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TABLE TENNIS - National 25 Dec, 2021
Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD (December 25, 2021):-Islamabad Table Tennis Association (ITTA) has named male and female teams for upcoming 57th National Table Tennis Championship that will be held in Lahore after conducting trials.
According to an official of ITTA, around 30 men from capital city and 16 women participated in the trials.The selection committee was consisted of Masood Rabbani, Mohammad Farooq, Raza Rafiq and Naeem Shaukat. The selected five men and five women players will represent Islamabad in the upcoming 57th National Table Tennis Championship, which will be taken place in Lahore.
At this occasion, president, ITTA SM Rashid Qadri wished good luck to all the players and said to enter in the field with the spirit of victory. Rashid Qadri also distributed the shirt and track suit among the selected players.
Names of selected men:
1: Abdullah Naeem
2: Mohammad Danish Tanveer
3: Mohammad Omar Saeed Ibrahim
4: Bilal Khan
5: Nabil Ahmed
Names of selected women:
1: Rahnail Satti
2: Isha Khan
3: Laiba Khan
4: Insha Afridi
5: Iqra Asghar
VOLLEYBALL - National 24 Dec, 2021
Ali Ahmed
LAHORE (December 24, 2021):-Pakistan Air Force (PAF) defeated WAPDA 3-1 with a score of 25-11, 21-25, 25-19 and 25-21 in the thrilling title clash of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Volleyball Tournament at Gymnasium Hall Divisional Sports Complex, Dera Ghazi Khan on Friday. The 3rd position went to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who trounced South Punjab by 3-0 with the score of 25-18, 25-19, 31-29 in the 3rd/4th position match.
Minister of State for Climate Change ZartajGul was the chief guest at the final match. She also witnessed the exciting final match and appreciated the game skills of both the teams.
Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab on Health Hanif Pitafi, Deputy Commissioner DG Khan Zeeshan Javed, Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Nabeel, Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue Ahmed Hasan Ranjha, CEO Secondary Education Sirajud Din, Director Sports Nadeem Qaiser, Divisional Sports Officer DG Khan Atta ur Rehman, Assistant Director Raees ur Rehman, Sardar Khan Senior Vice-President PVA and Secretary Punjab Volleyball Association (PVA) MB Javed were also present on this occasion.
Speaking on this occasion, Minister of State for Climate Change ZartajGul congratulated the organizers for holding the Mir Chakar Azam Rind Volleyball Tournament in a successful manner. She thanked all the participating teams and officials and said that definitely it is a historic occasion for South Punjab to host such a big sports event.
Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Mir Chakar Azam Rind Games are being organized in this part of the province in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. “I’m quite confident that South Punjab will gain several potential young players of volleyball, hockey and wrestling after the completion of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Games,” she added.
Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti congratulated Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for winning the coveted title of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Volleyball Tournament.
A large number of sports lovers including hundreds of students from various schools and colleges were also present at the venue to cheer the participating teams. They also enjoyed the exciting volleyball matches of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Games Volleyball Tournament being organized under the auspices of Sports and Youth Affairs Department Punjab.
Meanwhile, a hockey match will be played at DG Khan on December 25, 2021 (Saturday) as part of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Games.
No live radio commentary in South Africa for matches against India
Bipin Dani
There will be no live radio commentary in South Africa for the upcoming Test series against India.
This was revealed by the (South African Broadcasting Corporation) SABC’s Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Marketing, Ms. Gugu Ntuli.
Speaking exclusively, she says, “The SABC can confirm that there will be no live radio commentary for the Protea Inbound Tour matches, therefore no commentators are appointed in this regard".
"However, a provision for three live updates of three to five minutes long every hour on Radio 2000 has been made for these matches and the station will also stream full live commentary on its website www.radio2000.co.za”.
Incidentally, the CSA (Cricket South Africa) board did make an appeal to the authorities so that through the radio broadcast, fans can rally behind the Proteas as they take on India in an historic encounter, which also marks the 30th Anniversary of friendship between CSA and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Owing to the current pandemic situations in South Africa, the fans are not allowed at the grounds to witness the Tests.
It is worth highlighting that many thousands of blind cricket fans are totally reliant on radio commentary to enjoy their favorite sport. This will deprive those fans of their enjoyment of the game.
First of the three Tests will begin on Boxing Day at Centurion.
VOLLEYBALL - National 23 Dec, 2021
Sports Report
LAHORE (December 23, 2021):-Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Pakistan WAPDA stormed into the final of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Volleyball Tournament after winning their respective semifinals comprehensively on the third day of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Games Volleyball Tournament at Gymnasium Hall Divisional Sports Complex, Dera Ghazi Khan on Thursday.
Divisional Sports Officer DG Khan Atta ur Rehman, District Education Officer Sirajud Din, Director DGPR Raheem Talib, Deputy Director DGPR Junaid Jatoi, Assistant Director Raees-ur-Rehman, several officers of different departments and other prominent personalities of the region were also present on this occasion.
Director General Sports Punjab Javed Chohan in his greeting message on Thursday congratulated Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and WAPDA teams for booking a place in the final of the grand event. “The teams of PAF and WAPDA exhibited wonderful performance in their respective semifinals and did not allow their opponents to settle down in any stage of their matches,” he added.
Director General Sports Punjab Javed Chohan expressed the hope that sports lovers of South Punjab will witness thrilling encounter between two best teams of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Games Volleyball Tournament.
A large number of male and female students of different schools and colleges also watched the exciting volleyball matches of Mir Chakar Azam Rind Games Volleyball Tournament being organized under the auspices of Sports and Youth Affairs Department Punjab.
The 3rd/4th position match will be played between South Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa teams in the morning followed by title clash between Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Wapda teams.
In the first semifinal match, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) thrashed South Punjab by a big margin of 3-0 and with a score of 25-15, 25-23 and 28-26. PAF won the first set quite comfortably but South Punjab players revived their confidence and offered a strong resistance in the second and third sets but unfortunately they could not change the fate of the match.
The second semifinal match was played between Wapda and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 3-0. Wapda dominated the proceedings right from the beginning and won the match by a score of 25-13, 25-22 and 25-17. Though Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost the match by 3-0 but they managed to give tough time to their strong opponents in the second set.
FIH selects 10 players and 10 matches for votes
Lausanne, Switzerland (SB Report):-Despite all the challenges connected with the COVID-19 global health pandemic, 2021 was still an incredible year for the sport of Hockey, a year which deserves to be celebrated like any other.
With some truly extraordinary moments taking place at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, FIH Hockey Pro League and a Men’s Junior World Cup, restricting our categories to just ten nominees for the Best Goal and the Best Match of 2021 was far from simple.
Nominees – Favourite Goal of 2021
1: Nicolas Keenan (ARG). Argentina Men v Japan (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A stunning run and overhead smash-shot from the top of the circle slams the backboard.
2: Timm Herzbruch (GER). Germany Men v Argentina (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: An outrageously intricate penalty corner routine from Die Honamas, bewildering the Argentine defence for Herzbruch to deflect home.
3: Agustina Albertarrio (ARG). Argentina Women v Germany (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A brilliantly worked passing move is finished off by Albertarrio, who touches home from close range.
4: Tim Brand (AUS). Australia Men v Germany (Semi-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Kookaburras superstar Brand volleys home a vicious cross-shot from Ogilvie, who was picked out in the circle by a glorious overhead pass that eliminated the Germany defenders. (3 August)
5: Berta Bonastre (ESP). Spain Women v Great Britain (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Pouncing from close range, Bonastre takes two magnificent touches to lift the ball over the head of Maddie Hinch and into the GB goal.
6: Dayaan Cassiem (RSA). South Africa Men v Belgium (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Incredible solo effort against the World and eventual Olympic champions, running half the length of the field in possession before flicking past the shoulder of goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch.
7: Lidewij Welten (NED). Netherlands Women v Germany (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A fine passing move carves through the Germany team before Welten taps home from close range.
8: Kenta Tanaka (JPN). Japan Men v New Zealand (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Pacey Samurais attacker Tanaka runs three quarters of the lengths of the field in possession before sensationally firing home.
9: Hollie Pearne-Webb (GBR). Great Britain Women v India (Bronze) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A rare field goal from GB’s captain, smashing home a superb first-time volley to put her team on course for the bronze medal.
10: Stacey Michelsen (NZL) New Zealand Women v Australia - FIH Hockey Pro League: A superb solo goal from the Black Sticks legend, cutting in from the right before crashing a stunning backhand strike inside the right post.
Nominees – Favourite Match of 2021
1: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Pool B – South Africa 4-3 Germany
2: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Quarter-Final – Germany 0-3 Argentina
3: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Quarter-Final – Australia 0-1 India
4: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Bronze Medal – Germany 4-5 India
5: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Bronze Medal – Great Britain 4-3 India
6: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Gold Medal – Australia 1-1 Belgium (2-3 ASO)
7: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Gold Medal – Netherlands 3-1 Argentina
8: FIH Hockey Pro League: Men – Netherlands 2-4 Germany
9: FIH Hockey Pro League: Women – Argentina 1-3 Germany
10: FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021: Pool phase – France 4-3 India
FIH World Rankings: Netherlands Women & Australia Men on top
Sports Bulletin Report
Lausanne, Switzerland (December 23, 2021):-With the end of 2021 very much in sight, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) can reveal that the Netherlands women and Australia men will finish the year at the top of the FIH World Rankings.
Alyson Annan’s Netherlands team enjoyed another sensational year, powering to the FIH Hockey Pro League and European championship titles before landing their fourth Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, defeating Argentina in the competition final.
The Oranje end 2021 with 3015.35 points, over 600 ranking points ahead of second placed England with 2375.78. Olympic silver medallists Argentina will begin 2022 third in the FIH World Rankings, being just 14 points behind England with 2361.28.
Australia (2334.04) finished the year in fourth place, with Germany (2126.15) and Spain (1959.62) fifth and sixth respectively. Belgium (7th place - 1939.88), New Zealand (8th place – 1821.11), India (9th place – 1810.32) and China (10th place – 1677.96) complete the top ten.
There has been a change at the top of the men’s FIH World Rankings since our last update, with Belgium’s recent FIH Hockey Pro League draw and defeat at the hands the Netherlands being enough to see them lose top spot to Australia, the team they beat to Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. Australia closed the year with 2642.25 points, just ten points ahead of FIH Hockey Pro League and Olympic champions Belgium, who have 2632.12.
Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists India – recent third place finishers at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, Bangladesh – sit third with 2296.04, with the Netherlands (2234.33) and Germany (2038.71) in fourth and fifth positions respectively.
The top ten is completed by England (6th – 1990.62), Argentina (7th - 1826.11), New Zealand (8th - 1598.24), Spain (9th - 1532.33) and Malaysia (10th - 1427.18).
The aforementioned Hero Asian Champions Trophy saw various exchanges of ranking points between the competing teams, although there was little in terms of movement. Competition winners Korea remain 16th with runners up Japan still in 17th position. Fourth placed finishers Pakistan continue to hold onto 18th place, while fifth placed Bangladesh have dropped two places to 40.
FOOTBALL - FIFA News 23 Dec, 2021
Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, only 352 full internationals were played in 2020. Not since 1987 (323 matches) had so few games been played in a calendar year. By contrast, planet football made up for lost time in 2021 with a record breaking 1116 matches played.
And while the quantity of games changed radically from one year to the next, the top ranked team in the FIFA/ Coca-Cola World Ranking has remained the same! For the fourth year in a row, Belgium (1st) ends the calendar year in pole position, albeit only just ahead of Brazil (2nd) by 2.1 points. France was (3rd) to complete the podium for 2021.
For their part, Canada (40th) are the year’s ‘Most Improved Side’ having picked up no fewer than 130.32 points over the last 12 months. Their journey to the semi-finals of the 2021 Gold Cup, as well as the impressive results in FIFA World Cup Qatr 2022™ qualifying, have been major factors in their rise.
Winners of UEFA EURO 2020 and the Copa America 2021 respectively, Italy (6th + 115.77 points compared to December 2020) and Argentina (5th +108.51 points compared to December 2020), have also seen their points tally increase dramatically this year.
The same goes for the USA (11th + 103.51 points compared to December 2020) and England (4th + 85.52 points compared to December 2020). Equatorial Guinea (114th + 59.78 points compared to December 2020) made the most impressive progress among African teams, while Saudi Arabia (51st + 81.71 points compared to December 2020) did the same in Asia.
However, just in terms of last month, the most improved Asian team are Indonesia (164th + 11.13 points). Winners of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021™, Algeria (29th +3) jointly made the best progress in terms of places, along with Qatar (48th + 3), who finished third at the tournament, and Thailand (115th +3).
CRICKET - 23 Dec, 2021
Aamir Ali Janjua
Dubai (December 23, 2021: Fast bowlers Ahmed Khan, Awais Ali and Zeeshan Zameer blew away Afghanistan Under-19 as Pakistan Under-19 got off to a winning start in the Asian Cricket Cup (ACC) Under-19 Asia Cup with a four-wicket win at the ICC Cricket Academy Oval 2 on Thursday.
Afghanistan, who won the toss and opted to bat first, have lost half of their batting side on just 12 runs. Nangeyalia Kharote, coming to bat at number-seven, was the only batter to score in double figures, 15 off 27, and struck three fours.
Right-arm fast Ahmed took three for 21 from six overs which included dismissals of Suliman Safi (four off 19b), Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai (one off six) and Ijaz Ahmed Azad (first ball duck). Right-arm pacers Awais and Zeeshan grabbed two wickets apiece for nine and 12 runs, respectively.
In their run-chase, Pakistan lost six wickets before achieving the target in the 17th over. Only two batters managed to enter into double figures with opening batter Maaz Sadaqat returning unbeaten on 14 off 46, hitting one four.
For Afghanistan, Noor Ahmad picked three wickets for 20. Right-arm fast Bilal Sami bagged two wickets for 16. Pakistan U19 will take on India U19 in their second match of the tournament on 25 December at the same venue.
Scores in brief:
Pakistan U19 beat Afghanistan U19 by four wickets
Afghanistan U19 52 all out, 23.1 overs (Nangeyalia Kharote 15; Ahmed Khan 3-21, Awais Ali 2-9, Zeeshan Zameer 2-12)
Pakistan U19 53-6, 16.4 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 14 not out; Noor Ahmed 3-20, Bilal Sami 2-16)
Result Pakistan U19 win by four wickets
Player of the match – Awais Ali (Pakistan U19)
Upcoming fixtures:
25 December – v India, Dubai
27 December – v UAE, Dubai
SPORTS NEWS - National 23 Dec, 2021
Lahore (Sports Report):-The 2- day International Rope Skipping Coaching Course 2021 concluded at City School DHA Campus, Lahore.
USA Skipper's Alisha Junior World Record Holder and Mishal Junior World Record demonstrated Rope Skipping and particular training session to players and coaches.
Overall Pakistan 60 participates from Karachi, Lahore, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkawa and Islamabad attended course.
Chairman, Pakistan Rope Skipping Federation (PRSF) Main Mohammad Afzal Director General Admin Lahore and DG WAPDA Sports Board, Mushraff Khan were the chief guests and distributed certificates to all the participants.
President PRSF Maqbool Arain, Vice Presidents, Asghar Anjum and Col. Wasif, Secretary, Shariq Siddqui were also present on the occasion.
Sri Lankan national selectors rewarded
Bipin Dani
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board has approved the incentives for the three members of the National Selection Panel, it is learnt.
According to the highly placed sources in the SLC, this incentive payment is for the recognition of their service for selecting the excellent team they picked for the ICC T-20 World Cup, which was played in the UAE (United Ara Emirates).
The three selectors, who each are benefited with a sum of Rs. 1 million are: Pramodya Wickramasinghe, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Hemantha Wickramaratne.
"Yes, the team could not advance to the final stages of the World Cup but overall the performance of the team was good and could also win a few matches in the tournament and hence this decision was taken", two different sources confirmed the news on Tuesday.
Incidentally, the proposal came from the SLC president Shammi Silva.
"Incentive payment for the National Selectors-ICC T20 World Cup 2021. President's suggestion to offer Rs. 1 min each to the 03 National Selectors for the excellent work rendered by them in selecting the squad for the ICC T/20 World Cup 2021 which was recently concluded in Dubai, UAE, has been approved", the minutes of the 04th Executive Committee meeting (a copy in possession of this Reporter), which was held at the SLC Head Quarters on 9th November 2021, reads.
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