Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMBAD:-Twelve sides of six Cricket Associations will be again in action when they lock horns in the National U19 Championship (three-day event) in Karachi from 25 July to 23 August. The 12 sides have earlier featured in the National U19 Cup (one-day tournament) that was won by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Whites beating Central Punjab Blues by five wickets in the final on 8 July. Six Blues squads have been placed in Pool A, while six Whites squads are in Pool B. The matches are scheduled to take place at UBL Sports Complex, Rashid Latif Academy, NBP Sports Complex, TMC Ground, KCA Stadium and Hanif Mohammad HPC Ground. The final of the tournament will be played between the top team from each group from 20 to 23 August at the UBL Sports Complex. The PCB also confirms the 12 squads for the tournament. Performances of players in the recently concluded Cricket Associations Divisional U19 Tournament were also taken into consideration. The performers from last year’s National U19 tournaments who are still eligible to feature in the age-group event were also considered for the forthcoming tournament. Squads: Balochistan U19 Blues: Ikramullah Tareen (Captain) (Quetta), Sajjad Ali (Loralai), Adnan Iqbal (Khuzdar), Arbaz Khan (Lasbela), Basit Ali (Naseerabad), Ejaz Ahmed (Killa Abdullah), Ghazi Khan (Loralai), Israrullah (Naseerabad), Mohammad Qasim (Quetta), Mohammad Uzair (Naseerabad), Mohammad Yousaf (Loralai), Shahid Ali (Sibi), Sham Raiz Khan (Pishin), Yasir Khan (Quetta) and Zohaib Khan Shanzaib (Loralai) Reserve players: Abu Bakar (Lasbela), Arslan Khan (Lasbela), Gohar Khan (Lasbela), Obaidullah (Quetta) and Sayed Yasir Shah (Pishin) Coaching staff: Raj Hans (head coach), Aslam Sheikh (assistant coach) Balochistan U19 Whites: Mohammad Siddique (Captain) (Chaman), Abdul Haseeb (Gwadar), Abdul Saboor (Pishin), Akhtar Altaf (Turbat), Dunya Khan (Loralai), Ehsanullah (Loralai), Hikmatullah (Loralai), Huzaifa Gul (Quetta), Jahangir Khan (Loralai), Mohsin Ali (Lasbela), Mohammad Aqdas (Quetta), Qurban Ali (Pishin), Siraj Mehboob (Panjgur), Syed Hanzala (Chaman) and Tanveer Khan (Loralai) Reserve players: Imran Zahid (Turbat), Inamullah (Quetta), Majid Ali (Sibi), Perviz Ahmad (Sibi) and Usman Ghani (Quetta) Coaching staff: Habib Baloch (head coach), Mazher Dinari (assistant coach) Central Punjab U19 Blues: Obaid Shahid (Captain) (Lahore), Afzal Manzoor (Nankanasahib), Ali Raza (Sheikhupura), Ali Asfand (Faisalabad), Arham Nawab (Faisalabad), Ayub Khan (Mandibahauddin), Azan Awais (Sialkot), Farhan Yousuf (Lahore), Hammad Liaqat (Lahore), Mohammad Maaz (Faisalabad), Mohammad Maooz (Lahore), Mohammad Zeeshan (Faisalabad), Mohammad Waqas (Faisalabad), Tayyab Arif (Sialkot), and Zoraiz Wafa Gill (Mandibahauddin) Reserves: Ameer Hassan (Sialkot), Moosa Azeem (Sialkot), Saria Khan (Mianwali), Shaban Saeed (Jaranwala) and Zain- ul-Abideen (Gujranwala) Coaching staff: Mohammad Ashraf (head coach), Aamir Sajjad (assistant coach) Central Punjab U19 Whites: Hafiz Usman Nadeem (Captain) (Lahore), Abdul Rehman (Faisalabad), Ahmad Bilal (Faisalabad), Akash Hayat (Faisalabad), Ali Razzaq (Lahore), Ali Zoraiz Asif (Lahore), Faraz Ahmad (Sheikhupura), Hassan Ali (Faisalabad), Kaif Ali (Gujranwala), Mohammad Ibtisam Rehman (Sargodha), Moiz Rana (Lahore), Samama Riaz (Faisalabad), Syed Hassan Gillani (Sialkot), Usman Shahid (Lahore) and Waqas Abbas (Faisalabad) Reserve players: Abu Marsad (Lahore), Ali Dilshad (Lahore), Muneeb Wasif (Lahore), Usama Zahid (Lahore) and Zeeshan Sikandar (Mandibahuddin) Coaching staff: Mansoor Amjad (head coach), Ashraf Ali (assistant coach) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues: Muhammed Zulkifl (Captain) (Charsada), Abu Bakkar (Lower Dir), Afaq Khan (Mardan), Haseeb Khan (Peshawar), Hilal Ahmed (Swat), Ihtisham-ul-Haq (Lower Dir), Jamshed Ali (Peshawar), Khubaib Khalil (Kohat), Maaz Habib Khan (Mardan), Muhammed Farooq (Mohmand), Muhammed Shoaib (Peshawar), Muhammed Shoaib (D.I Khan), Muhammed Zubair (Peshawar), Muhammed Zubair (Khyber), and Wazdan Khan (Kohat) Reserve players: Ansarullah (Peshawar), Haris Khan (Peshawar), Ismail Khan (D.I Khan), Riazullah (Khyber) and Ubaidullah (Khyber) Coaching staff: Riffatullah Mohmand (head coach), Mohammad Siddique (assistant coach) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites: Abbas Ali (Captain) (Peshawar), Afkar Durrani (Dir Lower), Ahmad Hussain (Peshawar), Aimal Khan (Mohmand), Ayaz Khan (Mardan), Jawad Ali (Charsada), Mohammad Irfan (Peshawar), Mohammad Salman (Khyber), Mohammad Tahir (Peshawar), Shahzaib Khan (Mansehra), Sherdil Khan (Swat), Shuja Zaheer (Abbottabad), Tahir Ali (Swabi), Yasir Ahmed (Swabi) and Zubair Shinwari (Khyber) Reserve players: Arafat Khan (Peshawar), Adnan Ahmed (Bajour), Muhammed Riazullah (Lower Dir), Uzairullah (Peshawar) and Salar Ahmed (Haripur) Coaching Staff: Aftab Khan (head coach), Sajid Shah (assistant coach) Northern U19 Blues: Shamyl Hussain (Captain) (Islamabad), Abdullah Amin (Jhelum), Abidullah (Islamabad), Affan Ishaq (Rawalpindi), Ali Abbas (Muzaffarabad), Amir Hasan (Rawalpindi), Aseer Mughal (Rawalpindi), Faraz Khan (Attock), Mohammad Aftab (Islamabad), Mohammad Asim Shahzad (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Awais (Attock), Saad Masood (Rawalpindi), Saqibullah (Islamabad), Shahmeer Nisar Khan (Islamabad) and Umar Habib (Attock) Reserve players: Abu Hurraira (Attock), Ismail Khan (Chakwal), Jouhar Ali (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Ibrahim (Jhelum) and Saad Bin Tariq (Bagh-Hattian) Coaching staff: Kamran Khan (head coach), Raheel Majeed (assistant coach) Northern U19 Whites: Shahmeer Ali (Captain) (Rawalpindi), Abdul Basit (Rawalpindi), Abuzar (Rawalpindi), Arsalan Ali (Islamabad), Dawood Nazar (Attock), Husnain Nadeem (Mirpur), Mohammad Ali Taj (Islamabad), Mohammad Ammar Khan (Muzaffarabad), Mohammad Arshad (Bagh), Mohammad Nabeel (Rawalpindi), Raja Hamza Waheed (Islamabad), Salman Khan (Islamabad), Shahbaz Khan Hurraira (Jhelum), Sudais Ulfat (Islamabad) and Usman Khan (Rawalpindi) Reserves: Aman Aftab (Bagh), Awais Amin (Islamabad), Azan Kabir (Kotli), Mohammad Qaiser (Islamabad) and Syed Ali Mehdi (Rawalpindi) Coaching staff: Samiullah Khan Niazi (head coach), Hafiz Majid (assistant coach) Sindh U19 Blues: Wahaj Riaz (Captain) (Karachi), Afnan Khan (Karachi), Aftab (Karachi), Ali Hasan (Karachi), Arbaz Khan (Karachi), Habibullah (Karachi), Hameed Karim (Karachi), Haroon Arshad (Karachi), Khuwaja Mohammad Hafeez (Karachi), Maaz Khurram (Karachi), Mirza Saad Baig (Karachi), Mohammad Hanif (Karachi), Naveed Ahmed (Karachi), Rehan Shah (Karachi) and Shahbaz Aziz (Jacobabad) Reserve players: Abdullah Alam (Karachi), Daud Abbas (Shaheed Benazirabad), Faroz Ali (Larkana), Haseeb-ur-Rahman (Hyderabad) and Ubaid Raza (Khairpur) Coaching staff: Mohammad Masroor (head coach), Tahir Mehmood (assistant coach) Sindh U19 Whites: Mohammad Hassan Iqbal (Captain) (Khi Zone-III), Abdul Moeez (Khi Zone-VII), Ali Ishaq (Khi Zone-VI), Daniyal Ahmed (Khi Zone-V), Ghulam Ashraf (Khi Zone-VI), Hamza Qureshi (Khi Zone-VI), Mansoor Ali Khoso (Khairpur), Mohammad Fahad Amin (Khi Zone-III), Mohammad Saad Asif (Khi Zone-VII), Noman Ali (Hyderabad), Rumail Ahmed (Khi Zone-III), Saqlain Nawaz Rajput (Khairpur), Shahwaiz Yasir (Khi Zone-II), Syed Tayyab Hussain (Khi Zone-II) and Syed Yahya Shah (Hyderabad) Reserves: Abdul Rehman Niazi (Khi Zone-II), Awais Raheem Shah (Khi Zone-VI), Mohammad Umar Khan Sherani (Mirpurkhas), Mohammad Hannan (Sukkur) and Ziaullah (Khi Zone-II) Coaching staff: Ghulam Ali (head coach), Zafar Iqbal (assistant coach) Southern Punjab U19 Blues: Mohammad Danish (Captain) (Muzaffargarh), Adnan Shahid (D.G Khan), Arbab Shabir (Khanewal), Bilal Ahmad (Sahiwal), Hamza Nadir (Sahiwal), Haseeb Javaid (Multan), Huzaifa Ayub (Khanewal), Kashif Farid (Rajanpur), Mohammad Abdullah (Rajanpur), Mohammad Luqman (Lodhran), Mohammad Shan (Sahiwal), Mohammad Zahid (Multan), Moheer Saeed (Vehari), Sharjeel Hassan (Lodhran) and Zubair Jabbar (Khanewal) Reserves: Adnan Ali (Pakpattan), Ali Haider (Vehari), Ali Shabir (Rahim Yar Khan), Amin Talib (Vehari) and Haseeb Gull (Bahawalpur) Coaching staff: Iqbal Imam (head coach), Saleem Elahi (assistant coach) Southern Punjab U19 Whites: Uzair Mumtaz (Captain) (Multan), Abu Bakar (Muzaffargarh), Aqib Asghar (Vehari), Arafat Minhas (Multan), Hamza Nawaz (Bahawalnagar), Harib Moeen (Bahawalnagar), Haseeb Nazim (Multan), Hasnain Majid (Rahim Yar Khan), Mohammad Ammar (Rahim Yar Khan), Mohammad Ismail (Sahiwal), Mozam Alvi (Bahawalpur), Shehraz Khan (Lodhran), Taha Masood (Rahim Yar Khan), Taha Shabir (Sahiwal) and Talha Mushtaq (Rahim Yar Khan) Reserves: Alam Zaib Khan (Multan), Farhan Iqbal (Rahim Yar Khan), Mohammad Jansher (Sahiwal), Maseem Raza (Multan) and Usman Iqbal (Okara) Coaching staff: Shahid Anwar (head coach), Aizaz Cheema (assistant coach)  

Sports Bulletin Report Briancon (France):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Lead World Cup Briançon 2022 came to a conclusion this evening, in the heart of the French Alps. In the twelfth consecutive year that an IFSC World Cup has been held in the city, Olympian Janja Garnbret, of Slovenia, and Jesse Grupper, of the USA, each climbed their way to victory and a gold medal. Battling his way to the highest hold to be grasped during the men’s final, Grupper placed himself firmly atop the podium with a score of 37 and as such, bagged the first World Cup gold medal of his career. In doing so, the American achieved a full medal set of gold, silver, and bronze during the 2022 Lead season so far, having won silver in Villars, Switzerland, and bronze in Innsbruck, Austria. “I’m still pretty much in shock and super psyched! I feel like that was probably one of the worst climbed routes of my life in some ways, but also I was just so psyched to keep fighting through each move and it felt so good to pull it off,” said Grupper with a grin from ear to ear. “It was very intense and I was very nervous about this move, but I was just like ‘you just have to get this next hold and it will get better, you just have to go one more move’. I think just having that mentality paid off in the end,” he added. Japan’s Homma Taisei took second place with 35+, earning his second consecutive World Cup silver medal – after also achieving a podium position in Chamonix, France, earlier this month.  The Japanese athlete now has four IFSC World Cup medals to his name, having secured another silver back in 2019, and a gold medal at the IFSC Lead World Cup Villars 2022. German Olympian Alexander Megos claimed the final medal in the men’s event, taking bronze with the same score as Homma. Megos ranked lower than Homma due to his score in yesterday’s semi-final. A bronze medal win saw the Olympian climb onto a World Cup podium for the first time this season – his last medal being at the IFSC Lead World Cup Villars 2021. Finishing in fourth position was Megos’ teammate Yannick Flohe, who matched both Homma and Megos’ score but again, ranked lower due to his semi-final result. American Olympian Colin Duffy concluded in fifth with 34+, followed by Japan’s Ogata Yoshiyuki in sixth with the same score. In his first Lead final, Italy’s Filip Schenk finished in seventh with 27. Great Britain’s Hamish McArthur took eighth place with 25, and Slovenia’s Luka Potocar completed the competition in ninth, with 18+. Brushing the top hold with her fingertips, Olympic gold medallist Janja Garnbret threw herself into first place in the women’s final. With a score of 42+, the Olympian earned the 53rd World Cup medal of her career to date – her 36th gold. Winning four out of a possible four Lead World Cups so far this season, Garnbret claimed her 22nd gold medal in Lead, placing the Slovenian third in the all-time Lead World Cup ranking behind South Korea’s Jain Kim, with 29 wins, and Austria’s Angela Eiter with 25. “I was really excited, at observation the route looked super cool and I really enjoyed climbing. Some sequences seemed tricky at observation, but then it was all okay – climbable and super nice,” said Garnbret after taking the gold medal. Olympian Seo Chaehyun, of South Korea, took the silver medal with a score of 41+, climbing atop a World Cup podium for a tenth time since making her senior debut in 2019. The reigning Lead World Champion has claimed three medals so far this season, taking silver in Innsbruck and bronze in Chamonix. In third position was the USA’s Natalia Grossman, who concluded the competition with 41 and claimed her second Lead medal of the year – having won six medals during the 2022 Boulder season.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-Well-known female mountaineer Samina Baig became the first Pakistani woman to summit the second highest peak in the world, while Naila Kayani became the second Pakistani woman to summit the peak shortly after her feat. According to an official of Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), Samina Baig reached the top of the second highest mountain in the world at around 7:30 on Friday morning while Naila Kayani reached the top of the world's second highest mountain a few hours later. Samina Baig achieved this honor with her six-member team, while Naila Kayani reached the top of K-2 along with her colleagues Sarbaz Khan and Sohail Sakhi. Samina was on her way back after heisting the green flag on the peak. Samina Baig is also the first Pakistani woman to achieve the honor of climbing Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. Samina Baig and Naila Kayani had started their own expedition to climb the two heads in the last few days and these two climbers had been preparing for this adventure for a long time and they faced difficulties during the expedition due to bad weather. The height of K2 is 8611 meters, which is only 200 meters less than the highest peak of the world, Everest, but the conditions here become deadly in winter. The height of K2 is 8611 meters, which is only 200 meters less than the highest peak of the world, Everest, but the conditions here become deadly in winter. The government has issued adventure licenses to groups of about six hundred climbers this year. Apart from people from all over the world, Pakistani adventurers are active in setting new records and breaking old records.

Sports Bulletin Report Briancon (France):-The French city of Briancon is set to stage the fourth Lead competition of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Series 2022 this weekend, from 22 to 23 July. It is the twelfth consecutive year that an IFSC World Cup has been hosted in Briancon, with the city holding the sole World Cup during a pandemic-stricken 2020 season. A total of 185 athletes including 102 men and 83 women will compete in Lead at the Parc des Sports over the next two days, representing 34 different countries and territories. After claiming the win earlier this month in Chamonix, France, Olympians Janja Garnbret, of Slovenia, and Adam Ondra, of the Czech Republic, will be vying for another medal in Briançon. In fact, Olympic gold medallist Garnbret has been triumphant in all three Lead World Cups so far this season, having missed the Boulder World Cups Switzerland to focus on training for Lead. Ondra also took a break from the competition circuit at the start of the season, making a victorious return in Chamonix two weeks ago. Japan’s Homma Taisei took the silver medal in Chamonix, having won his first World Cup gold in Villars, Switzerland, just one week prior. Could the Japanese climber add another medal to his collection this weekend? Athletes from Team USA are also strong contenders for the men’s podium, with Olympian Colin Duffy – who made history in Innsbruck, Austria, this season by becoming the first male to win Boulder and Lead at the same competition – Jesse Grupper, and Sean Bailey all earning at least one medal in Lead so far in 2022. Italian Olympian Laura Rogora stepped onto the second step of the podium in Chamonix, claiming a silver medal. Having won her first World Cup gold at the IFSC Lead World Cup Briancon 2020, could Rogora regain her position atop the podium on Saturday? Fellow Olympians Seo Chaehyun, of South Korea, and Brooke Raboutou, of the USA, are also ones to watch in the women’s event, with each earning two medals so far this Lead season.

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (USA):The World Games Birmingham 2022 came to a close with medals confirmed across all the Sport Climbing disciplines- Boulder, Lead, and Speed. In the 11th edition of the multi-sport event, and the fifth appearance for Climbing, there were six gold medals spread across six competing nations in Alabama, USA.  HUNT AND LEONARDO RULE SPEED USA’s Emma Hunt pleased her home crowd with a win in the women’s speed, a feat that also gained her Athlete of the Day status from the event organizers. The former Youth Worlds champion impressively beat the current world champion, Poland’s Natalia, in the final with a time of 7.24 compared to the silver medalists. Bronze was taken by Germany’s Franziska Ritter, who narrowly beat French Capucine by just 0.06 seconds. Leonardo won an all-Indonesian final against teammate Kiromal Katibin in the men’s speed competition to take gold. Katibin has been breaking the world speed record on a consistent basis recently, but had to settle for a silver medal as he was unable to register a time in the final. Leonardo clocked 7.23 to take the top step of the podium. The Indonesian climbers were joined by bronze medallist Yaroslav of Ukraine, who again won a tight medal race against Kazakhstan's Rishat by just 0.04 seconds. JAPAN DOMINATES BOULDER WITH FOUR MEDALS At The World Games 2017, Japan’s Nonaka Miho took a silver medal. This time around, the Olympic silver medallist upgraded to gold. The Japanese climber won a competitive women’s Boulder event beating second-placed Katja of Slovenia and compatriot Nakamura Mao. There were also two Japanese medallists in the men’s event, but this time no gold for The World Games 2017 gold medallist Ogata Yoshiyuki, who had to settle for a bronze. Fujii Kokoro and Belgium’s part-time climber Nicolas Collin were the competition standouts topping all four problems in the final. Tied all the way, Kokoro and Collin had to be separated by attempts with the Belgian coming out on top to take the gold. The nursing student only just made the finals in sixth position but showed his class in the final to take the top step above his two Japanese rivals. PILZ AND LEHMANN CELEBRATE LEAD GOLDS A week after topping the Lead final route at the IFSC World Cup in Chamonix, France, missing out on a medal in fourth place, Austria’s Jessica Pilz proudly stood on the top step of the World Games podium with a gold medal around her neck. She was joined on the women’s Lead podium by Tanii Natsuki of Japan who claimed silver ahead of Slovenia’s Lana Skusek in bronze.

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (USA):-The International World Games Association (IWGA) has named Speed climber Emma Hunt of the USA female Athlete of the Day at The World Games Birmingham 2022 for 15 July. The Woodstock, New York native won gold in the women’s Speed event, climbing on the highest step of The World Games podium in front of her home crowd, and beating 2021 Speed World Championship winner Natalia Kalucka of Poland. Hunt finished with 7.24 seconds, while Kalucka, after a slip in the first section of the race, finished with 8.88. The bronze medal was won by Germany’s Franziska Ritter. It is the third international medal won by the 19-year-old in 2022. Indeed, Hunt won two International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup silvers in Seoul, South Korea; and Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The ceremony for the Athlete of the Day award took place at The World Games Plaza, where Hunt received the trophy along with orienteer Tim Robertson of New Zealand. “It’s been super special for me, I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, it felt very much like home turf, and I felt I had a little bit of home field advantage with the heat and humidity,” said Hunt. “I just tried to be focused on what I was doing, because at the end of the day it’s just you against the wall.” “It’s was a little overwhelming, I had not done anything like that before. It’s been very different than the other competitions I’ve been to, and exciting!” she concluded, when asked about her experience at The World Games Plaza. Currently sitting in third place in the IFSC women’s Speed World Cup ranking 2022, Hunt will have the chance to defend – and possibly improve – her position at the two remaining Speed events of the IFSC World Cup Series 2022: in Edinburgh, Great Britain from 9 to 11 September; and Jakarta, Indonesia, from 24 to 26 September.

Sports Bulletin Report Chamonix (France):-This evening saw the conclusion of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Chamonix 2022, where 17 climbers competed in Lead finals beneath the famous Mont Blanc. In the women’s final, Olympic gold-medallist Janja Garnbret, of Slovenia, took her third consecutive Lead World Cup gold medal, while the men’s event saw the return of Czech Olympian Adam Ondra, who came back to the World Cup circuit with a bang by taking tonight’s win. After celebrating a huge milestone with her 50th World Cup medal win at the start of the 2022 Lead season, Garnbret showed no signs of slowing down in Chamonix, topping all routes from the qualification round through to this evening’s final. As such, the Olympian deservedly earned her 52nd* World Cup medal – her 35th gold, 21 of which she has won in Lead. Following tonight’s victory, Garnbret – who is two-time Lead World Champion, two-time Boulder World Champion, and two-time Combined World Champion – has won all three Lead World Cups so far this season. In second place was fellow Olympian Laura Rogora, of Italy, who claimed her fourth IFSC World Cup medal – all of which she has earned in Lead. The Italian was delighted to secure a top, yet due to a tie with Garnbret, secured the silver medal based on her performance in previous rounds. Olympian Seo Chaehyun, of South Korea, took the bronze medal, climbing atop a World Cup podium for a ninth time since storming onto the circuit in 2019. The Olympian also reached the top of the route, though ranked third based on her semi-final score. In fourth place was Austrian Olympian Jessica Pilz, who likewise achieved a top, though missed out on a podium position counting back to her score from previous rounds. Japan’s Tanii Natsuki placed fifth with 45+, while the USA’s Natalia Grossman and Brooke Raboutou, Olympian, each reached 43+. The American duo ranked a respective sixth and seventh, again assessing their score in the semi-final. Slovenian Olympian Mia Krampl placed eighth, with a score of 37. Matching Ondra’s score of 39+ was Japan’s Homma Taisei, who secured the silver medal. After taking the win in Villars last weekend, tonight marks the second medal of the season for Homma – his third time in total stepping onto an IFSC World Cup podium. Completing the men’s podium was the USA’s Sean Bailey, who with a score of 29+, earned the fifth World Cup medal of his career so far. After making the podium three times in 2021, this is the American’s first podium position of the 2022 season. Slovenia’s Luka Potocar and Germany’s Yannick Flohé each finished with the same score as Bailey, though placed fourth and fifth, respectively, based on their scores from previous rounds and time taken to complete tonight’s attempt. On home soil, France’s Sam Avezou placed sixth with 25+, followed by Great Britain’s Hamish McArthur in seventh, with the same score. Switzerland’s Sascha Lehmann ranked eighth with 20+, while Japan’s Yoshida Satone placed ninth after slipping at hold 12. Nine male athletes competed in tonight’s final as opposed to eight, due to tied scores earlier in the competition.

Sports Bulletin Report Villars (Switzerland):-The 2022 International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Paraclimbing World Cup came to a close in Villars, Switzerland, with 17 nations taking home medals.  France excelled claiming seven of the 45 on offer from the 15 sports classes competing in the Swiss village. Germany helped themselves to three golds after a quick start from Great Britain who took two from two at the start of the finals. There were also golds for Austria, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, and the USA.  ROUND ONE TO THE BRITS  In the first finals of the day, three-time world champion Abigail Robinson of Great Britain again proved her gold medal winning prowess securing another top spot in the World Cup.  But it wasn’t just the win that pleased Robinson about the Villars final: “I feel amazing. That route was really cool. In the past I’ve been a bit dissatisfied when the route isn’t super hard but that one was really creative and really my style. It was really challenging and I felt like I put in a fight.”  Robinson scored a 60+ on the “cool” route after silver medallist Edith Scheinecker of Germany had laid down the marker of 45. Nadia Bredice of Italy completed the podium with a 21+ climb.  SLOCOCK CONTINUES BRITISH GOLD RUSH There was another British win shortly after Robinson as teammate Richard Slocock edged out his two Spanish rivals. It was a tight affair though with just 2+ separating all three climbers. Slocock reached 30+ after Raul Simon Franco had scored 29 and compatriot Guillermo Pelegrín Gómez scored 28. ROMANIA’S CANDOI SPOILS BRITISH PARTY In Villars Cosmin Florin Candoi of Romania only does tops. He topped twice in qualification and added another in the finals, but the gold wasn’t assured. Lux Losey Sail of Great Britain began the B3 final with a top of his own and the medals came down to time with the Romanian world champion quicker in the end. Canada’s Chaz Misuraca scored 33+ to take the bronze medal.  AITA SHO SECURES FIRST GOLD FOR JAPAN  World Cup. World Masters. World Championships. It doesn’t matter for Japan’s Aita Sho, he wants the top spot on the podium, and he has got another one.  Aita couldn’t quite reach the heights of qualification where he secured two tops, but a 47 was enough to beat Francisco Javier Aguilar Amoedo of Spain and Razvan Nedu of Romania who finished with a 39 and 36 respectively.  THE TIGHTEST OF ALL FINALS FOR WOMEN’S B3  In the final visually impaired sport class of the session you couldn’t have asked for a better finish. The four finalists all reached hold 45, but it was France’s Roxane Heili who managed the + move and bag herself a gold medal.  With the other finalist’s split by time, it was Ionela Grecu of Romania who took silver and Melissa Cesarone also of France taking bronze. Norway’s Iben Jongsvik Paulsen was the unlucky one who just missed out on a highly competitive podium.  DUTCHMAN SHOWS SKILLS FOR RP3 GOLD  With a streak of gold in Salt Lake City, USA, and bronze in Innsbruck, Austria, for the 2022 Paraclimbing World Cup’s, Jamie Barendrecht of the Netherland’s once again stood on the podium adding a Villars gold.  Taking some time to fine tune his climbing, the training obviously paid off for the Dutchman.  Andrej Haršány of Slovakia claimed the silver in the RP3 with Bastien Thomas of France taking bronze.  HOT STREAK CONTINUES FOR PLANK With a streak of three golds from the last three Paraclimbing World Cup’s she has attended, Austria’s Jasmin Plank had some work to do in the RP1 final to keep the run going. Both Plank and Melissa Ruiz of USA topped a route in qualification and the medal wouldn’t be any easy one to achieve. With the mark of 35+ laid down by Ruiz, it took a superb effort to reach 47+ and with it the gold medal to continue the streak for Plank. Spain’s Marta Peche Salinero beat her teammate Andrea Sánchez Aparicio to take the bronze medal. MAYFORTH GETS USA OFF THE MARK Benjamin Mayforth took gold for USA with a win in the men’s RP2. Coming out of qualifying in third position, Mayforth upped his game to move to the top spot ahead of Mor Michael Sapir of Israel in silver and Manikandan Kumar of India in bronze.  SCHAUPERT CLIMBS FINAL STEP  Germany’s Rosalie Schaupert has been climbing not only the competition wall but the Paraclimbing World Cup podium throughout 2022. With a bronze in Salt Lake City and silver in Innsbruck, the only way to go was up. And the German climber did it in Villars.  Her 62+ was enough for gold as Leanora Volpe of Britain scored 54+ for silver and Christiane Luttikhuizen of the Netherlands took bronze with 53+.  FRANCK KEEPS UP GOLD MEDAL WINNING WAYS  There was another golden streak that needed maintaining in Villars, and Korbinian Franck of Germany duly obliged. With two from two 2022 World Cup gold medals in the bag, it wasn’t long before the record books read three from three.  Franck was joined on the podium by compatriot Tim Schaffrinna who took bronze with Gian Matteo Ramini of Italy splitting the two in the silver medal position.  NO STOPPING JARRIGE’S GOLDEN RUN There are very few times that Lucie Jarrige of France enters a competition and doesn’t win, and Villars was no different. The four-time world champion was a cut above her rivals topping the final climb to secure yet another gold medal to add to the ever-growing collection.   Australian Sarah Larcombe was one of those athletes separated from Jarrige in silver with American Hannah McFadden in bronze. FRENCH GOLD GREETS FRENCH GOLD As Julien Gasc of France untied after reaching 41+ he was embraced by compatriot Jarrige who had just topped for gold in her class. It turned into a golden embrace as Gasc had also secured his country another gold medal. Frederik Leys of Belgium was behind Gasc taking silver with 32 with the Spanish pair of Albert Guardia Ferrer and Iván Germán Pascual separated by time for bronze. It was Guardia Ferrer who took the honours after reaching 30 quicker than his teammate. FRANCE KEEPS ON ROLLING Not to be outdone by her teammates, Solenne Piret of France followed up two quick golds with a third topping the women’s AU2.  Lucia Capovilla of Italy couldn’t match the effort but took silver from Giovanna Dubuc of USA reaching 37+ compared to the American’s 16+.  BARTKE PUTS HALT TO FRENCH CHARGE  Germany’s Kevin Bartke finally stopped the French gold rush by reaching 62+ in the final of the men’s AU2. Bartke was on top of the podium at the last Paraclimbing World Cup in Innsbruck and again takes the top step in Villars.  Isak Ripman of Norway reached 49+ to take the silver ahead of another French finalist, Erwan Lievin. Lievin reached 33+ for his bronze.  AUSTRIAN PODIUM LOCK-OUT DRAWS 2022 WORLD CUP TO A CLOSE  With three Austrians in the final, a gold for the country was never in doubt. What had to be sorted was team bragging rights. With the very final climb of the 2022 Paraclimbing World Cup season, Angelino Zeller took the honours with a 51 climb.  Markus Pösendorfer took home the silver with a 33 and Daniel Kontsch completed the Austrian podium with 26+, and with it drawing the season to a close.  MEDAL TABLE  1. France: 4 gold, 3 bronze; 2. Germany: 3 gold, 1 bronze; 3. Austria: 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze; 4. Great Britain: 2 gold, 2 silver; 5. USA: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze; 6. Romania: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze; 7. Netherlands: 1 gold, 1 bronze; 8. Japan: 1 gold; 9. Spain: 2 silver, 3 bronze; 10. Italy: 2 silver, 1 bronze; 11. Australia: 1 silver; 11. Belgium: 1 silver; 11. Israel: 1 silver; 11. Norway: 1 silver; 11. Slovakia: 1 silver; 16. Canada: 1 bronze; 16. India: 1 bronze.  

Sports Bulletin Report Chamonix (France):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in Chamonix, France, opened with another stunning performance signed by Indonesian Speed climber Kiromal Katibin, who set a new men’s Speed world record for the fifth time since May 2021.  The 21-year-old from Batang, Central Java, shocked the crowd that gathered at Place du Mont Blanc on a sunny afternoon, stopping the clock at 5.00 seconds flat and writing another page in his personal history book of records.  Katibin, indeed, first broke the men’s Speed world record in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, where he hit the finish pad at 5.25 seconds on 28 May 2021; in the following 14 months, he then set four more records: 5.17 in Seoul, South Korea; 5.10 in Salt Lake City; 5.09 and 5.04 in Villars, Switzerland, one week ago.  Taking second place in the qualification was Zhang Liang of China, with 5.15; Cao Long, also of China, placed third with 5.16.  After securing the women’s Speed gold medal in Villars, Switzerland, one week ago, Deng Lijuan of China placed at the top of the qualification ranking in Chamonix with 6.74 seconds – a new Asian record.  Rajiah Sallsabillah of Indonesia and Aleksandra Kalucka of Poland also finished below the 7-second mark, and respectively placed second with 6.85, and third with 6.87.  Several national records were also set during the Speed qualification rounds. In the women’s event, Jeong Jimin of South Korea finished with 7.39; while in the men’s one: Chan Cheung-chi Shoji of Hong Kong, China finished with 6.05; Matthew Fall of Great Britain finished with 6.55; Michael Finn-Henry of Canada finished with 5.69; Sebastian Lucke of Germany finished with 5.64; Omasa Ryo of Japan finished with 5.58; and Valentin Sternik of Argentina finished with 7.21.

Sports Bulletin Report Torino (Itlay):-Based at the foot of Mont Blanc, the French town of Chamonix will welcome 307 climbers – 137 women and 170 men – from 8 to 10 July. Athletes, representing 38 different countries and territories, are set to compete in the fifth Speed competition of the season, in addition to the third round of the IFSC Lead World Cup Series 2022.  Slovenian Olympian Janja Garnbret took the win in the first two Lead World Cups of the season. Could the Olympic gold medallist score a hat trick and continue her winning streak in Chamonix? Fellow Olympian Brooke Raboutou, of the USA, has likewise stood atop the Lead podium twice this year and as such, will be vying to add another medal to her collection this weekend.  In the men’s Lead event, American Olympian Colin Duffy and his compatriot, Jesse Grupper, are ones to watch, having bagged a medal at the IFSC Lead World Cups in both Innsbruck and Villars in recent weeks. After earning his first World Cup gold medal last weekend, could Japan’s Homma Taisei win another in Villars?  China dominated the Speed events in Villars last week, taking five out of a possible six medals. As such, all eyes will be on Team China in Chamonix – in particular last weekend’s gold medallists, Long Jianguo in the men’s event, and Deng Lijuan in the women’s. Indonesia’s Kiromal Katibin broke the Speed world record twice in quick succession in Villars, so spectators will be keeping watch for further record attempts in Chamonix this weekend.  SCHEDULE (UTC+2:00)  Friday, 8 July: 7:00 PM - Speed qualifications Saturday, 9 July: 10:00 AM - Lead qualifications 9:00 PM - Speed finals Sunday, 10 July: 10:00 AM - Lead semi-finals 8:30 PM - Women's Lead final IFSC PARACLIMBING WORLD CUP IN VILLARS The third and final IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup of the season will take place from 8 to 9 July in Villars, Switzerland. Representing 23 different countries and territories, a total of 119 athletes will compete across 12 Paraclimbing sport classes. Team Germany topped the medal table at the previous Paraclimbing World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, with two gold medals and four silver. Could they do the same in Villars this weekend? Japan, Austria, France, and Great Britain all additionally earned gold medals in Innsbruck and as such, will be looking to climb onto the podium again in Villars.