Sports Bulletin

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL Islamabad (August 5, 2021):-Tariq Pervez, Director Youth Program of Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) on today (Thursday) announced that WESPA Youth Cup, which formerly known as World Youth Scrabble Championship would be held from August 7 to 22, 2021. The global regulatory body of scrabble, WESPA has chosen Pakistan once again as the host for the championship after a highly successful event last year Renowned pharmaceutical company PharmEvo  Pvt Ltd will sponsor the championship which will be named the PharmEvo WESPA Youth Cup.  Shangrila Foods Pvt Ltd will be the co-sponsors A team of highly qualified experts led by the Technical Director Vali Mohammad Khubaib will organize the championship. Young Hassan Hadi Khan is chosen as the Tournament Director by WESPA. The entire management team will be from Pakistan Unlike last year this championship will be an individual event. 14 countries across five continents will take part in the championship. All players are under 18 years of age. The players are divided into four groups according to their geographical location. Every player will play a total of 36 games over two weekends. After completion of 36 games the top ten players will qualify to play the final which will be played on 21-22 August The organizing team will be hosted at the PharmEvo Guest house where special arrangements have been made including a playing room, a commentary box and a control room equipped with high speed internet and online monitoring equipment for the organizing team Pakistan has already announced an 8 member team. With an average age of just 13 ½ this is the youngest ever Pakistan team to compete in the youth world championship

SPORTS REPORT ISLAMABAD (April 1, 2021):-Shafique Sher Afridi and Farhanullah have been were elected unanimously as the President and General Secretary of KPK Netball Association for the next four years respectively. The election was held under the supervision of President, Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF), Mudassar Arain and Secretary General, Syed Gohar Raza while the representatives of the KPK Sports Board Amjad Iqbal and Shafqat Mehmood were also witnessed the process. The following office bearers were elected namely President, Shafique Sher Afridi who is also member of KPK Assembly; Senior Vice President, Zulfiqar Aziz; Vice Presidents, Saraj Mohammad, Kaleemullah, Khalid Khan, Awaid Khan and Miss Najma Qazi, General Secretary, Farhan Ullah, Associate Secretaries, Mohammad Ali and Aneela Shaheen; Treasurer, Naeem Zafar and Media Secretary, Ghani Ur Rehman. Seven members Executive Committee consist of Rehan Ahmed, Sher Khitab, Asia Sattar, Kabir Jan, Fayyaz Afridi, Aziz Uallah and Miss Mohsina. After the election, newly elected President, Shafique Sher Afridi thanked the House to elect his as President of the Association unanimously. He assured the house that he would work for the promotion of netball in the province with his team on priority basis. "We will host National Netball Championship in June at Peshawar or Swat", he announced. At the end of the meeting, President, Pakistan Netball Federation, Mudassar Arain and Secretary General, Syed Gohar Raza congratulated to the newly elected Office Bearers of Association and hoped that the newly elected office bearers would do the work for the promotion of Netball in province.

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (March 22, 2021):-The second stage of the 2021 Hyundai Archery World Cup has been relocated to the Olympic Capital of Lausanne, Switzerland from its original host city of Shanghai, China. It remains on the same dates of 17-23 May. The stage will be hosted by the World Archery Excellence Centre, which will also be the venue for the finals, with support from the city and cantonal authorities. It will be closed to spectators, run to local health regulations and with strict accommodation, travel and access policies. The tournament’s eventual running remains contingent on receiving official authorisation from the Swiss health bodies and continued local progress in the fight against the pandemic. World Archery will work to ensure as many countries as possible can access the event. It was announced that replacement hosts would be prioritised over tournament postponements when the rules for this year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit were released in February. Moving the location of the second stage is the first example of this policy being put into effect. This year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup begins in Guatemala City at the end of April. After Lausanne in May, the third leg is scheduled for June in Paris, which will also where the final qualification tournament for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will take place. World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen said: “Flexibility will be essential in delivering a world-class calendar for our athletes and stakeholders this season. We are working hard to ensure we have the processes and contingencies in place to run a successful circuit of international events in 2021.” “Our continued thanks go to the organiser in Shanghai for their support and the work done towards hosting a stage this year. While it has ultimately not proved possible, we’re looking forward to returning to one of the most popular stops on the tour next season.”

ABDULLAH ASJAD ISLAMABAD (January 29, 2021):-The young journalist, Shakir Abbasi has won the Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA) president seat for next one year after overcoming his opponent Nasir Aslam Raja 27-16 in the elections that held at Pakistan Sports Complex on Friday. Also, Wafa Abbas and Noman Maqsood were elected vice president seats by getting 36 and 28 votes. It is pertinent to mention here that Shah Khalid Secretary, Rizwan Ahmed Dhillon, Finance Secretary and Arsalan Shirazi, Senior Vice President, have already been elected unopposed. Shakir Abbasi and Nasir Aslam Raja were contesting for the seat of President while Wafa Abbas, Noman Maqsood and Aqeel Anjum were contesting for the seats of two vice presidents. The Chairman of Election Committee, Zahid Farooq Malik announced the results after the completion of polling. According to the Election Committee, out of the total 57 members of association of twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad, 43 members exercised their right of vote in democratically manners. Shakir Abbasi got 27 votes and his opponent Nasir Aslam Raja got 16 votes for the honour of presidentship. Similarly, Wafa Abbas got 36 votes, Noman Maqsood 28 and Aqeel Anjum got 13 votes. Similarly, Ahsan Abbas, Zeeshan Qayyum, Zain Malik, Maria Rajput and Arafa Feroz have also been elected unopposed for the governing body.

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (January 22, 2021):-President of Pakistan, Mohammad Arif Alvi on Thursday welcomed at President House to an expedition team from Nepal that who scaled K 2, the second highest peak of the world, for the first time in winter season. The Nepalese guys reached on top of 8,611-meter peak first times in winter. President welcomed the Nepalese mountaineers and congratulated the team members on scaling K2 in harsh winter. On this occasion Alvi said that the mountaineers' remarkable achievement would project the Pakistan's soft image as well as boost tourism in the country. "Both countries enjoyed excellent relations and such activities would further increase goodwill between the two countries, “president added. Nepalese Ambassador in Islamabad Tapas Adhikari and leader of the expedition team Nirmal Purja expressed their gratitude to Pakistan for the support provided by the government of Pakistan. They also praised the natural beauty and wide range of mountaineering opportunities in Pakistan. Abu Zafar Sadiq, President Alpine Club (APC) of Pakistan, Karrar Haidri Secretary Alpine Club of Pakistan and ACP Executive Board members, Rehmat Ullah Gorijo VP, Faiz Ali VP, Mohammad Akram Awan Treasurer and Ayaz Ahmed Shigri Vice President ACP were also president at the occasion.

SPORTS REPORT ISLAMABAD (December 15, 2020):-Major (Retd) Majid Wasim, Zoraiz Lashari, Lt-Col Ahmed Ali Khan and Ali Raza Qureshi have been elected Chairman, President, Secretary General and Treasure respectively of Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) for next four-year term. The new office-bearers of PSF were elected for a 4-year term during a General Council Election meeting of PSF at Pakistan Olympic House, Lahore. Mohammad Jahangir of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and Director National Coaching Training Center (NCTC) Rana Nasrullah from Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) attended the General Council Election meeting of PSF as observers. The representatives of Sindh and Navy attended the meeting through video link.

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (October 2, 2020):-PAK-Kuwait joint expedition team on Friday left for Rupal Peak. Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) hosted a reception in the honour of team members of Pak- Kuwait Joint Expedition, which is going to Rupal Peak. Yousef Alnassar from Kuwait and Ghulam Abbas from Alpine Club of Pakistan are leaving for Astore to climb Rupal Peak. At the occasion, Yousel Alnassar shared his views about his earlier winter expedition. He was impressed by the nature beauty of mountains and hospitality of Pakistani people. He also shared his future plan to climb K-2 in near future. About his preparation and other aspects of expedition he responded a lot of questions raised by the participants. He assured that he would work as a Ambassador of Pakistan to promote Pakistani mountain tourism in middle east. The President ACP Abu Zafar Sadiq, Karrsr Haideri, Najeeb Khattak, Ali  Mohammad and others were also present at the occasion.    

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (October 2, 2020):-Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) has started the registration of national climbers for the forthcoming national events after getting green signals from Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). According to an official of ACP, club had requested to PSB for permission to hold the climbing events, which were halted due to corona virus. Finally, PSB informed ACP that all sports activities are allowed in the premises of Pakistan Sports Complex except swimming. Alpine Club of Pakistan asked all the climbers for the registration, as the forms have also been issues. Club is planning to hold event near future.

SPORTS DESK: ISLAMABAD (Stember 25, 2020);-SJAS Gold medal 2020 was won by Karate Queen, Kulsoom Hazara while Dr MA Shah Gold medal was awarded to senior Sports Journalist, Waheed Khan. Senior athletics coach, Mohammad Talib was highlighted with the lifetime achievement award while Haider Hussain bagged the best sports organiser recognition for his outstanding services in the field of Hockey. The annual “Sports Journalist & Rashid Siddiqui Talent Award” ceremony was held at the Scout headquarters auditorium, on Thursday. The event began with a Seminar on “COVID-19’s impact on Sports”.  Addressing the occasion, adviser to chief minister Sindh on Law, Costal Highway development, Environment and the provincial spokesperson, Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that talent’s appreciation is it’s actual success. He lauded the efforts of the Sports Journalists Association of Sindh (SJAS) for the betterment and acknowledgement of sports journalists. Murtaza Wahab paid tribute to the chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for measures taken to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic however urged citizens to remain vigilant because the threat is still looming over heads. SJAS’ patron Dr Junaid Ali Ali, president Muhammad Asif Khan and Secretary General Muhammad Asghar Azeem presented honorary SJAS membership to Barrister Murtaza Wahab. Former captain Moin Khan said that abiding by the Covid safety protocols was an example for everyone at the ceremony. He noted that the pandemic impacted sporting activities a great deal however the situation is gradually returning towards normalcy now.  Former provincial sports minister Dr Junaid Ali Shah, former member Board of Governors, PCB Ejaz Farooqi and president Federal Union of Journalists GM Jamali expressed their condolences with the families of those journalists lost lives to COVID-19 and urged the Sindh government to adopt measures for the safety and insurance of the deprived families. Senior journalists Rishad Mehmood, Mansoor Ali Baig, Mehmood Riaz, Zubair Nazeer Khan, Waheed Khan and SJAS President Muhammad Asif Khan addressed the audience. Seven prominent athletes, presented with “Rashid Siddiqui Talent award” for prominent performances at the junior level, were Amir Ali (U19 Cricketer), Maaz Khan (Wushu), Marium Rafiq (Judo), Amna Ghayas (Captain, U12 Football), Shahzeb Khan (captain Karachi Hockey team), Azam Khan (cricketer) and Akif Ali (Taekwando). First Hub Jeep rally woman driver Tushna Patel, Pakistan’s number one Badminton player Mahoor Shehzad, international photographer Nasir Abdullah, senior sport journalist (PTV) Saifur Rehman and cricket encyclopaedia Sohail Khan were accoladed with SJAS especial awards. Karate Queen, Kulsoom Hazara was honoured with the Gold medal while senior journalist & anchor Waheed Khan was presented with Dr M A Shah Gold medal for his outstanding journalistic services. The secretary of the Karachi Hockey Association and former Hockey international, Haider Hussain was recognised for his services as organiser while for training thousands of athletes to glories at international stage, athletics coach Talib Hussain was given the lifetime achievement award. The best anchor (National) Abdul Ghaffar, best anchor (regional) Mujahid Solangi, Best anchor (emerging) Mohsin Mehdi, Best sports editor (English) Rishad Mehmood, best sports editor (Urdu) Mansoor Ali Baig, best senior reporter (electronic media) Faizan Lakhani, best senior reporter (Urdu , print) Tariq Aslam, best reporter (English, print) Umaid Waseem, best emerging reporter Muhammad Osama, best script writer Irshad Ali, best digital media producer award was presented to Shahzeb Ali Bhutto while Muhammad Asif Khan secured the award for outstanding performance.

SPORTS REPORT ISLAMABAD (September 22, 2020):-Razi Sports Academy (RSA) will participate in the 28th National Sports Festival 2020 for People with Different Abilities at Peshawar to be held from September 24 to 27 at Qayyum Stadium Peshawar. According to an official of RSA, the 4-day festival is being organized by KP Sports Directorate at Qayuum Stadium Peshawar from 24-27th September 2020. Special players male and female from all over the Pakistan will take part in multiple games in a large numbers of categories. Describing the details Raziuddin Ahmad CEO of the academy said that our boys team would be participating in Athletics, Badminton, Cricket, Tennis and Crutches Race standing category of polio affected upper and lower disabilities. RSA contingent is comprising on Raziuddin Ahmad Head of the Delegation, Mohammad Nawaz Gohar Manager / Player, Shahid Hussain, Mushtaq Haider, Umair Ali, Shabir Jan Khalil, Mohammad Asfaq Shakir, Shahid Ali, Mohammad Arsalan, Mohammad Bilal, Bilal Ayyaz and Asif Qadir. It is pertinent to mention here that Razi Academy honored to have gold medals winning badminton championships three times in the previous national festivals 2015, 2016 and 2018.