Sports Bulletin

SB Report  LAHORE:-Unbeaten half-centuries by Fawad Alam and Saad Ali had Sindh at 196 for four in 57.5 overs when stumps were drawn on day two of their four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture against Central Punjab at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium. Sindh had lost four wickets for 72 runs thanks to young fast-bowler Naseem Shah, who accounted for the wickets of Khurram Manzoor (10), Abid Ali (three) and Omair Bin Yousaf (33). Faheem Ashraf was the other bowler to take a wicket as he removed Asad Shafiq, who managed only five runs from his 18-ball stay at the crease. With the pressure mounting on the visitors, Fawad and Saad knitted an unbeaten 124-run stand for the fifth-wicket which put Sindh’s innings back on track. Fawad, to date, had scored 78 runs from 133 balls with 10 fours, while Saad made 60 off 119 with eight fours. Earlier, Central Punjab were 313 all-out in 95.5 overs as they added only 50 runs to their overnight score. On Tuesday morning, Faheem led the charge with the bat for the hosts. Resuming his innings at 22, the all-rounder scored 52 not out from 63 balls, cracking seven fours and a six. His overnight partner, Ehsan Adil, added 14 more runs to his score of nine. With three wickets for 99 runs, Kashif Bhatti was the pick of the bowlers for Sindh, while pacers Sohail Khan, Mir Hamza and Tabish Khan took two wickets each.   Both teams bagged three points each as Sindh took nine or more wickets and Central Punjab crossed the 300-run mark in the 110-over cut-off. The third day’s play at Iqbal Stadium will resume at 10.00am on Wednesday. Scores in brief:  Central Punjab 313 all-out, 95.5 overs (Kamran Akmal 90, Ahmed Shehzad 60, Faheem Ashraf 52, Usman Salahuddin 38, Ehsan Adil 25; Kashif Bhatti 3-99, Mir Hamza 2-46, Sohail Khan 2-72, Tabish Khan 2-80) Sindh 196-4, 57.5 overs (Fawad Alam 78, Saad Ali 60, Omair Bin Yousaf 33; Naseem Shah 3-55)

Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD:-President, Pak-Swiss Friendship Forum (PSFF), Raja Hafeez Ahmed said that PSFF basic aim was to uplift the positive image of the country Switzerland particularly in whole Europe, which was defused by international media after 9/11 incident despite of this Pakistan had no link with said incident. While talking to this scribe during an exclusive sitting on other day he hoped that he would people of both countries close to understand each other through cultural and sports activities in Switzerland. “We are organizing our social, cultural and sports activities regularly. We also celebrate our national day with enthusiasm especially Independent day on August 14, Defense Day on September 6 and Pakistan Day on March 23 each year, as the cricket match always part of independent day August 14. We organize a match in which Pakistani people participate in large number to enjoy the game. We invite Pakistani community and also Swiss People to attend our traditional events and they could understand our norms, traditions and cultural, “he viewed. “Our basis aim is to enhance people-to-people contact. We invite people of both communities in all types of cultural and sports activities. We have established a Geneva Eleven Stars cricket club that participates in all the events. Under the banner of this club we support blind, disable persons, helpless women and street children of Pakistani community, “he said. To a question Raja Hafeez said that there were 22 registered cricket clubs in Switzerland and Pakistani, Indian and Afghanistan play cricket from different clubs. “Our club had won the League Championship in 2012 and we had given fair play award too. “We also stage other social activities including Musharia, Naat competitions. Our club also manages to tell the Muslims history to our youth and about our historical tourist places that are attractive for the local people of Switzerland. “ACV’s Chief Organizer Malik Naseer, Director Tourism Malik Mahroof and Director Development Sports Raja Saeed are doing also splendid job for our Forum, “he replied a question.    Responding to another question, Raja said, “PSFF invites Pakistani diplomats in the ceremony, as the last time Pakistani ambassador Naseem Ahmed Warach had graced our ceremony as chief guest. Pakistani officials also support us because our basic aim to highlight the soft image of the country among the Swiss people, “he concluded.      

SB Report  KARACHI:-Pakistan Cricket Board last week hosted the ACC Level 1 Women Coaching course at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Fareeha Mahmood was one of the four participants from Pakistan who featured in the three-day course.  Fareeha, who represented Pakistan in three T20Is against Sri Lanka in March 2018, was among the 16 participants who learnt the basic skills of coaching in the course. She was also one of the probables to attend the Muridke training camp for the Bangladesh series and was granted a three-day break to attend the coaching course. While talking to media Fareeha defined her journey from being student to a participant in the prestigious course. She said: “It was a great feeling to be part of the coaching course as it not only helped me to figure out cricketing issues, but also helped me in identifying cricketing issues of other women players. “The course helped me to share my experiences with other cricketers in the camp, and I will take this forward to reach out to college girls. “I came to cricket after seeing my father’s love for the game. He couldn’t play at the highest level, but it gave me the motivation to come in this sport. I started playing at the school level, and it continued at the college level, before I made debut for Pakistan against Sri Lanka last year.” Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof is Fareeha’s favourite player. “I love watching Bismah bat and try to follow the way she plays, but Sidra Amin is the one who I idolise.”  

Salman Khan LAHORE:-Half-centuries by Javeria Khan and captain Bismah Maroof helped Pakistan women to a 15-run win over Bangladesh women in the second T20I at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and seal the three-match series 2-0. Pakistan put 167 for three in 20 overs, their third-highest total in the format, after being asked to bat by Bangladesh captain Salma Khatun That Pakistan put the imposing score was due to a 95-run partnership for the second-wicket between Javeria and Bismah. Batting at one-drop, the Pakistan captain recorded her highest score in the format as she cracked an unbeaten 70 off 50 balls, studded with nine fours and a six. This was her 10th half-century in the T20Is. Opening batter Javeria scored a 44-ball 52, hitting five fours and two sixes, before she lost her wicket in the 17th over of the innings to Bangladesh fast-bowler Jahanara Alam, who with two for 27 in four overs was the stand-out bowler for her side. Bangladesh failed to get a solid platform that the run-chase demanded as both openers Ayesha Rahman (five off six balls)and Shamima Sultana (11 off 14) were back in the pavilion by the end of the fifth over as the scorecard read 25 for two. With three balls still left in the Powerplay, Rumana Ahmed, who top-scored with a 30-ball 50 for Bangladesh in the first T2oI, followed Ayesha and Shamima back to the pavilion without scoring any runs as Bangladesh reeled at 25 for three. With a 32-ball 45, Sanjida Islam put up a fight to keep Bangladesh’s hopes alive in the match. But, her stay at the crease was curtailed by Sadia Iqbal. With the figures of three for 19 in four overs, the 24-year-old Sadia, playing her only second T20I, starred with the ball as Pakistan successfully defended their total. Pakistan captain Bismah bagged her second player-of-the-match award on trot for her exploits with the bat. Scores in brief:  Pakistan Women 167-3, 20 overs (Bismah Maroof 70 not out, Javeria Khan 52; Jahanara Alam 2-27) Bangladesh Women 152-7, 20 overs (Sanjida Islam 45, Fargana Hoque 30, Nigar Sultana 21; Sadia Iqbal 3-19) Upcoming fixtures: 30 October – 3rd T20I (10am-12.45pm), Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 2 November – 1st ODI (9.30am-4.35pm), Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 4 November – 2nd ODI (9.30am-4.35pm), Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

SB Report  LAHORE:-Leaders Central Punjab had reached 263 for seven on Day One of the four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture against Sindh after half-centuries by wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal and opener Ahmed Shehzad. Kamran became one of the two victims of left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti after scoring 90, while Ahmed scored 60 before perishing to Mir Hamza, who also claimed two wickets on a day when Central Punjab maintained a decent run-rate of just over three runs per over. With the 110-over cut-off for collecting bonus points just 20 overs away, both the sides will be aiming to make the most of the morning session on Tuesday. As of now, both teams have managed two points apiece – Central Punjab for reaching the 250-run milestone and Sindh for scooping more than six wickets. Central Punjab’s next targets will be 300 runs, which will earn him third points, followed up 350 runs (which will earn them four points), and finally 400 runs (which will earn them a maximum of five points), whereas a couple of more wickets will secure Sindh three maximum bowling points. Sindh, opting to bowl first without contesting the toss, justified their decision when they reduced Central Punjab to 38 for three that included the scalps of Salman Butt (16), Azhar Ali (one) and Umer Akmal (13). Tabish Khan caused the initial damage, claiming two wickets before Ahmed Shehzad switched up an 86-run fourth-wicket partnership with Usman Salahuddin (38) to repair the damage. Kamran Akmal then put on 66 runs for the sixth-wicket with Zafar Gohar (12) before both the batsmen returned to the hut in a space of three runs. Ahmed’s 134-ball innings included eight fours, while Kamran was as aggressive and attacking as always while clubbing 13 fours and two sixes in a 99-ball knock. Usman hit three fours in a 133-ball outing. Faheem Ashraf will lead Central Punjab’s charge on Tuesday for additional points when he resumes his innings at 22 from 30 balls. With him will be Ehsan Adil (nine). Scores in brief: Central Punjab 263-7, 85 overs (Kamran Akmal 90, Ahmed Shehzad 60, Usman Salahuddin 38, Faheem Ashraf 22 not out; Mir Hamza 2-46, Tabish Khan 2-61, Kashif Bhatti 2-98) v Sindh

SB Report  QUETTA:-Imran Butt and Imran Farhat scored unbeaten centuries as Balochistan posted 341 for three on the board in 90 overs on Day One against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam fifth-round fixture at Quetta’s Bugti Stadium. Butt was batting on 135 and Farhat on 114 when stumps were drawn. The pair, to date, added 227 runs for the unbroken fourth-wicket partnership. The hosts stuttered early on and lost Azeem Ghumman (eight) with 27 runs on board after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Sahibzada Farhan opted to bowl without contesting the toss. But, the right-handed Butt batted with authority throughout his innings. He crafted a useful second-wicket stand of 85 runs with opener Awais Zia, who scored 69 off 74 balls with 10 fours and a six. Butt, then went on to record his seventh first-class century. He has so far cracked 12 fours and two sixes in his 258-ball knock. From the other end, the 37-year-old Farhat completed his 36th first-class century. He struck 13 fours and a six during his 190-ball stay at the crease. For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Usman Shinwari and Imran Khan Sr. claimed a wicket apiece for 39 and 59 runs, respectively. Scores in brief:  Balochistan 341-3, 90 overs (Imran Butt 135 not out, Imran Farhat 114 not out, Awais Zia 69) vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Netherlands and Canada qualify for Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 SB Report (October 28, 2019) ISLAMABAD:-The men's international teams of the Netherlands and Canada have both secured their tickets to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, overcoming the respective challenges of Pakistan and Ireland in the two-game FIH Hockey Olympic qualifiers. The Netherlands proved too strong for Pakistan in the second leg of their Olympic qualifier, with the Dutch powering to a 6-1 triumph over the Green Shirts to confirm their place at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Saturday's first leg finished with the scores locked at 4-4, but the 1996 and 2000 Olympic gold medallists produced a sparking display in the second game to guarantee a 19th Olympic appearance at the expense of Pakistan, the 1960, 1968 and 1984 Olympic champions. Canada's place at next year's global showpiece in Japan was secured in dramatic circumstance in Vancouver. Ireland came into the contest with a 5-3 aggregate lead from the first match, but a last second penalty stroke from Scott Tupper gave the Canadians a 3-1 win in the second leg to force a shoot-out in which the Canadians emerged as winners. FIH Hockey Olympic qualifiers: Day 3 – Sunday 27 October 2019 Amsterdam (NED) – Men: Netherlands 6, Pakistan 1 (Match 2 of 2) ? The day's action began in front of a capacity crowd at Amsterdam's world-famous Wagener Stadium, where the men of the Netherlands (FIH World Ranking: 3) and Pakstan (WR:17) faced each other in a winner takes all encounter. Pakistan sensationally defied both the odds and the FIH World Rankings by coming within seconds of beating their illustrious opponents in front of their home fans, but Mink van der Weerden's last-gasp penalty corner tied the match at 4-4. However, there was to be no repeat performance, with the Netherlands producing a sensational display of attacking hockey to over-run the Green Shirts and seal their place at Tokyo 2020 at the expense of their opponents.  The Netherlands sparkled in the first half, opening up a thoroughly deserved 4-0 lead at the break. Bjorn Kellerman and Mirco Pruijser both netted stunning backhand strikes, while Mink van der Weerden bagged a brace with a penalty stroke and a penalty corner. Goals from Terrance Pieters and Jip Janssen after the break put the result beyond all doubt, before Pakistan's Rizwan Ali scored a late consolation goal.   Vancouver (CAN) – Men: Canada 3, Ireland 1 [5-4 After Shoot-Out] (Match 2 of 2) ? A 5-3 victory in the first game meant that Ireland started today's second match with a two goal aggregate advantage, a lead that was quickly extended when John McKee put the Green Machine 1-0 up in the sixth minute. Canada's Olympic dream appeared to be fading, but goals either side of half time from Gordon Johnston and Oliver Scolfield put the hosts within one goal of levelling the aggregate score. Ireland kept the home team at bay until the final second of the fourth quarter when a penalty stroke was awarded, with Canadian captain Scott Tupper showing the calmest of heads to fire into the bottom right corner to tie the aggregate score at 6-6, triggering a shoot-out for the Olympic ticket.  Misses from Canadian pair Sukhi Panesar and Keegan Pereira helped Ireland to establish a 3-1 lead before Michael Robson and Shane O'Donoghue failed to convert, leaving the shoot-out score locked at 3-3 going into sudden death. A mistake from Ireland's John McKee gave Adam Froese the opportunity to seal victory and he made no mistake, finding the target to send Canada to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.  FIH Hockey Olympic qualifiers – Day 1 Results Sunday 27 October 2019 - Day 3 Results  Amsterdam (NED) – Men: Netherlands 6, Pakistan 1 (Match 2 of 2) Vancouver (CAN) – Men: Canada 3 Ireland 1 [5-4 After Shoot-Out] (Match 2 of 2) Upcoming fixtures Friday 1 November 2019 - Day 4 Bhubaneswar (IND) – Women: India v USA (Match 1 of 2) Bhubaneswar (IND) – Men: India v Russia (Match 1 of 2) Saturday 2 November 2019 - Day 5 Stratford (NZL) – Men: New Zealand v Korea (Match 1 of 2) Bhubaneswar (IND) – Women: India v USA (Match 2 of 2) London (ENG) - Women: Great Britain v Chile (Match 1 of 2) Bhubaneswar (IND) – Men: India v Russia (Match 2 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Women: Germany v Italy (Match 1 of 2) London (ENG) - Men: Great Britain v Malaysia (Match 1 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Men: Germany v Austria (Match 1 of 2) Dublin (IRL) – Women: Ireland v Canada (Match 1 of 2) Sunday 3 November 2019 - Day 6 Stratford (NZL) – Men: New Zealand v Korea (Match 2 of 2) London (ENG) - Women: Great Britain v Chile (Match 2 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Women: Germany v Italy (Match 2 of 2) London (ENG) - Men: Great Britain v Malaysia (Match 2 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Men: Germany v Austria (Match 2 of 2) Dublin (IRL) – Women: Ireland v Canada (Match 2 of 2)

Olympian Shah Hussain Shah inks new history in Judo Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-Shah finished at 5th place while losing Bronze medal fight in Dubai Grand Slam judo during his Olympic qualifying journey on Saturday. He lost from Canadian, who is currently world number 4. This is ever highest achievement of any Pakistani Judoka in world highest level contest after World championship. This spectacular performance by him will give a big jump in Olympic as well as World ranking.  PJF President Col Junaid Alam has expressed entire satisfaction as well as pleasure on this unprecedented achievement. He said that Shah will be sent to Australian Grand Prix after 4 days.  Also he will feature in last grand slam of this year in Nov and then an open championship in Hong Kong. Only two judokas with any coach or official participated in this event while Indian contingent was consisted of 14 judokas. Despite that Pakistan finished overall at 30th position while India finished at 40th position. Shah got bye in first round and then in 2nd round won with Wazari against world ranked 55 Savytskiy Anton Ukraine.   After reaching third round which was pre- quarter final, Shah played aggressively against world no. 28 Khurramov Mukhammad Karim of Uzbekistan and made him disqualified being extra defensive. In Quarter final Shah fought against Olympic World Ranker no.18 Mr.Kotsoiev Zelym from Azerbaijan. He lost this fight on points after striving for complete duration of 4 minutes. After that Shah outclassed    Chinese Judoka in repechage to reach in bronze medal fight where he faced world no 4 Canadian Athlete Elnahas Shady. He played very well in that fight but finally lost the fight. It is pertinent to mention that Olympic Judo qualifying is a two year period. Unfortunately despite many efforts by PJF he could participate in only one contest in first year of Olympic qualification whereas   other judokas of world participated in at least average of 6-7 championships. Despite verbal consent by minister IPC and DG PSB, not a single penny has been released so far by Pakistan Sports board. However PJF sent him to participate in 5 major championships including world and Asian championships as well as grand slams in last 5 months. Earlier he was sent for a month long training camp in International judo federation academy Budapest Hungary to learn European style of Judo which was his weakness. PJF expects that if he maintains the pace he will In sha Allah qualify for Tokyo 2020 thus making another history.

Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD:-Domestic red-ball cricket resumes on Monday, 28 October, when the fifth-round action of the four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy commences at three centres. To provide context to domestic cricket, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had split the country’s premier event into two phases to create a window for the National T20 Cup ahead of the Pakistan national men’s team’s tour of Australia, which gets underway in Sydney on Sunday with first of the three T20Is. With Pakistan scheduled to play two World Test Championship matches against Australia Down Under from 21 November, this round serves as a crucial opportunity to furnish red-ball skills to the players named for the series. The Australia-bound players making their final appearance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy include Abid Ali (Sindh), Asad Shafiq (Sindh), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Kashif Bhatti (Sindh), Naseem Shah (Central Punjab), Shan Masood (Southern Punjab) and Yasir Shah (Balochistan). Northern’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has also been named in the Test side, will continue his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and resume bowing in Australia. Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali will be in action at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, as table-toppers Central Punjab face Sindh, who are sitting in fourth position. As Azhar will not be available to lead Central Punjab for rest of the competition, the team management has handed leadership responsibilities to Ahmed Shehzad, who was originally named as vice-captain. Central Punjab are the only side to have recorded two wins in the ongoing event – both by innings’ margins. Central Punjab would also be hoping that their spin duo of Zafar Gohar and Bilal Asif continue from where it left two weeks ago. With 14 wickets, left-arm spinner Zafar is the second highest wicket-taker this tournament, while Bilal is third on the list with 13 scalps. Central Punjab also boasts one of the three batsmen to have scored a double-century this season in Salman Butt, who cracked 237 against Balochistan in Quetta in his side’s victory by an innings and 12 runs. In Abid Ali, Sindh possess an opener with a double-century this tournament. The right-handed batsman cracked an unbeaten 249 in his side’s opening match against Balochistan in Karachi. Sindh will be pinning their hopes on Abid and Omair Bin Yousuf, who has 297 runs in five innings at an average of 74.25, to provide them the impetus with the bat to register their first win of the tournament, while Kashif Bhatti, named for Australia Tests, will be a bowler to watch out as his left-arm spin has accounted for 10 scalps in three innings. The fifth-round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will also see Sialkot host first-class cricket after the gap of a season when Shan Masood-led Southern Punjab take on Umar Amin’s Northern. Southern is the other team to have won a match this tournament with their win over Sindh at UBL Sports Complex in the last round. They are ranked second on the points table. On the other hand, it is a woe-galore for Northern. The National T20 champions are languishing at the bottom of the points table. There, however, have been silver linings for them this tournament with their younger players putting up impressive performances. With 383 runs at an average of 54.71, 19-year-old Haider Ali, Pakistan U19 opener, is Northern’s top-scorer, and third in the list of overall run-getters in this tournament. With 14 dismissals behind the stumps, Rohail Nazir has the joint-most dismissals for a wicketkeeper with Central Punjab’s Kamran Akmal. Quetta’s Bugti Stadium will host its third four-day match of the season with hosts Balochistan taking on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Both teams will be without their regular captains who will be in Australia by the time the match commences. Imran Farhat will lead Balochistan in Haris Sohail’s absence, while Sahibzada Farhan will fill-in Mohammad Rizwan’s shoes. All eyes in this competition will be on Balochistan’s Yasir Shah, who leads the highest wicket-takers’ chart with 15 scalps and has a final go in competitive red-ball cricket ahead of Australia Tests, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Ashfaq Ahmed, the highest run-getter of the tournament with 473 runs at a staggering average of 157.66. Fifth round fixtures: Balochistan v Khyber Pakhunkhwa, Bugti Stadium, Quetta Central Punjab v Sindh, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Southern Punjab v Norther, Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot

SB Report ISLAMABAD:-The second day of action in the FIH Hockey Olympic qualifiers saw four teams book their tickets to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, with Spain's men and women joining the women of Australia and China at next year's global showpiece in Japan. More information about today's matches can be found below.  FIH Hockey Olympic qualifiers: Day 2 – Saturday 26 October 2019 Changzhou (CHN) - Women: China 2, Belgium 0 [2-1 After Shoot-Out] (Match 2 of 2) A breathless final five minutes of action at the Wujin Stadium in Changzhou saw China (FIH World Ranking: 10) reel back a 2-0 deficit at the hands of Belgium (WR:12) to bring the aggregate score over two matches to 2-2. Head Coach Huang Yongsheng removed his goalkeeper Li Dongxiao with six minutes left to play and the tactic paid handsomely as the China side won a penalty stroke and followed up immediately with a second goal. Gu Bingfeng and Llang Meiyu were the respective goal-scorers. Player of the Match, Li, then pulled off some great saves to ensure her team won the shoot-out and progressed to their ninth successive Olympic Games. Belgium, who took a 2-0 lead in the first game and defended staunchly for most of the second game, will be devastated at missing out on an opportunity to return to Olympic action for just a second time in their history (London 2012 was the Red Panthers' only Olympic appearance). Perth (AUS) - Women: Australia 5, Russia 0 (Match 2 of 2) Three time gold medallists Australia (WR:2) will be chasing the medals at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 after they put in a devastating first half stint against a beleaguered Russia (WR:19) to emerge 5-0 winners in their second match. The result means the Hockeyroos were 9-2 winners on aggregate. Australia clinically dispatched the lower-ranked team, largely thanks to a five minute patch at the end of the second quarter which brought forth four goals. Goals were scored by Grace Stewart, Mariah Williams, Sophie Taylor, Emily Chalker and Kalindi Commerford. Russia for their part will be delighted to have kept a clean sheet in the second half.  Amsterdam (NED) – Men: Netherlands 4, Pakistan 4 (Match 1 of 2) ? Pakistan (WR:17) were denied a famous victory over the Netherlands (WR:3) by Dutch penalty corner ace Mink van der Weerden, who scored a dramatic late equaliser as the two teams finished with the score locked at 4-4. In a remarkable contest at the Amsterdam's Wagener Stadium, Pakistan silenced the home crowd thanks to an early penalty corner effort from Mubashar Ali before the Dutch hit back though Mink van der Weerden's penalty stroke and a glorious backhand strike from Bjorn Kellerman. However, penalty corner efforts either side of half time from Ghazanfar Ali and Muhammad Rizwan swung the match back in Pakstan's favour at 3-2. Robbert Kemperman pulled the Netherlands level in the fourth quarter before Mubashar Ali scored his second of the game to put Pakistan into a 4-3 lead with just two minutes remaining. Van der Weerden had the last laugh, however, rescuing a point for the hosts with a superb penalty corner drag-flick to set up a winner takes all encounter when the two teams meet again on Sunday.  Valencia (ESP) - Men: Spain 3, France 2 (Match 2 of 2)  Spain's men (WR:8) became the third team of the day to secure Olympic qualification, battling to a 3-2 victory over France (WR:12). Following their thrilling 3-3 draw on Friday, it came as little surprise that the second meeting between the two teams was equally close. France took an early lead thanks to a wonderful individual effort from Gaspard Baumgarten before Miguel Delas and Alvaro Iglesias gave Spain a 2-1 lead. Francois Goyet levelled matters for France in the 39th minute, but it was Xavi Lleonart's penalty stroke a minute later which proved decisive, giving Spain a ticket to Tokyo ahead of a France team that battled every step of the way. Valencia (ESP) - Women: Spain 2, Korea 0 (Match 2 of 2)  Spain (WR:7) women joined Spain men on their journey to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 when they beat Korea (WR:11) 2-0, building on the 2-1 victory they posted the previous day. Goals from Begona Garcia and a penalty stroke from Lola Riera sealed the victory for the Red Panthers. Korea had plenty of opportunities to reduce the deficit, winning seven penalty corners. However good goalkeeping from Maria Ruiz kept the Asian team's efforts from registering. The result means Spain will compete in their seventh Olympic Games. For Korea, this will be their first absence from an Olympic Games since 1988.  Vancouver (CAN) – Men: Canada 3 Ireland 5 (Match 1 of 2) ? The final game of Day 2 saw Canada (WR:10) taking on Ireland (WR:12), and it was the visiting Europeans who emerged with a 5-3 victory over the host nation. Sean Murray and Shane O'Donoghue scored two goals apiece as Ireland overcame the home favourites, leaving Canada needing a comprehensive victory when the two sides meet again on Sunday if they are to take the Olympic ticket.  How Olympic qualification works: The winners will be determined as follows: teams will be ranked according to the number of points each has accumulated in both matches (for each match, 3 points are awarded to the winner, 1 point to each team in the event of a draw and 0 point to the loser). If there is equality among the two teams, then the teams will be ranked according to their respective goal difference. If the equality remains, a shoot-out competition will be played to establish the winner. FIH Hockey Olympic qualifiers – Results Friday 25 October 2019 - Day 1 Perth (AUS) - Women: Australia 4, Russia 2 (Match 1 of 2) Changzhou (CHN) - Women: China 0, Belgium 2 (Match 1 of 2) Valencia (ESP) - Men: Spain 3, France 3 (Match 1 of 2) Valencia (ESP) - Women: Spain 2, Korea 1 (Match 1 of 2) Saturday 26 October 2019 - Day 2   Changzhou (CHN) - Women: China 2, Belgium 0 (Match 2 of 2) Perth (AUS) - Women: Australia 5, Russia 0 (Match 2 of 2) Amsterdam (NED) – Men: Netherlands 4, Pakistan 4 (Match 1 of 2) Valencia (ESP) - Men: Spain 3, France 2 (Match 2 of 2) Valencia (ESP) - Women: Spain 1, Korea 0 (Match 2 of 2) Vancouver (CAN) – Men: Canada v Ireland (Match 1 of 2) Upcoming fixtures Friday 1 November 2019 - Day 4 Bhubaneswar (IND) – Women: India v USA (Match 1 of 2) Bhubaneswar (IND) – Men: India v Russia (Match 1 of 2) Saturday 2 November 2019 - Day 5 Stratford (NZL) – Men: New Zealand v Korea (Match 1 of 2) Bhubaneswar (IND) – Women: India v USA (Match 2 of 2) London (ENG) - Women: Great Britain v Chile (Match 1 of 2) Bhubaneswar (IND) – Men: India v Russia (Match 2 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Women: Germany v Italy (Match 1 of 2) London (ENG) - Men: Great Britain v Malaysia (Match 1 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Men: Germany v Austria (Match 1 of 2) Dublin (IRL) – Women: Ireland v Canada (Match 1 of 2) Sunday 3 November 2019 - Day 6 Stratford (NZL) – Men: New Zealand v Korea (Match 2 of 2) London (ENG) - Women: Great Britain v Chile (Match 2 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Women: Germany v Italy (Match 2 of 2) London (ENG) - Men: Great Britain v Malaysia (Match 2 of 2) Mönchengladbach (GER) – Men: Germany v Austria (Match 2 of 2) Dublin (IRL) – Women: Ireland v Canada (Match 2 of 2)