali Tiwana, Mir Shoaib Ahmed and Guy Gibrat converted one goal apiece. From Rough Riders, Julio Novillo Astrada thrashed in three goals and Saqib Khan Khakwani struck one. Rough Riders though started the match well with a field goal to gain 1-0 lead yet Diamond Paints made a strong comeback by thrashing in two back-to-back goals to earn a 2-1 lead. Diamond Paints continued their good show in the second chukker as well as they banged in another brace to stretch their lead to 4-1 while Rough Riders converted one to reduce the margin to 4-2. The only goal of the third chukker came from Rough Riders, helped them reduce the deficit to 4-3. In the fourth and decisive chukker, Diamond Paints played well and fired in a field goal to have a 5-3 lead while Rough Riders also tried hard to convert back-to-back goals to win the match but they succeeded in converting just one, thus lost the crucial match by 4-5. The challenging and exciting polo matches were witnessed and enjoyed by Tower 21 CEO Hamza Raza Malik, Lahore Polo Club President Umer Sadik, Secretary General Agha Murtaza Ali Khan, executive committee members, players and their families and polo lovers. Talking to media, Tower 21 CEO Hamza Raza Malik said: “Polo is a lifestyle game and also the game of kings and knights, which is liked and watched by a good number of lively Lahoris. We have launched a splendid project for Lahoris and I hope that the way lovely and lively Lahoris support the game of polo, they will surely support Tower 21 in the same way.”

BIPIN DANI Prof. Arjuna de Silva, the chairman of the medical panel of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board will personally supervise, guide and monitor the fitness and skin fold level of Bhanuka Rajapaksa. The 30-year-old top order batter has missed the selection of the India tour after being found to have an excessive skin fold on his body.    Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, Prof. Arjuna said, "I am a big fan of Bhanuka and will take all possible measures to ensure that he retains his fitness as per normal standard any international athlete should have".  Last week, the fans protested at the SLC headquarter to include him in the side. "There is no time (to make him fit) to join the squad in India but he (Bhanuka) is a player, whom we can rely on for the World Cup and will surely work with his fitness from now onwards". Even the sports minister Naman Rajapaksha has also hinted at these lines. "The excessive skin fold can be hereditary but we cannot have an exception for one player. It is also unfair". Bhanuka's fitness test was recently done and skinfold calipers were used just like everyone else. Unfortunately, he did not meet the minimum standard required. "Fitness does not guarantee success but it does help with intensity at which one can play and perform continuously. Less fat amounts to less injuries". "Excessive fat is only useful in Sumo Wrestling, where an athlete can't be pushed out of the ring easily", Prof. de Silva concluded.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) discussed again the dilemma the Olympic Movement is currently facing after the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus through its support in this. The Olympic Movement is united in its mission to contribute to peace through sport and to unite the world in peaceful competition beyond all political disputes. The Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, World Championships and World Cups and many other sports events unite athletes of countries which are in confrontation and sometimes even war. At the same time, the Olympic Movement is united in its sense of fairness not to punish athletes for the decisions of their government if they are not actively participating in them. We are committed to fair competitions for everybody without any discrimination. The current war in Ukraine, however, puts the Olympic Movement in a dilemma. While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country. This is a dilemma which cannot be solved. The IOC EB has therefore today carefully considered the situation and, with a heavy heart, issued the following resolution: In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC EB recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions. Wherever this is not possible on short notice for organisational or legal reasons, the IOC EB strongly urges International Sports Federations and organisers of sports events worldwide to do everything in their power to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be ccepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colours, flags or anthems should be displayed. Wherever, in very extreme circumstances, even this is not possible on short notice for organisational or legal reasons, the IOC EB leaves it to the relevant organisation to find its own way to effectively address the dilemma described above. The IOC EB welcomes and appreciates the many calls for peace by athletes, sports officials and members of the worldwide Olympic Community. The IOC admires and supports in particular the calls for peace by Russian athletes.

Sports Bulletin Report Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has expressed a deeply concerned about the safety of the members of Ukraine’s hockey community and ensures all of them of its full solidarity at this terrible time. FIH is in regular contact with the Hockey Association of Ukraine and is doing its utmost to offer any support it can, in the hope that the Ukrainian team will be able to participate in the upcoming FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup scheduled from 1 to 12 April in Potchefstroom, South Africa, for which it qualified.

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:- Karim Abdel Gawad from Egypt will be top seed player of the Karachi Open Squash Championship, which will be commenced from March 15, 2022 at Roshan Khan, Jehangir Khan Squash Complex Karachi. Enora Villard from France will be top seed female player for the Women’s Singles fixture. It is pertinent to mention here that men’s event has prize money of $50000 while women’s 20000. The final of the prestigious international squash fixture will be played on March 19 at the same venue. Former World Champion Gawad leads the men’s draw and will be looking to claim his first title since 2019. The Egyptian will face the winner of home favourite Asim Khan and England’s Declan James in his first match of the tournament as he receives a bye in round one. World No.16 Youssef Soliman from Egypt is the number two seed. Soliman, a recent quarter finalist at the Houston Open, will open his account against the winner of Spain’s Bernat Jaume and event wildcard Mohammad Ashab Irfan from Pakistan. Pakistan’s best chance of a home winner comes in the form of World No.44 Tayyab Aslam. The nation’s No.1 will face Egyptian Yahya Elnawasany in his first-round match. The pair last met at the Egyptian Open in September, with the Egyptian winning 3-1 in 38 minutes to level the head-to-head record at 1-1. France’s Enora Villard is number one seed for the female event. The French No.4 recently lost out to Georgina Kennedy from England in the last 16 of the Cleveland Classic and will be looking to improve on that performance in Karachi. Villard will play either Pakistan’s Zaynab Khan or New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts in her opening match of the event. England’s Lucy Beecroft is one to watch in the event. The World No.62 won two events in 2021 and will be determined to add to that tally in 2022. Beecroft receives a bye in round one but will face either wildcard Anam Mustafa Aziz or Serbia’s Jelena Dutina in round two. No.3 seed Marie Stephan is entering the Challenger 20 event full of confidence as the 25-year-old recently captured her first French Nationals title, beating Enora Villard in the final. Stephan will play Pakistan’s Amna Fayyaz or Malaysia’s Yee Xin Ying for a place in the quarter finals. Men’s Draw (32 players): [1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) [Bye] Asim Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Declan James (ENG) [9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO) v Henry Leung (HKG) [6] Todd Harrity (USA) [Bye] [7] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) [Bye] Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v [9/16] Edmon Lopez (ESP) [9/16] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v [WC] Noor Zaman (PAK) [3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) [Bye] [4] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) [Bye] Faraz Khan (USA) v [9/16] Alan Clyne (SCO) [9/16] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v Mazen Gamal (EGY) [8] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) [Bye] [5] Shahjahan Khan (USA) [Bye] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) v [9/16] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) [9/16] Bernat Jaume (ESP) v [WC] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) [2] Youssef Soliman (EGY) [Bye] Women’s Draw (32 players): [1] Enora Villard [Bye] Zaynab Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) [9/16] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) v Sofía Mateos (ESP) [5] Nadia Pfister (SUI) [Bye] [6] Georgia Adderley (SCO) [Bye] Lea Barbeau (FRA) v [9/16] Chan Yiwen (MAS) [9/16] Amna Fayyaz (PAK) v Yee Xin Ying (MAS) [3] Marie Stephan (FRA) [Bye] [4] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) [Bye] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) v [9/16] Anna Kimberley (ENG) [9/16] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) v Rana Ismail (EGY) [7] Menna Hamed (EGY) [Bye] [8] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) [Bye] [WC] Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK) v [9/16] Jelena Dutina (SRB) [9/16] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) v [WC] Mariam Malik (PAK) [2] Menna Nasser (EGY) [Bye]