Sports Bulletin

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-Kazakhstan Ambassador in Islamabad Yerzhan Kistafin on Wednesday called on Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ehsan Ur Rehman Mazari at his office and discussed various points including the sports relations between both nations. According to ministry of IPC, Ambassador proposed that there are various areas of cooperation between the two brotherly countries specifically in tourism and sports which could bring two nations even closer. Yerzhan Kistafin told the Federal Minister that recently a large exhibition of Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan) products was arranged in the largest metropolis Almaty. Moreover, various business groups, tourist groups visited Pakistan and Kazakhstan is keen to sign a MoU regarding tourism with Pakistan.  Federal Minister Ehsan Ur Rehman Mazari welcomed the proposals and said: “We are also looking forward to take these friendly relations to new heights specifically in sphere of sports involving youth from both the nations. Both nations enjoy the 30 years of diplomatic relations and we have to work mutually for extending these beyond the current status.  Pakistan is a home to the world’s second highest mountain in the world K-2 along with other high peaks, this can be a greatest attraction for mountaineers from Kazakhstan”.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Thailand defeated Pakistan 20-15 in the first match of the Asia Rugby Division-II Championship 2022 at Punjab Stadium, Lahore Sunday night. Despite the defeat in the first match, Pakistan still have bright chances to  qualify for Division-I, if they defeat Thailand in the second match, which will be played on June 1 at the Punjab Stadium, Lahore. At the moment Thailand's team is up by 5 points so the Pakistan need to earn a victory with a margin. Thailand scored penalties in the first half, followed by a try by the Pakistan team, which had a 7-to-6 edge at the halftime. Pakistan placed a lot of pressure on the Thailand team in the second half but missed some crucial chances of converting tries by Pakistani forwards. Luc Michel, Etienne Legrand, Sarut Janda, and Thanapong Punjpang scored tries for Thailand, while Ali Shahid and Khalid Hussain Bhatti scored tries for Pakistan. President Pakistan Rugby Union Arif Saeed, Secretary Salman Shaikh, Asia Rugby Chief Executive Johny Stavrinou, Media Manager Khurram Haroon, Tournament Director Ghaith Jalajel, Aitchison College Principal Michael Thomson, DG Sports Board Javed Chohan, Director Sports Board Hafeez Bhatti, and a large number of former rugby players were all present during the match. Meanwhile, the Thailand team had a very busy day in Lahore the next day of the first match. They started the day with a visit to the Historic Lahore Fort. According to the players, they have a great time in the fort. "I took several photos with the locals," a Thai player said. The team then went to a local shopping mall for some shopping, where they met with the general public and took some photos before returning to the hotel in the evening.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Stage set to host Asia Rugby Division II Championship 2022 here at Lahore, said Arif Saeed President Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) in a press conference, along with Asia Rugby Chief Executive Johny Stavrinou, Tournament Director Ghaith Jalajel, Secretary PRU Salman Shaikh, Pakistan Rugby team Head coach Gert Mulder, Pakistan national team Captain Hamad Safdar, Thailand head coach Withapong Jindasawat, Captain Patchraaphat Sornritchingchai, Chief Selector PRU Rizwan Malik. The manager of the Thailand rugby team Suti Meethavorn, Director Punjab sports board Hafeez Bhatti, Asia Rugby Media manager Khurram Haroon, PRU management were also present on the occasion. President PRU Arif Saeed welcomed the Thailand rugby team and management of Asia Rugby to the great city of Lahore. All arrangements have been completed to host Thailand here in Lahore. Pakistan Rugby Union is honored to host such a big event of Asia Rugby DIV II championship. We will host this event in a very positive manner as we have done many International events in the past. First test match between Pakistan and Thailand will be played on 29th May 2022 at 7.30 pm in Punjab Stadium while 2nd match on 1st June 2022 here at Punjab Stadium Lahore. He was hopeful that Pakistan team will play high quality rugby and has a good chance for qualifying for Div I. He said we are pleased to have the services of a high quality coach in the form of Gert Mulder from South Africa. Tournament Director who came from Jordan Ghaith Jalajel said that after Covid restrictions and 2019 this is Asia Rugby`s first 15 a Side ranking event. Pakistan national team captain Hamad Safdar said that our boys have trained really hard over the past three months and are hopeful of qualifying for Division I for the first time. Thailand Captain Patchraaphat Sornritchingchai said that we have a good experience playing in this sort of hot weather and are looking forward to this event.

Fawad Asghar LAHORE:-Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) has announced a 26-man national squad for upcoming Asian Rugby Division-II Championship. According to Secretary PRU Salman Shaikh, Chairman Selection Committee Rizwan Malik along with selectors Yahya Bhatti, Mohsin khan and Muzamil Wazeri finalized the team for international rugby regional fixture. The two ranking matches between Pakistan and Thailand will be played on the May 29 and June 1, 2022. Secretary Salman Shaikh said: “We welcome the Thailand rugby team to Lahore Pakistan and due to the significance of the tournaments we have hired the services of an experienced coach from South Africa Gert Mulder. He (Gert) has 35 years of experience in coaching rugby from school boys, first class club rugby to provincial level. Head coach Gert Mulder said: “I am very excited and honored to be appointed as Head Coach of Pakistan National team. I spent a month with Pakistan team and I saw huge talent and I hope that Pakistan team has a good chance to win and will perform well in the upcoming international competetions.” Names of players: Hamad Safdar (captain), Ahmed Waseem (captain), Ali Shahid (Line captain), Dawood Gill (Defense captain), Ali Khan, Anjum Sajjad, Mohammad Aqib Siddique, Arfan Ali, Arslan Mir, Israr Ahmed, Dawood Shah, Faisal Aslam, Kashif Khawaja, Khalid Bhatti, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Bilal AKbar, Mohammad Waqas, Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Haroon, Mohammadf Imran, Moiz Shah, Umair Khan, Usama Aslam, Saad Arif, Shoaib Wadood Khan, Wasim Abass.  Names of Officials: Gert Mulder (head coach),  Umer Islam (Back Line coach), Mohammad Babar (Forward coach), Shakeel Malik (Defense coach), Jahangir Nawaz (Strength and conditioning coach) Mohammad Ehtasham  (Medical Doctor) Mohammad Zia (Team Physio).

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) will host Asian Rugby Championship DIV II (15side) in Lahore from 29th May to 4th June 2022. According to an official of PRU, four teams of the region will participate in the 6-day mega Asian event including hosts Pakistan, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and China. The event was allocated to Pakistan in 2020 but due to Covid situation was not possible to organize. Now, the situation has improved in the Pakistan and Asia, so we got confirmation about these teams which we will host this year in Lahore. PRU already hosts a lot of Asian events past senior and junior level. Pakistan Rugby Union Head coach Shakeel Ahmed Malik is already hunting the players all over Pakistan. PRU already made a selection committee to finalize the 22 member team. Rizwan ur Rab Malik, Mohsin Khan, Muzamil Khan Waziree and Shakeel Ahmed Malik are the part of the National Selection Committee. Rugby is one of popular sports in Pakistan where in universities and colleges Rugby scholarship programs continue from the last many years. PRU has many men and women rugby teams in southern Punjab.