Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD:-As many as 28 matches were played on Saturday of the ITC Twin City Tennis Tournament, as Usman Ijaz defeated Mian Amir from Lahore 8-5 in thrilling match at Islamabad Tennis Complex G-6 Islamabad. Results: Open Category (Men / Women Mix): Round-1: Amin Khan Bt Afaan 8-6; Rizwan Khan Bt Ahmed Murad 8-5; Asim Hamza Bt Talha Saqib 8-2; Muslim Farooq Bt Huzaima 8-0; Ilyas Sarfaraz Bt Sheyar Amjid 8-6; Round-2: Abdullah Bt Himayun 8-3; Abdullah Mohammad Bt Waleed Faisal 8-5; Ilyas Sarfaraz Bt Muslim Farooqi 8-0; Asim Hamza Bt Jamal Bakht 8-2; Rizwan Khan Bt Abdullah Khan 8-0; Jabir Ali Bt Ghulam Murtaza 8-4; Usman Ijaz Bt Ali Zain 8-1; Abdullah Mohammad Bt Taha Mehmood 8-3; Ahmed Asid Bt Amin Khan 8-2; Quarterfinal: Mian Bilal Bt Usman Ijaz 8-5; Jabir Ali Bt Sarfaraz 8-4; Hamza Asim Bt Abdullah 8-0; Ahmed Asjad Bt Abdullah Mohammad 8-3; Under 12 Quarterfinal: Orhan Sohail Bt Fahd Eessa 6-0; Hamza Ahmed Bt Razik Sultan 6-0; Ozair Maqsood Bt Hamza 6-0; Abdul Wasay Bt Zunaisha Noor 6-0; Under 10 Quarterfinal Matches:- Amir Masood Bt Haider Ahmed 6-0; Arshmaan Bt Baber Fatima 6-2; Ayesha Masood Bt Qasim ul Khair 6-2; Behrooz Bt Vishaal 6-0; Semifinal Rounds: Amir Masood Bt Arshmaan 6-2; Ayesha Masood Bt Qasim ul Khair 6-3 Under 16: Quarterfinal Round Matches: Asim Hamza Bt Saqib Ibrahim 6-3; Ali Zain Bt Abdullah Khan 6-0; Hamza Hussain Bt Asim Haziq 6-4; Abdullah Mohammad Bt Mohammad Yahya 6-2; Under 14 (Boys/Girls) Quarterfinal Matches Hamza Hussain Bt Sameer Maqsood 6-0; Fahad Bt Subhan Aslam 6-0; Ali Zain Bt Amaar Masood 6-1; Haziq Asim Bt Zunaisha Noor 6-0.

Sports Bulletin KARACHI:-Pakistan’s ace golfer Shabbir Iqbal from Islamabad came from behind and claimed an important lead with 13 under par on the third day of UMA 48th Pakistan Open Golf Championship 2022 here at Karachi Golf Club (KGC) on Saturday. Ahmed Baig from Pakistan Air Force did seven under par for reaching second position. Matloob Ahmed of LGG was on third position with six under par after completing 54 holes. Waheed Baloch of Karachi Golf Club, who maintained lead during first two days, played three under thus reaching a gross of four under on third day. In the senior professionals category Irfan Mehmood of Rawalpindi was holding first position with two over par. He is being followed by Naseer Khan of Peshawar and Mohammad Akram of Lahore with their gross score of three over par were jointly holding second lead. After today’s cut, 15 players will play the final rounds on Sunday in the senior professional category. In the Junior professionals category, Mohammad Saqib of LGG was leading with three over par. Nabeel Khan of Airmen Golf Club was following Saqib with six over par. After today’s cut in junior professional category, 10 golfers with compete in the final round. Amateur Omar Khalid of KGC while competing amongst Professionals was holding 29th position with five over par on Saturday. Next Amateur was Salman Jehangir from Lahore Gymkhana with ten over par. CEO of Karachi Golf Club Commodore Ghazanfar Abbas said: “The greens of KGC are in best shapes. Leading Golfers from all over Pakistan have appreciated the quality of course-way we have maintained for them. Players are enjoying playing in Karachi’s pleasant weather and clear visibility.”

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD:-Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) has invited 31 players for the trials to select the national team for upcoming bilateral series against South Africa. The trials will be conducted from 31st January to 2nd February 2022 at Bahria Town Lahore. The Selection Committee comprising Mohammad Bilal Satti (Chairman Selection Committee), Masood Jan and Ibrar Shah (members) will take trials of the shortlisted 31 players to select two Pakistan Blind Cricket teams, one for the upcoming home series against South Africa to be held in Pakistan from 26th February to 9th March 2022 and another Pakistan team for the Triangular series comprising Pakistan, India, and New Zealand to be held at United Arabs Emirates (UAE) March 2022. List of shortlisted players: Riasat Khan (Abbottabad), Nisar Ali (AJK), Mohammad Rashid (Bahawalpur), Zafar Iqbal (Bahawalpur), Badar Munir (Okara), Mohammad Ijaz (Bahawalpur), Sajid Nawaz (Bahawalpur), Mati Ullah (Lahore), Sana Ullah Marwat (Peshawar), Mohammad Shahzaib (Bahawalpur), Moain Aslam (Bahawalpur), Mohsin Khan (Peshawar), Mohammad Ayyaz (Bahawalpur), Anees Javed (Islamabad), Akmal Hayat (Islamabad), Mohammed Tehsin (AJK), Shahzaib Haider (Islamabad), Ayub Khan (Islamabad), Mohammad Salman (Lahore), Niamat Ullah (Quetta), Mohammad Faisal (AJK), Fakhar Abbas (Islamabad), Naseeb ullah (Quetta), Mohammad Safdar (Multan), Mohammad Asif (Peshawar), Israr Hassan (Gujranwala), Mohammad Talha (Gujranwala), Shafi Ullah (Peshawar), Haroon (Peshawar), Kashif Siddique (Okara), Ahtesham ul Haq (Attock)

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD:-ITC Twin City Tennis Tournament started here at Islamabad Tennis Complex (ITC) G-6 Islamabad, as 30 matches were scheduled on the opening day of the event. Players from different clubs of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are participating in the tournament. More than 70 entries were received. Results: Open Category (Men / Women Mix) First round matches: Sehar Aleem Bt Mariam Ubaid 8-1; Main Bilal Bt FahaamAtir 8-2; Ali Zain Bt Saleem Abbassi 8-3; Haseeb Inayat Bt Abdul Wahid 8-0; Jabir Ali Bt Saeed Hamza 8-0; Ahmed Asjab Bt Rizwan Ahmed 8-3; Abdullah Khan Bt Himayun 8-0; Mohammad Taha Bt Adnan Khan 8-6; Under 12 First Round Matches: Hamza Ahmed Bt Mohammad Raja Taha 6-2; Ozair Maqsood Bt Amir Masood 6-2; Abdul Wasay Bt Fatima Baber 6-2; Hamza Ahmed Bt Ayesha Masood 6-2; Orhan Sohail Bt Zahra Khan 6-0 Under 10 First Round Matches:- Zahra Khan Bt Fatima Baber 6-0; Haider Ahmed Bt Ibrahim Baber 6-0; Ayesha Masood Bt Hahim Hassan 6-0; Under 16 First Round Matches: Abdullah Khan Bt Zahid Bin Ayan 8-0

Sports Bulletin KARACHI:-Waheed Baloch of Karachi Golf Club maintained his lead with seven under par on the completion of second day of the ongoing Pakistan Open Golf Championship 2022. Defending Champion Shabbir Iqbal of ICGC was following him with gross of five under par. Ahmed Baig of PAF with Ansar Mehmood of MGG were behind him with joint score of four under par. Total 58 golfers have qualified to play in Round 3. Junior Professionals played the first round on Friday. Total 16 participated in this category. Mohammad Sahil of PGC was holding first with 73 one over par. He was being followed by Mohammad Saqib of LGG who managed 76 five over par. Tournament Director Col Zahid Iqbal said, “Leading Golfers from all over Pakistan are struggling hard at the lavish greens of Karachi Golf Club. Players are enjoying playing in the pleasant weather and clear visibility.” Waheed Baloch is in full form and came up as major hurdle for Defending Champion Shabbir Iqbal. UMA 48th Pakistan Open Golf 2022 has the highest prize money of PKR 10 Million, with return Dubai ticket along with golf rounds as Hole-in-One prize for the first claim.

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD:-Australia became the third side into the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 Super League semi-finals with a comprehensive win over Pakistan. They joined England and Afghanistan in the final four with a 119-run success on a day where batting first was the order of the day. The United Arab Emirates set a target beyond hosts West Indies on their way to a Plate semi-final success, while Uganda were 35-run winners in the Plate play-off semi-finals against Papua New Guinea. Top order batting sends Australia through Australia booked their place in the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 Super League semi-finals with a 119-run win over Pakistan thanks to some fine top-order batting. Half-centuries for Teague Wylie and Corey Miller, as well as 47 from Campbell Kellaway, helped Australia to 276 for 7 from their 50 overs and that proved far too much for Pakistan in Antigua. Barring a 50-run partnership for the third wicket, Pakistan were always behind in their chase and eventually crumbled to 157 all out with the wickets shared among the Australian bowlers. Pakistan won the toss and elected to field, but soon regretted that decision as Kellaway and Wylie (71) put on 86 for the first wicket. Kellaway was stumped off the bowling of Qasim Akram (3-40), but that just brought Miller to the crease and he accelerated the run-rate on his way to 64. Their stand of 101 was brought to an end by Awais Ali, who had Wylie bowled, with Miller following soon after to leave Australia 203 for three with just under ten overs remaining. Skipper Cooper Connolly chipped in with 33 and William Salzmann cracked a quickfire 25 off 14 balls from No.7 to set a competitive target. It soon became clear that it would be well beyond Pakistan, with Muhammad Shehzad and Haseebullah Khan both caught behind to leave their side 27 for two in the fifth over. Abdul Faseeh (28) and Irfan Khan (27) started to rebuild before the latter was bowled by Salzmann (3-37), and the wickets fell at regular intervals from then on. Australia will now face the winner of the final Super League quarter-final between India and defending champions Bangladesh on Saturday. UAE stun the hosts A sensational knock from Aayan Afzal Khan helped UAE to one of the greatest results in their history as they beat the West Indies by 82 runs in the Plate semi-finals in Trinidad. After edging past Uganda by a wicket, UAE endured a torrid start when Shiva Shankar (3-31) struck early and often to leave the visitors scrambling at 26 for four. It was at that point that Aayan entered the fray, and his 93 turned the game on its head. While initially wickets continued to tumble, his 103-run partnership with Shival Bawa (51) for the seventh wicket ensured that the Asian would have something to defend. He was the last man to fall in a first innings effort of 224 for nine, a target that proved far too much for the Windies. Jash Giyanani (3-21) made the early inroads, with the home side quickly finding themselves 32 for four. And unlike the UAE, they had no Aayan to save the day, as Dhruv Parashar (4-30) picked up the baton with the ball. In fact the most resistance from the West Indies came from the final pair, Nathan Edward hitting an unbeaten 51 as he and No.11 Isai Thorne put on 70 for the final wicket before fittingly Aayan sealed the win. UAE will now take on the winner of Ireland against Zimbabwe in the Plate final, while the West Indies take on the loser in the play-off for 11th. Kakuru fires Uganda past PNG Cyrus Kakuru inspired Uganda to a 35-run victory over Papua New Guinea in the Plate play-off semi-finals in Trinidad. His 65 was the foundation of Uganda’s 123 all out in a low-scoring affair and Papua New Guinea never really got going in reply, slumping to 88 all out inside 20 overs. Uganda looked in trouble at 20 for three after electing to bat first, but it was at that point that Kakuru joined his skipper Pascal Murungi. The captain chipped in with 16, the only other man to make double figures and while John Kariko (5-19) caused chaos, Kakuru motored along to a half-century. He eventually fell caught and bowled to Kariko for 65 off 59 balls with 11 boundaries. But the reply never really got going, Juma Miyagi (4-29) and Joseph Baguma (3-30) combining to tear through the top order and reduce PNG to 27 for six. There was no way back from there, despite 26 from Junior Morea as PNG fell well short in reply. Uganda will now take on Scotland in the play-off for 13th. Meanwhile, three UAE players and one India player have received positive PCR test results for COVID-19 through the official event testing programme. The players are currently self-isolating and are being monitored and cared for by the medical team.

Bipin Dani Which parents would not be glad to see their son grabbing 5 wickets and giving away only 10 runs in less than 10 overs ? Vinuja Ranpul's mother glued before the TV on Thursday night and was "pleasantly surprised" to watch her son showing bowling skill in the U-19 QF match against Afghanistan in Antigua. "(I was surprised) because my son is a batting all-rounder. He is the one down batsman of Nalanda College 1st XI team and scored unbeaten 119 runs and 3 half centuries in the previous U19 school tournament. He was the 5th most run getter in that whole school tournament as well", the mother Deepani Rane, who is a lawyer by profession, said exclusively over the telephone from Sri Lanka. "Representing his first match in the ICC U-19 World Cup as a bowling all-rounder, I see this as an opportunity to improve his bowling skills too", the mother added. Vinuja's father Upul Vithanage is a sea-man (now sailing from Scotland to St. Juan Portico). The sailor with Evergas Company had also played cricket for some extent representing the BRC club Sri Lanka. Vinuja was influenced by his father. His only sister is a 3rd year medical student studying at Faculty of Medicine, Karapitiya, Sri Lanka. Mahela's pep-talk Obviously, the entire team was disappointed on losing the match after performing so well till this stage. Mahela, the team consultant, did console the players, though, one of the sources in Antigua confirmed. "He gave his own example of his playing days when his team lost four times out of five after reaching the final but ultimately won", one of the sources in Antigua confirmed.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland: History was made in Santiago at the Women’s Pan Am Cup as the host nation Chile secured their first ever qualification for the FIH World Cup. It was double joy for both semi-final winners as Argentina and Chile sealed automatic qualification spots at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, Spain and Netherlands 2022 and also booked their places in the final of the 2022 Pan Am Cup – a fixture that is a repeat of the 2017 Pan Am Cup. While the whole of the Chile hockey contingent celebrated the momentous achievement, Argentina’s captain Agostina Alonso enjoyed her own moment of celebration as she was awarded her 100th international cap. With three qualification places available for teams from the event in Santiago, Chile, whichever teams qualified for Saturday’s final knew they would also be travelling to Europe for the blue riband event in July. The third spot will go to the winner of the bronze medal match – either Canada or USA. In the first semi-final Argentina (FIH World Ranking:3) faced the second ranked team in the tournament Canada (WR:14) to determine who would advance to Saturday’s final. History was heavily on Argentina’s side as they remain unbeaten in all five previous editions. For their part, Canada women have never achieved higher than third place at this event and in the last edition in 2017 they finished fourth. That said, Canada were determined to take the match to the reigning champions and it was a fast-paced and hard-fought first half. Argentina created more chances, including four penalty corners, but Canada goalkeeper Rowan Harris and her defence held strong in the face of a Leonas onslaught. It was Argentina’s fifth penalty corner that broke the deadlock. Eugenia Trinchinetti slotted home to give her side a 1-0 lead just after play resumed in the second half. Jimena Cedres opened her account for Argentina with two goals in the fourth quarter; both goals came from open play and the second goal involving an exquisite piece of skill to lift the ball past the defence and into the net. Speaking after the game, Maria Granatto said: ‘Well, we've just accomplished our main goal, being in the top two of the tournament and getting the ticket to attend the World Cup. ‘Now we are going to play the final in the shirt we train so hard for and love so much. And now we have  qualified for the World Cup, we are very calm and confident about our team. It's truly a tremendous joy for us and the team is very happy.’ ‘Whoever we face in the final, we will be very focused. we know that if we keep mentally focused we can maintain our game and we have trust in ourselves. This will make it very difficult for our opponent. So, we are very calm and confident in this tournament, we advanced step by step and the biggest one – qualifying – well, we've already done it.’ The second semi-final saw USA (WR:15) take on the host nation Chile (WR:17) in what had all the promise of an exciting and competitive match. USA had enjoyed a good tournament to this point, winning all three games with conviction. Chile had lost their opening game to Argentina and then beaten Uruguay to finish second in the pool. An 11-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago had secured Chile a place in the semi-finals and a chance to qualify for the World Cup. The game started at a brisk pace, with Chile looking the more attack-minded in the opening exchanges. A double save from USA ‘keeper Kelsey Bing prevented Chile from taking the lead after a good spell of pressure towards the end of the second quarter and the first half remained goalless. The first 14 minutes of the second half was much of the same. Chile kept piling on the pressure and USA looked solid in defence. However the breakthrough came when Camila Caram – who had been a dynamo for Chile throughout the match – swept the ball goalwards from a penalty corner. Domenica Ananias was on hand to tip the ball past Bing to give her side a precious lead. Excitement was building around the ground as Chile sensed a historic win but USA are nothing if not determined. Head Coach Anthony Farry pulled the ‘keeper from the pitch and the USA surged forward. With less than two minutes on the clock, Erin Matson unleashed a reverse stick shot that flew into the goal and gave the team the equaliser. In the shoot-out, Claudia Schuler in the Chile goal proved herself up for the challenge as she saved the first four USA attempts, sealing the Diablas’ historic qualification. The final day of action at the Women’s Pan Am Cup will take place on Saturday 29 January. Argentina will play Chile in the gold medal match, while Canada take on USA for that final coveted World Cup qualification spot. Results (January 27: Thursday): Trinidad and Tobago 0-5 Uruguay (forfeit) Argentina 3-0 Canada (Argentina qualify for FIH Hockey World Cup Spain & Netherlands 2022) USA 1-1 Chile (Chile win shoot-out) (Chile qualify for FIH Hockey World Cup Spain & Netherlands 2022) 2022 Women’s Pan Am Cup match schedule for Saturday 29 January: (All times are local Chile Summer Time) 3rd/4th place 16:00 Canada v USA Final 18:30 Argentina v Chile

Sports Bulletin LAHORE:-The Millat Tractors National Juniors Tennis Championship will be taken place from January 28 to February 2, 2022 at Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore. According to Secretary, Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) Rasheed Malik, the top national junior players from across all Pakistan will be in action to win the prizes, trophies, Certificates and medals in the different age categories disciplines. Boys’ Under-18, Boys U – 18 Doubles, Girls U – 18, Boys U – 16, Boys U – 14, Boys  U – 14 Doubles, Boys U – 12, Girls U – 12, Boys / Girls U-12 Doubles and Boys / Girls U-10 events will be part of the national juniors tennis fixture. The opening ceremony of the tournament will be held on 28th January at 4:00 pm, as the Rashid Malik (tamgh e Imtiaz ) will inaugurate the championship. All final matches of the championship will be played on February 2, 2022 at Punjab Tennis Academy bagh e Jinnah Lahore.

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD:-Afghanistan produced a sensational fightback to edge a thriller with Sri Lanka and secure a place in the semi-finals of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022. Despite only setting a target of 135, a superb performance with the ball means Suliman Safi’s side just did enough to progress from the Super League quarter-finals. A composed late spell at the crease from Sri Lanka’s skipper Dunith Wellalage looked for a while like he would pull his team over the line, but it was not meant to be as Afghanistan edged the low-scoring thriller to reach the final four, matching their achievement from the 2018 tournament in New Zealand. They will now face England in the first Super League semi-final at the Sir Viv Richards Cricket Ground on 1 February. Afghanistan bowlers come alive to launch superb fightback Wellalage’s team elected to field after the winning the toss at the Coolidge Cricket Ground and for the first few overs it was difficult to tell whether it was the correct decision. Afghanistan openers Nangeyalia Kharote and Bilal Sayedi looked solid for the opening ten overs before Traveeen Mathew struck with a wicked delivery that removed Sayedi. Kharote departed in the very next over and when skipper Suliman Safi was trapped LBW after making just one, Afghanistan were reeling. Ijaz Ahmadzai lost his wicket without troubling the scoreboard, but fellow middle-order batsman Abdul Hadi was able to steady the ship with a crucial knock. The left-hander came to the crease with his team struggling, but he managed to make 37, including four boundaries, before he was stumped after a clever delivery from Dunith Wellalage. Vinjua Ranpul then helped clear-out the tail for Sri Lanka, ending with a five-wicket haul at the expense of just ten runs. When he trapped Izharulhaq Naveed, Afghanistan were all out for just 134 runs. The Sri Lankan reply was on shaky ground from the start. Opener Sadisha Rajapaksa went for a duck in the opening over, and his replacement Shevon Daniel went for just 2 after he was clean bowled by Bilal Sami. After 13 overs, they were in a worse position than Afghanistan were during their innings. Nor Ahmed then produced a cracking delivery to remove Ranuda Somarathne and put Sri Lanka in real trouble. From that point, their dreams of lifting a first ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup were fading fast. However, the eight wicket partnership between captain Wellalage and Raveen de Silva looked like it might save the day, taking Sri Lanka from 43 runs for seven to 112. Kharote then took the crucial wicket of the skipper, who played cheaply, before Naveed claimed the wicket of de Silva to set-up a nerve jangling finish. Sri Lanka got to within five runs of victory, but their fourth run-out of the innings cost Mathew the final wicket and gave Afghanistan a dramatic victory.