Lahore (Press Release): Rijas Polo/Master Paints triumphed over HN Polo with a 7-4 victory, securing their place in the subsidiary final of the 11th Corps Commander Polo Cup 2024, sponsored by Alfalah Investment and Abhi Investment, here at Jinnah Polo Fields.The match, held on Thursday, drew a significant crowd of families and polo enthusiasts eager to witness the high-stakes competition. Amirreza Behboudi led the charge for Rijas Polo/Master Paints with an impressive tally of six goals, while teammate Bilal Hayat Noon added another to their score. HN Polo put up a strong fight, with Mumtaz Abbas Niazi netting two goals, and Raja Samiullah and Babar Naseem contributing one goal each. The match commenced with Rijas Polo/Master Paints taking an early lead in the first chukker. However, HN Polo quickly responded with two consecutive goals, briefly overtaking the lead before Rijas/Master Paints leveled the score at 2-2 at the close of the second chukker. The third chukker saw both teams displaying remarkable skills and resilience, each scoring two goals and bringing the score to a nail-biting 4-4. In the critical moments of the chukker, Rijas/Master Paints edged ahead with a crucial field goal, gaining a slender 5-4 advantage. The final and decisive chukker was dominated by Rijas Polo/Master Paints. Their relentless attack resulted in two back-to-back goals, sealing their victory at 7-4. The match was officiated by field umpires Raja Temur Nadeem and Raja Mikael Sami, adding to the professional atmosphere of the tournament.  

Sports Bulletin ReportGUJRANWALA: Lahore Blinds Cricket Team defeated Bahawalpur by 59 runs in the final of the Gujranwala Blinds’ Cricket T20 Tournament here at Jinnah Cricket Stadium Gujranwala on Thursday. Badar Munir got Man of the Match award.In the morning, Bahawalpur won the toss and asked Lahore to take guard. Lahore set a mammoth total of 229 runs on the board for the loss of 5 wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. Badar Munir once again shined with the bat, and he scored an unbeaten 163 runs off 74 balls featuring 6 sixes and 16 fours. Babar Ali took 2 wickets for Bahawalpur. In reply, Bahawalpur was restricted to 170 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted quota of 20 overs. Moain Aslam was their top scorer with 64 runs off 36 balls and Zafar Iqbal made 26 runs off 19 balls. Farhan Ullah took 2 wickets while Badar and Rizwan shared 1 wicket each.Syed Sultan Shah (Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council), Col. Zia ul Islam (Project Secretary, DHA Gujranwala), Col. Ahmed Raza Sial, (Director Marketing DHA Gujranwala), Khalid Minhas (Owner, Minhas Industries Gujranwala), Bilal Anayat Butt (Chairman Red Crescent Gujranwala) were the guests of the occasion and distributed the prizes amongst the players.Player of the Tournament:B1: Mohammad Salman (Lahore)B2: Israr ul Hassan (Gujranwala)B3: Mohammad Akram (Gujranwala)Best Wicket Keeper: Faizan Khattak (Islamabad)

Report: Mohammad Azam DarISLAMABAD: The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila organized the Prime Minister (PM) Youth Sports Handball Talent Hunt Program at Mirpur University Sciences and Technology (MUST) Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) under the banner of Higher Education Commission (HEC).According to an official, the men’s trials of handball were held from January 22 to 23, 2024 at the City Campus in MUST Mirpur AJK aiming to dig out young talent of handball. The talent hunt program contained extensive trials and assessments to identify the most promising male handball players.It is pertinent to mention here that more than seventy (70) players appeared in the two-day trials from Mirpur and its surrounding areas. After hectic trials and competitions showcasing the participant's skills and teamwork, the promising and budding 17 players were selected to represent the Mirpur region in the league to be announced by the HEC later on.Vice Chancellor MUST, Brig. Prof Dr. Younis Javed, SI (M) graced the occasion as chief guest, and the opening ceremony of the talent hunt was also graced by the presence of esteemed guests including Brig. Prof. Dr. Younis Javed, SI (M), Director Business School, Prof. Dr. Zafar Ahmed, Treasurer, Dr. Khalique Ahmed, Abid Hussain, Director Sports, MUST, Umer Mehmood, Secretary General, Rawalpindi Handball Association, Dawood Siddiqui and sizeable spectators. Mohammad Akmal Hussain, Director Sports, UET Taxila was the Organizing Secretary. Akmal Hussain, Organizing Secretary presented a shield to the chief guest on the occasion.Major Jehangir Ahmed, MUST University was the chief guest in the closing ceremony on 23rd January, 2024. The chief guest said that such initiatives were significant to provide opportunities to youth to excel and national and international levels in the field of sport

Netherlands, Ukraine, South Africa, and India reach in quarterfinalsSports Bulletin ReportMuscat (Oman): Netherlands, Ukraine, South Africa, and India advanced into the quarterfinals of the 1st FIH Hockey five-a-side World Cup, which got underway in Muscat, Oman on Wednesday, as 138 goals were scored in 16 encounters.Pool A: The Netherlands showed themselves to be real tournament contenders, posting two big wins to book their place in the quarter-finals. They first dismantled Fiji 14-1 with hat-tricks from Bente van der Veldt and Marloes Timmermans. The Dutch side then went on to hammer Malaysia 10-0 and, although it took them eight minutes to find a goal, they put some exquisite plays together. All of the Dutch outfield players scored at least two goals each on the day. In other matches in Pool A, Malaysia posted a solid 10-0 victory against hosts Oman, Zati Muhamad scoring four of those goals and Zafirah Aziz scoring three. Fiji came from behind and then snuck in a late goal in their 3-2 win against hosts Oman – both sides making their debuts at an FIH Hockey World Cup event. The day’s results mean Malaysia and Fiji face each other on Thursday with a spot in the quarter-finals up for grabs. POOL B: Ukraine and South Africa secured their places in the quarter-finals with two good wins each. Ukraine started with an impressive 6-3 win over Australia, Anna Tanchenko scoring a hat-trick. They then romped home 9-0 against Zambia as Karyna Leonova chalked up four goals.Meanwhile, South Africa cruised to a 9-1 victory against the side that beat them in the pool stages of their continental qualifier – Zambia. Toni Marks bagged three goals in the SA side’s opening match. They followed this up with a 6-3 win over Australia in an enthralling contest, Grace Cochrane doing sterling work in the South African goal when the match was still evenly poised.POOL C: India recorded a narrow 5-4 win over Poland in the opening pool match and then fought back with six unanswered goals in 12 minutes to beat the USA 7-3 after earlier trailing by two goals. The Indian side are now guaranteed to advance to the quarter-finals but they will be aiming to top the table when they face hosts Oman on Thursday. In their other game of the day, the USA went a goal down early against Namibia but bounced back for an easy 6-1 win, Charlotte de Vries completing her hat-trick in the first half. Poland beat Namibia 5-1 so their showdown with the USA on Thursday is for a quarter-final spot, while Namibia will play off for the lower places.POOL D: Pool D is set up for a dramatic final round in that all four teams still have a statistical chance of progressing to the quarter-finals. Uruguay look most likely to advance, having completely dominated Paraguay for a 10-1 win, with Teresa Viana bagging five goals for her team in that match. They followed this up with a clinical performance to beat New Zealand 6-1, Viana adding another two to her haul to take her to the top of the goal-scorers chart. New Zealand fought back from a goal down to defeat Thailand 4-3 earlier in the day, and Thailand prevailed 3-1 in a tight contest with Paraguay.Results (Women’s Event Day-1):Ukraine beat Australia (6-3), South Africa beat Zambia (9-1), Malaysia beat Oman (10-0), Netherlands beat Fiji (14-1), India beat Poland (5-4), USA beat Namibia (6-1), New Zealand beat Thailand (4-3), Uruguay beat Paraguay (10-1), Ukraine beat Zambia (9-1), South Africa beat Australia (6-3), Netherlands beat Malaysia (10-0), Fiji beat Oman (3-2), Poland beat Namibia (5-1), India beat USA (7-3), Thailand beat Paraguay (3-1), Uruguay beat New Zealand (6-1).

LAHORE (Press Release): The Jinnah Polo Fields were abuzz with excitement as the second day of the prestigious 11th Corps Commander Polo Cup 2024, sponsored by Alfalah Investment and Abhi Investment, witnessed three enthralling matches. The opening match set a high standard for the day, with FG/Din Polo demonstrating remarkable skill and strategy to secure an 8-3½ victory over HN Polo Team. The star of the match, Juan Cruz Greguol, led FG/Din Polo with an exceptional display of mallet handling and pony maneuvering, contributing an impressive five goals. His teammates Shaikh Raffay and Shaikh Farhad also made significant contributions with two and one goal respectively. HN Polo Team, benefiting from a half goal handicap, saw Raja Samiullah, Haider Naseem, and Babar Naseem each scoring a goal. The day's second encounter featured an intense battle between DS Polo and Rijas Polo/Master Paints, culminating in a 9-6½ triumph for DS Polo. Bilal Haye emerged as the match's standout performer, delivering a remarkable five goals. Ahmed Ali Tiwana also played a key role in the victory, scoring twice. Despite their half goal handicap advantage and Amirreza Behboudi's four-goal contribution alongside Sufi Mohammad Haroon's two goals, Rijas Polo/Master Paints ultimately fell short. The final match of the day was a closely contested affair, with Master Paints/Newage Cables narrowly defeating Diamond Paints 3½-3. Hamza Mawaz Khan was the linchpin of his team’s success, scoring all three goals for Master Paints/Newage Cables. Diamond Paints put up a strong fight with Raja Temur Nadeem scoring twice and Saqib Khan Khakwani adding another goal, but it wasn't enough to clinch a win for their team. 

Sports Bulletin ReportAbu Dhabi (UAE);  Through an enthralling display of bowling prowess, MI Emirates skittled out Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for 95 runs in 14.1 overs to record a resounding nine-wicket win in the sixth match of the DP World ILT20 Season 2 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. Trent Boult (3 for 14) wiped away the cream of the Knight Riders’ batting backed by Akeal Hosein with two wickets for 21 runs. Knight Riders’ experienced allrounder Andre Russell stood amidst the ruins to hit a fighting 48 runs off 25 balls with four sixes and three boundaries. Muhammad Rohid Khan hastened the end of Knight Riders’ innings taking three wickets for 25 runs. MI Emirates began their chase with Mohammad Waseem and Kusal Perera striking comfortably. Waseem started by hitting Josh Little for two boundaries and a six off consecutive deliveries in the first over while Perera did the same against David Willey in the second over off successive deliveries. Together they put on 42 runs in 4.2 overs before Perera got out to Matiullah Khan caught by Sunil Narine at mid-on for 22.Skipper Nicholas Pooran, who joined Waseem, carried his team quickly to the target with an unbeaten 39 off 16 balls with five sixes and one boundary. Waseem remained unbeaten on 26 off 20 balls with two boundaries and a six. The MI Emirates won the match with 71 balls to spare. This big win lifted them to the top of the table too. The tale of Knight Riders’ disastrous batting began after Emirates won the toss and elected to bowl. Knight Riders lost half the side for 22 runs in 6.1 overs. UAE’s 21-year-old opener Alishan Sharafu had started off by scoring boundaries off Hosein and Boult, but fell in the third over hitting Hosein to Tim David at mid-off for 10. His opening partner Andries Gous, who had hit a match winning unbeaten 95 against Desert Vipers in his previous match, was joined by Michael Pepper. Boult removed Pepper (5) and Sam Hain (0), both of whom edged to wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran. He also went on to get Gous, caught by Dwayne Bravo at mid-on for 3. Hosein uprooted Laurie Evans off stump for 1. Imad Wasim and Andre Russell pushed the score to 47 before Wasim became the sixth wicket to fall, caught by Bravo at slip off Fazalhaq Farooqi for 7. In the 10th over, Ravi Bopara played Muhammad Rohid on to his wicket for a duck. Rohid also had David Willley caught by David at mid-on for a duck. At the half way mark, Abu Dhabi was tottering at 53 for 8. Skipper Narine, who joined Andre Russell, lasted just five balls to score one run before hitting high to Boult at mid-off. Russell though kept the scoreboard moving through some big hits. He smashed Rohid for two sixes in the 14th over and put on 36 runs in 16 balls with last man Josh Little.

Sports Bulletin ReportKARACHI: National Bank's Asjad Iqbal won the NBP 48th National Snooker Championship in a sensational final played at the Snooker Arena of the NBP Sports Complex., after a nerve-wracking 6-hour battle, Asjad overcame Owais Munirullah of Punjab by 7-6. National Bank Acting President Abdul Wahid Sethi presented the trophy and prize money of two lakh rupees to Asjad Iqbal, the winner of the National Snooker Championship, and one lakh rupees to the runner-up Awaisullah Munir, while Babar Masih was given a prize money of 25 thousand rupees for playing a break of 142.On this occasion, Pakistan Billiard and Snooker Association Chairman Alamgir Sheikh, Secretary Zulfiqar Ramzi, SVP Mudassar Inamullah, Kamran Khalid, VPNBP and Section Head Sports Afshan Shakeel, Farhan Rafiq, Yasir Jamal, Atif Ali Qasmi, Mohammad Azmat and others were also present.According to tournament director, Naveed Kapadia, the frame score of winner Asjad Iqbal's victory was 5-80, 99-14, 64-45, 64-08, 18-69, 42-64, 55-75, 42-55, 67-00, 71-21, 77-18, 48-92 and 55-40. Asjad Iqbal scored 72 in the second frame and 63 in the ninth frame, while Owais Munirullah scored 61 in the first frame and 92 in the twelfth frame.

Sports Bulletin ReportDubai (UAE): Charles virtually carried his team on his shoulders with a 71 runs partnership in 51 balls for the fourth wicket with Lewis Gregory (16), and a 29-run stand with UAE’s Basil Hameed for the fifth wicket. Though Charles got out when Warriors needed 27 runs off 23 balls, Hameed, through an unbeaten 24, and Daniel Sams (16n.o), carried their team to the victory with seven balls to spare. Capitals’ medium pacer Dushmantha Chameera picked four out of the five wickets that fell for 28 runs, but his efforts went in vain. Capitals were put into bat, but they posted a fighting total of 170 for 7 in 20 overs. Sam Billings top scored with 52 runs off 32 balls with four sixes and one boundary while Sikandar Raza’s hit 48 runs off 23 balls with three boundaries and three sixes. Together they put on 81 runs for the fourth wicket off 44 balls after their team got off to a slow start scoring just 38 runs in the powerplay. In pursuit of their target of 171 runs, Warriors brought in opener Martin Guptill as the super- sub in place of Dilshan Madushanka, but he got run out for 2.Skipper and opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore then edged Dushmantha Chameera to wicketkeeper Gurbaz for 3. Niroshan Dickwella, who put on 25 runs in 12 balls with Charles, got out to Chameera for 7. By the end of the powerplay, Charles ensured that Warriors was strongly placed at 60 for 3 by scoring 42 off those runs. He raced to his half century in 26 balls. In the last ten overs, Warriors needed 79 runs. Chameera picked his third wicket clean bowling Gregory in the 13th over for 16. Hameed and Sams then carried their team to the target.  

Sports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) on Monday announced a five-member team for The Davis Cup Tennis Tie, which will be played against traditional foes India on February 3 and 4, 2024 here at Grass Courts of Pakistan Sports Complex.Names of Pakistani players: Muzammil Murtaza, Aisam ul Haq Qureshi, Aqeel Khan, Mohammad Shoaib, BarkatullahOfficials: Mohammad Abid (non-playing captain).Names of Indian players: Regards, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Shriram Balaji, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni, Niki Poonacha, S D Prajwal Dev (reserve)Officials: Rohit Rajpal (Captain), Zeeshan Ali (Coach), Debashish Das & Anand Kumar (Physios), Anil Dhupar (Manager), Sunil Yajaman (Coordinator). 

Sports Bulletin ReportDubai (UAE): South Africa’s wicketkeeper batter, Andries Gous played an unbeaten 95 runs innings to lead Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to a sensational win against Desert Vipers in the third match of the DP World ILT20 season 2 at the Dubai International Stadium.Gous’ knock off 50 balls studded with five boundaries and seven sixes enthralled the large Sunday crowd and his team owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. His 85 runs partnership in 47 balls for the second wicket along with Michael-Kyle Pepper (36), and his 71 runs stand in 43 balls for the fourth wicket with Laurie Evans (21) ensured his team an easy six-wicket win with 14 balls to spare. Earlier, Knight Riders restricted Desert Vipers to a gettable 164 for 8 through some tight bowling led by their skipper Sunil Narine (2 for 23) and Ali Khan’s fine death-over spell bagging 3 for 29. Adam Hose top scored with 45 runs off 30 balls after his skipper Colin Munro hit a quick 22 in 12 balls. Vipers may not have crossed the 150 mark but for Wanindu Hasaranga (24) and Hose’s 57 runs partnership off 40 balls for the fourth wicket. Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine won the toss and elected to bowl. Since his team had finished at the bottom of the points table in the first edition, he hoped that the new faces in his team would bring them luck this time. Colin Munro, skipper of Vipers that finished as runners-up last season hoped that even if the toss was lost, it was important to bat well and adapt accordingly. He then opened the innings along with Alex Hales.  Munro even gave a positive start by hitting David Willey for a boundary in the first over and a six and a boundary off Imad Wasim in the second over. Hales began to open up with two consecutive boundaries off Willey but fell to the third ball of the third over, caught by Wasim at covers for 11. Joshua Little took the big wicket of Munro, who pulled him straight into the hands of Laurie Evans for 22.  One-drop batter Daniel Lawrence, who attempted a slog sweep, landed up hitting Wasim high to wicketkeeper Andries Gous for 19. All eyes turned towards Sri Lanka’s Hasaranga, who joined Hose. He went on to slog sweep Wasim for a six in the 10thover. At the half way stage, Vipers were nine short of the 100-run mark.When runs were hard to get, Hose hit Little for a six and two consecutive boundaries in the 12th over. In the 14thover, Ali Khan struck to remove Hose for 45, caught behind while attempting a reverse hit. Hose had put on 57 runs off 40 balls for the fourth wicket with Hasaranga. Narine struck in the 15th over removing Hasaranga caught at deep-midwicket by Willey for 24 and Sherfane Rutherford caught and bowled for a duck. With only five overs to go, Vipers were struggling at 127 for 6. Ali Khan bowled another brilliant over giving away just four runs. Bas de Leede and Rohan Mustafa steered the score past the 150-run mark before de Leede fell to the accurate Ali Khan for 14. Ali Khan also clean bowled Mohammad Amir for 4 for his third wicket. In the end, Mustafa remained unbeaten with a run-a-ball 13. Knight Riders began their chase by losing UAE’s young opener Alishan Sharafu who pulled Sheldon Cottrell and top edged to Tymal Mills at backward point for 1. One-drop Pepper, who joined opener Gous, began by hitting Mohammad Amir for two consecutive boundaries. Gous then went on to hit Cottrell for two sixes in the fourth over.  Twenty runs were scored off that Cottrell’s over. Pepper strengthened Knight Riders’ chase hitting De Leede for three consecutive boundaries in the eighth over and taking 22 runs off the over. Mills provided the breakthrough in the 10th over by having Pepper caught by Munro at extra cover for 36. Pepper and Gous had put on 85 runs in 47 balls for the second wicket. With ten overs to go, Knight Riders needed 74 runs. Sam Hains lasted only five balls before getting clean bowled to Lawrence for 1. Gous reached his half century in 28 balls lifting Mustafa for a six over deep mid-wicket. He went on to hit Hasaranga for two consecutive boundaries and a six in the 13th over to make it a run-a-ball target for his team. Laurie Evans ensured more strike was taken by his aggressive partner Gous, and together they put their team on the road to an easy victory. They put on 71 runs in 43 balls for the fourth wicket before Evans fell to Mills, caught by Hose at long-on for 21. By then, only three runs were needed to win. Imad Wasim hit the winning boundary as Gous remained unbeaten five runs short of a century.