ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL Islamabad (September 3, 2021):-Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall, Zaheer Ahmed Baber has been elected the president of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) in the 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of federation that held at Air Headquarters, Islamabad on Friday. The General Council elected the head of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber as president of the squash federation, who later on, presided over the meeting. Besides squash legends, representatives from provincial squash associations, affiliated members and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) attended the proceeding of house. Addressing the general council members, President PSF thanked participants for imposing their full confidence to him. While showing his satisfaction over revival of international squash in the country, President PSF emphasized that there was still a need of collective efforts by the provincial squash associations and affiliated departments like Pakistan Army, Navy, Wapda, SNGPL, PIA, etc to jointly work together and support the national cause of glorifying Pakistan squash at highest levels. He urged the players to focus on the game and further improve on the physical and mental strength. Besides assuring support by PAF, the President PSF asked all member associations to generate further resources to meet the challenging tasks through an improved system. President PSF directed the member associations to promote squash and increase the pool of players to thousands and also ensure age verification at association level.  Zaheer Ahmed further stressed upon the implementation of a comprehensive training strategy to further groom the skills of our players. He also emphasized on the role of associations and departments in generating adequate funds from provincial governments and corporate sector to sponsor their players and events. He also directed all associations and affiliated departments to conduct maximum number of tournaments events every year. The performance evaluation of provincial association for the year 2020 was also carried out by the General Council. The KP Squash Association was awarded Winner’s Trophy for Pride of Performance by the General Council.  President PSF presented trophy to the Rep of provincial association and appreciated them for making their efforts despite the pandemic situation. While he emphasized that PSF would continue to sponsor best men and women players in international events, he also directed the associations to generate adequate funds and sponsor for all their respective players for national and international events to afford them adequate exposure. On this occasion, he advised associations to conduct the open trials of all age categories and conduct league matches to generate healthy competition among players. Squash is an individual game therefore, President PSF also urged the players to ensure their fitness to prove their worth in squash court by winning in every tournament at every level to glorify Pakistan in the game of Squash. The meeting concluded with the hope that federal and provincial governments would provide adequate financial and administrative support to revive Pakistan’s power in the international arena of Squash.   

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Islamabad (September 3, 2021):-Ambassador Mstsuda Kuninori extended congratulations to Haider Ali, Pakistan’s premier para-athlete, for showing his great talent by winning the gold medal in the final of men’s Discus throw (F37) competition in the Tokyo Paralympics and conveys best wishes for his future endeavors. He said in his message, “I am truly delighted to see Pakistani athlete’s success in the Tokyo Paralympics. I have sincere congratulations for Haider Ali, his family and the people of Pakistan for this amazing success to achieve the gold medal in the top international sports event.  I believe that you have made your country proud and won many hearts back home for your brilliant performance in the world’s mega event. ”, said the Ambassador. It is pertinent to mention here that Haider Ali secured the gold medal in men’s Discus throw (F37) with a throw of 55.26m, which also was his personal best score.  

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (September 2, 2021):-St Kitts & Nevis Patriots carried on their unbeaten start in the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a six wicket victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs. The Patriots won the toss and elected to field first and a disciplined bowling performance restricted the Tallawahs to 166/8, a total that appeared under par for the track. In reply the Patriots proved that assessment to be accurate as they made it four wins from four with another dominant batting display led by the tournament’s top scorer Sherfane Rutherford. The Tallawahs got their innings off to a lightning start with the hard-hitting duo of Chadwick Walton and Kennar Lewis putting on a blistering partnership of 41 runs inside 3.3 overs. However, once Paul Van Meekeren dismissed Kennar Lewis that led to a shift in the innings with the Patriots tightening the screws courtesy of some economical bowling by captain DJ Bravo. Things were to go from bad to worse for the Tallawahs when Walton had to retire hurt, tweaking his hamstring after running a quick single. It took an enterprising counter-attack by Rovman Powell and Carlos Brathwaite in the back end of the innings to revitalise the Tallawahs and this was further boosted by some late blows by the lower order to ensure they posted a respectable total. The Patriots made a similar start in their innings, with Evin Lewis bringing the early fireworks, but the wickets of Devon Thomas and Asif Ali in quick succession followed by Evin Lewis left the game in the balance. If things were finely poised Sherfane Rutherford and Fabian Allen made light work of the equation, a fantastic display of power hitting saw the pair smash 55 runs from 20 balls to seal the win at a canter.

By BIPIN DANI Sri Lankan Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne has cancelled his plan to go to England to play the County matches this season. The 33-year-old opening batsman was invited to play for the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club (NCCC). "No, he is not going there now. Due to the Covid restrictions in the UK, he has to cancel his plan to play for this County this season", one of his confidants, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, said on Thursday morning. "He was asked to be present there within 12 days but it was practically impossible to reach there via green-list country, where he was required to be in quarantine for 10 days", the source added. Even former captain Mahela Jayawardene had to take a flight to other country, spend ten days there in quarantine and then reached England for coaching in one of the teams in The Hundred tournament.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland: There may not have been any changes at the highest levels of the FIH World Rankings, but the match action at last month's Euro Hockey Championship II competitions has resulted in some climbers and fallers elsewhere. Austria men have climbed from 20th to 19th courtesy of their EuroHockey Championship II tournament victory in Gniezno, Poland, exchanging places with beaten finalists Scotland. Ireland's third place finish in that competition has resulted in a drop from 13th to 14th, while fourth placed Poland remain in 26th position. Fifth placed Italy and sixth placed Ukraine both climb one place to 22nd and 28th respectively, with seventh placed Switzerland holding onto 34th position in the rankings. Croatia's eighth place finish in Gniezno has resulted in the biggest fall, dropping from a ranking of 39 to 56. The women's Euro-Hockey Championship II took place in Prague, Czech Republic, with Belarus winning the event to retain 21st place in the FIH World Rankings. France claimed a superb second place thanks to finishing above four higher-ranked teams, seeing them end the competition one place higher than they started it, climbing from 28th to 27th. Third placed Poland and fourth placed Wales were also one-place rankings climbers, rising to 23rd and 25th respectively, while sixth placed Czech Republic have dropped one place to 24th. Seventh placed Austria remain 31st, while Lithuania's eighth place finish has resulted in them dropping from a ranking of 34 to 49. Due to a lack of match action there has been no change to the respective women's and men's top ten, where the Netherlands women and Belgium men - both gold medallists at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 sit proudly at the top of the standings. Tokyo 2020 was the first Olympic Games to take place since the introduction of the match-based rankings calculated model, which came into play in January 2020. The move away from the previous tournament-based system to one where opposing teams exchange points in official matches means that, for the first time, the results of the fixtures in Tokyo will have a direct, real-time effect on FIH World Ranking positions.  More information about the new rankings model can be found below. How the FIH World Rankings work: The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match. FIH World Rankings explained: Based on the Elo rating system, which is used as the basis of many other sports ranking systems When two nations play against each other, a number of ranking points are exchanged between them In every match, the number of points gained by one team is exactly matched by the number of points lost by the other Teams will win more points for beating teams ranked above them, and therefore teams will lose more points for losing to a team ranked below them Teams will win less points for beating teams ranked below them, and therefore teams will lose less points for losing to a team ranked above them If a draw occurs, the lower ranked team will gain a small number of points and the higher ranked team will lose the same number of points The number of points exchanged is dependent on the result of the match (win, lose, shootout win/loss or draw), the importance of the match (part of a major tournament, or a test series for example), and the relative difference in ranking points between the teams before the match.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lahore (September 1, 2021):-Pakistan cricket selectors have named a 20-player squad for the three ICC Cricket World Cup Super League One-Day Internationals against New Zealand, which will be played in Rawalpindi on 17, 19 and 21 September. Uncapped wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, fast bowlers Mohammad Wasim and Shahnawaz Dahani, and wrist-spinner Zahid Mahmood have been named in the squad, while middle-order batters Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah have been recalled. Iftikhar’s seventh and last ODI was against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi, while Khushdil’s only ODI appearance was also in the tied match against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi. Players who were part of the ODI series against England in July but have failed to retain their places are Haris Sohail, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Sohaib Maqsood. Pakistan ODI squad: Babar Azam (captain, Central Punjab), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Haris (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shadab Khan (Northern), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh), Usman Qadir (Central Punjab) and Zahid Mahmood (Southern Punjab) Chief selector Mohammad Wasim: “The series against New Zealand is extremely important for Pakistan as the matches are part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 qualification. While we have tried to put together a formidable and a balanced unit, we have continued to ensure that we give opportunities to high performing players while looking into the future so that we can develop a strong bench-strength. “Shahnawaz Dahani was unfortunate to miss the selection for the England matches as the squad was announced before the start of the remaining 20 HBL PSL 6 matches. Hence, he was a straightforward selection when we sat to discuss and finalise the side for the New Zealand series. We have also given continued run to Mohammad Wasim, who impressed everyone in the T20Is against the West Indies. “Zahid Mahmood has been added to support Usman Qadir. While picking him, we took into consideration that he had excelled last time he played in a white-ball match in Lahore against South Africa. Although this time the format will be different, but in domestic 50-over competitions he has shown through his performances that he has the temperament to also perform in ODIs. “Mohammad Rizwan remains the first-choice wicketkeeper, as such, it has been decided to include 20-year-old Mohammad Haris in place of Sarfaraz Ahmed. This is not only to reward Haris for his outstanding domestic performances in the previous season, but also to give him a taste and flair of international cricket along with its rigours and demands and to ensure that we continue to groom young wicketkeepers who are fit and ready to step up when the opportunity presents itself. “Middle-order has remained our concern and, as such, after trying a few options, we have decided to give another run to Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah, The two batters have played sufficient 50-over cricket at the domestic level and boast the required firepower to utilise the slog overs. We are optimistic they will come good in home conditions. “I know a few players will feel disappointed at missing out on the selection but we have a busy season of cricket ahead, which means there will be ample opportunities down the line for everyone to put up strong performances and push their case for national selection.”

SPORTS DESK Islamabad (August 31, 2021):- Anastasia Sanders from United States of America (USA) show impressive performance and claimed three gold medals at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Youth World Championships 2021 that held from August 21 to 30 in Voronezh, Russia, where 417 athletes representing 37 different nationalities. Athletes contested across three age categories in Boulder, Lead, and Speed, with those participating in all three disciplines also being considered for a combined ranking. In her debut international Sport Climbing competition, 14-year-old Anastasia (Annie) Sanders of the USA won not one, not two, but three gold medals. Sanders placed first in Youth B (athletes born 14 or 15 years before the year of competition) Lead and Boulder, in addition to taking the combined win for her stellar performance throughout the championships. The US climber topped every single Youth B route of the competition, was the only athlete to top all four blocks in the Boulder final – using only one attempt, or ‘flashing’, three of them – and narrowly missed out on a top 10 finish in Speed, settling for 11th place. A triple gold medal win marks a glittering start to Sanders’ career, pinning her as one-to-watch in future competitions. Another noteworthy performance was that of Great Britain’s Hamish McArthur (19), who won a gold medal in both Boulder and Lead, as well as a combined silver medal. Competing in the Junior age category (athletes born 18 or 19 years before the year of competition), McArthur topped all four problems in the Boulder final with two flashes, and secured a top in Lead. The Brit also competed in Speed, putting him on the podium a third time for a combined medal. In the Youth A competition (athletes born 16 or 17 years before the year of competition), Slovenia’s Sara Copar (16) took the win in Lead and placed second in Boulder. Copar also made the quarter final in Speed, setting her in first position in the overall combined ranking and leaving the Slovenian with two gold medals and one silver. Those who ranked first in the Junior and Youth A categories of Boulder, Lead, and Speed are eligible for a place to compete at the World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. A total of six quota places will be allocated following the invitation and confirmation of the IFSC and respective National Federations in early 2022, as per the IFSC Qualification System for the World Games. A special mention goes to Zoe Garcia Molina of Argentina (17), Lana Baki? (15) of Croatia, Luke Goh Wen Bin (18) of Singapore, and Poksakon Chotikkrai (18) of Thailand, with each being the sole athlete to represent their country in the championships. The full Junior podium line-ups are as follows: Junior men’s Boulder Hamish McArthur (GBR) Rei Kawamata (JPN) Paul Jenft (FRA) Junior women’s Boulder Naïlé Meignan (FRA) Emily Phillips (GBR) Lucija Tarkus (SLO) Junior women’s Lead Nonoha Kume (JPN) Lucija Tarkus (SLO) Camille Pouget (FRA) Junior men’s Lead Hamish McArthur (GBR) Paul Jenft (FRA) Rei Kawamata (JPN) Junior men’s Speed Iaroslav Pashkov (RUS) Ukolov Danila (RUS) Lawrence Bogeschdorfer (AUT) Junior women’s Speed Franziska Ritter (GER) Giulia Randi (ITA) Capucine Viglione (FRA) Junior men’s Combined Lawrence Bogeschdorfer (AUT) Hamish McArthur (GBR) Johannes Hofherr (AUT) Junior women’s Combined Emily Phillips (GBR) Lucija Tarkus (SLO) Mahya Darabian (IRI) The full Youth A podium line-ups are as follows: Youth A men’s Boulder Hannes Van Duysen (BEL) Emil Zimmermann (GER) Thorben Perry Bloem (GER) Youth A women’s Boulder Zélia Avezou (FRA) Sara Copar (SLO) Alessia Mabboni (ITA) Youth A men’s Lead Haruki Uemura (JPN) Mejdi Schalck (FRA) Timotej Romšak (SLO) Youth A women’s Lead Sara Copar (SLO) Alessia Mabboni (ITA) Liza Novak (SLO) Youth A men’s Speed Maksim Ryzhov (RUS) Hryhorii Ilchyshyn (UKR) Marco Rontini (ITA) Youth A women’s Speed Beatrice Colli (ITA) Nuria Brockfeld (GER) Callie Close (USA) Youth A men’s Combined Edvards Gruzitis (LAT) Toby Roberts (GBR) Timotej Romšak (SLO) Youth A women’s Combined Sara Copar (SLO) Callie Close (USA) Liza Novak (SLO) The full Youth B podium line-ups are as follows: Youth B men’s Boulder Nikolay Rusev (BUL) Sorato Anraku (JPN) Augustine Chi (USA) Youth B women’s Boulder Anastasia Sanders (USA) Meije Lerondel (FRA) Sina Willy (AUT) Youth B men’s Lead Sorato Anraku (JPN) Hugo Hoyer (USA) Dillon Countryman (USA) Youth B women’s Lead Anastasia Sanders (USA) Meije Lerondel (FRA) Mio Nukui (JPN) Youth B men’s Speed Kirill Koldomov (RUS) Samuel Watson (USA) Yusuke Sugimoto (JPN) Youth B women’s Speed Daria Marciniak (POL) Francesca Matuella (ITA) Julie Fritsche (GER) Youth B men’s Combined Dillon Countryman (USA) Nikolay Rusev (BUL) Timo Uznik (AUT) Youth B women’s Combined Anastasia Sanders (USA) Anastasia Kobets (UKR) Sina Willy (AUT)

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL Islamabad (August 31, 2021):-Top seed Tayyab Aslam has clinched the title of PSF-Combaxx Sports Squash Championship after beating Nasir Iqbal 3-2 in the final at Mushaf Squash Complex, Islamabad on Tuesday. The final score-line was 8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5 and 11-4, as both top national players encounter each other for 49 minutes in the court. At the end, Air Marshal Aamir Masood Senior Vice President Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) graced the closing ceremony as chief guest and distributed trophies and prizes to the finalists. CEO Combaxx Sports Omer Saeed was also present on this occasion.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Rawalpindi (August 31, 2021):-Sajjad Shah has won the title of Azadi Cup Tenpin Bowling Championship at Leisure City Bowling Club, Jinnah Park, Rawalpindi. Ali Suria and  Ahmer Suldera got 2nd and 3rd position respectively in the four-day top national bowling event. Air-commodore (Rtd), Dr. Hafeez ur Rehman was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony and gave away the prizes to the winning players. President, Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation, Ijaz ur Rehman, Secretary General, Mohammad Chattha and a large number of peoples were also present on the occasion. Final Results: In the men’s singles event; Sajjad Shah won Azadi Cup Tenpin Bowling Championship while Ali Suria and  Ahmer Suldera got 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. Ijaz ur Rehman finished 4th position. Men’s Deaf event; Qasim Asid got first position while Azam Khan and Amir Shah secured 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. Women Deaf event: Zehra Amir, Moeeza and Asmat Asif bagged 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. Inter School event; Ayaz ur Rehman obtained 1st position while Aarij and Wajid finished 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.  Inter University event; Adil Bashir got first position while Saad and Hamza secured 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. Amateur event: Haider, Bablu and Unaib obtained 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. Women Singles event; Roshi received first position while Rozina and Noor bagged 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. Team event; Karachi Lions won the event while Hunter and Warriors got 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.  Media event; Shakir Abbasi, Rizwan and Zahid Farooq secured first, second and third positions respectively.  

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Islamabad (August 30, 2021):-Top seed Tayyab Aslam and Nasir Iqbal reached into the final of PSF-Combaxx Sports Squash Championship after beating Hamza Shraif and Israr Ahmed respectively in the semifinals at Mushaf Squash Complex, Islamabad on Monday. Final will be played on Tuesday at same venue. In the 1st semifinal, World No 44 Tayyab Aslam (Pak) overcame World No 394 Hamza Sharif (Pak) with a game score of 11-5, 11-5 and 11-2.  The match lasted for 21 minutes. Meanwhile, in the 2nd semifinal, World No 102 Nasir Iqbal (Pak) defeated World No 124 Israr Ahmad (Pak). The final score-line was 11-3,9-11,1-11,11-3 and 11-6. The match lasted for 48 minutes.