Bhubaneswar, India (SB Report):-Lautaro Domene scored a hat-trick of penalty corners to help Argentina become men’s Junior World Cup champions for the second time in their history, beating Germany 4-2 in a superb competition final in Bhubaneswar. Domene’s achievement was made more remarkable by the fact that Argentina won just three penalty corners in the entire match, with the drag-flicker finishing with a 100 percent conversion rate as his team added a second men’s Junior World Cup title to the one claimed in Rotterdam in 2005. The result ended Germany’s quest for a seventh men’s Junior World Cup title and brought the curtain down on a superb competition at the Kalinga Stadium. Earlier in the day, France – inspired by Player of the Tournament Timothée Clément – defeated India to claim the bronze medal while Netherlands and Spain were respective winners over Belgium and Malaysia in the 5-6 and 7-8 classification matches. 1st – 2nd Place: Argentina beat Germany 4-2 In a magnificent contest, Argentina produced the most clinical of displays to overcome the six times champions, with a perfect penalty corner conversion record and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Nehuen Hernando proving vital. Lautaro Domene netted penalty corner drag-flicks in each of the first two quarters, leaving Germany with a mountain to climb in the remaining 30 minutes. And climb it they did, with Julius Heyner – earlier given a 10-minute yellow card suspension for a coming together with Argentina’s Joaquin Toscani – firing home from close range before Masi Phandt’s deflected penalty corner effort rocketed into the roof of Hernando’s goal with 13 minutes remaining. However, Domene made it three penalty corner conversions from three attempts in the 50th minute before Hernando pulled off some astonishing saves to deny Germany another equaliser. Argentina sealed their second men’s Junior World Cup title when Franco Agostini fired into an empty net in the final minute, with Germany having replaced their goalkeeper with an outfield player in a final attempt to salvage the situation. “We cannot explain our feelings in this moment”, said a delighted Lautaro Domene, the Player of the Match, after the contest. “It is difficult to know what we are thinking. We knew that this team could do it. We played together, as we have done in the other games. We committed as a team, and that is the most important thing. It is a craziness that we cannot explain, what it is to win this tournament. It’s beautiful, and we are very proud of this team.” Germany captain Hannes Muller said: “First of all, congratulations to Argentina for their win. I think the first half was not good for us. Too many technical mistakes, not enough pressure on the ball. The second half was a little bit better but, in the end, we lost the final. At this moment it’s hard to understand that.” 3rd – 4th Place: France beat India 3-1 France captain Timothée Clément netted his fourth hat-trick in six matches at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, firing his team to the bronze medal with a 3-1 win over host nation India. The home side dominated the early stages and even managed to hit the post, but France grew into the contest and edged ahead four minutes before half time thanks to Clément’s superb penalty corner drag-flick. Clément netted another penalty corner early in the third quarter, but India hit back through Sudeep Chirmako’s brilliant reverse scooped finish to leave give his team hope in the latter stages. It was Clément however, who would have the final say, with his deflected fourth quarter penalty corner effort completing his personal treble and securing a superb bronze medal for this hugely gifted young French team. “What an emotion!”, said France captain Timothée Clément, who was named Player of the Match. “Two days ago, it was very difficult to lose in the semi-final. It was very important to finish like this. We have a bronze medal. It’s just amazing! And this team is perfect. Wow! We are very happy for French hockey. The future generation is here and I think we have a really, really great future!” India’s Vivek Sagar Prasad said: “It was a really good match, a very close one. Congratulations to the French team! We’re very disappointed. As players, we will all work to improve in the future.” 5th – 6th Place: Netherlands beat Belgium 6-4 The Low Countries derby battle for fifth position went the way of the Netherlands, who earned a 6-4 victory against Belgium. The Netherlands raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Miles Bukkens (2) and Brent van Bijnen before Belgium hit back through Thibault Deplus. Bukkens completed his hat-trick just before half time to take the score to 4-1, but two goals in three third quarter minutes from Roman Duvekot pulled the Belgians to within one goal of their opponents. However, strikes from Guus Jansen and Casper van der Veen sealed the win for the Netherlands, with Belgium’s Jeff de Winter scoring the final goal of a thrilling match eight minutes from full time. “We had a good game plan, We started really well and scored four goals”, said Guus Jansen, the Player of the Match. “In the first part of the second half, we lost it a bit but with the good work of the whole team we managed to take the win home. That’s a great feeling. Overall, it’s a little shame that we didn’t finish first. That’s what we came for. But after all, we won a lot of games, we lost one a little bit unfortunate. But after all, great World championships! Very happy.” Belgium captain Dylan Englebert said: “We were not used to concede as many goals as today, so we lack a little bit of focus in this part. For sure the second half was better, but they played well, both defensively and offensively. Congrats to them! For sure, we’re a bit disappointed to not have reached the semi-finals because we felt we had a good opportunity to go to it but I think we showed a lot of good things, with a strong team that plays together, that defends well. That’s why we are a little bit frustrated today to end with 6 goals against.” 7th – 8th Place: Spain beat Malaysia 4-1 Spain were victorious in the 7th place play-off match, powering to a 4-1 triumph over Malaysia in a rain delayed contest at the start of the day. Malaysia opened the match scoring in the 4th minute through team captain Akhimullah Anuar’s field goal, with parity being restored by Eduard de Ignacio-Simo’s open play effort three minutes later. The two sides were locked together until 11 minutes from the end of the contest, when Pau Cunill fired home from a penalty corner. Late penalty corner goals from both Pepe Cunill and Pau Cunill ensured victory went the way of the Spaniards, with Malaysia finishing the competition in eighth position.  “We had really tough matches and we’ve learnt from these matches”, said Spain’s Pepe Cunill, the Player of the Match. “So, at half-time, we told us that we had to get through this match and put a lot of energy in it. I’m happy to end up this tournament with a win, but I think that we could have achieved another position in the final standings. Malaysia’s Akhimullah Anuar said: “We all gave our best. We played our game. We had a lot of chances, but we missed. Spain took every chance and scored. Throughout the tournament, I think our performance improved. But we still have more to improve in the future.” Final standings 1: Argentina 2: Germany 3: France 4: India 5: Netherlands 6: Belgium 7: Spain 8: Malaysia 9: South Africa 10: Korea 11: Pakistan 12: Poland 13: Canada 14: Chile 15: USA 16: Egypt Competition Awards Best Player of the Tournament: Timothée Clément (FRA) Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Anton Brinckman (GER) Hero Top Scorer of the Tournament: Miles Bukkens (NED) (18 goals) Odisha Fair Play Award: Team Chile Odisha Fans Choice Award for Best Goal of the Tournament: Ignacio Nardolillo (ARG) Hockey India Maximum Team Goals: Netherlands (45 goals) Hockey India Best Goal Saved of the Tournament: Mahmoud Seleem (EGY) AM/NS India Best Coach of the Tournament: Johannes Schmitz (GER)

Dhaka, Bangladesh (SB Report):-Azhar Ali reached his 34th career half-century as only 38 balls’ play was possible on the second day of the second Test in which Pakistan added 27 runs to their overnight score to reach 188 for two against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. After there was no play in the first session, play resumed following an early lunch and Pakistan began confidently and convincingly before rain halted play after 6.2 overs. Shortly before rain ended second day’s play, Azhar Ali hit back to back boundaries off Ebadot Hossain to complete his 34th 50 in his 91st Test. When day’s play was finally called off, Azhar was batting on 52 after beginning the day at 36. Babar Azam, who was 60 overnight in Pakistan’s 161 for two, started impressively with a boundary off the first ball of the day and was still at the crease on 71 with eight fours and a six. The two batters have so far added 118 runs for the unfinished third wicket partnership. Scores in brief (2nd Test, day 2 of 5): Pakistan 188-2, 63.2 overs (Babar Azam 71 not out, Azhar Ali 52 not out, Abid Ali 39, Abdullah Shafique 25, Taijul Islam 2-49) v Bangladesh

Saad Kayani KARACHI (December 5, 2021):-The eight-round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 season begins at three Karachi venues from Monday. Table-toppers Sindh are eying their first-ever spot in the revamped tournament’s (2019-20 onwards) 25-29 December final at the National Stadium Karachi. Sindh have had a dramatic change in fortunes after recording back to back wins since the 2021-22 edition of the prestigious tournament moved to Karachi following the first five rounds in Punjab. After a single result in the first 15 matches played in Punjab, the tournament sprung to life since moving to Karachi with results in as many as five out of the six matches played in the city so far. The trend is expected to continue with the three eight-round matches commencing from tomorrow. Sindh will take on Northern in their eight-round fixture at the UBL Sports Complex, Karachi. Sindh are on a high after registering a fine comeback victory over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the State Bank Stadium courtesy a six-wicket haul by left-arm pacer Mir Hamza in KP’s second innings on Friday. Hamza (second-most wickets in the tournament – 23) and the Sindh battery of pacers (Sohail Khan, Mohammad Hasnain and Shahnawaz Dahani) were the architects of the 127-run win which earned Sindh their impressive victory following their comprehensive innings thrashing of Balochistan in the sixth-round. They will however be up against a rampant Northern side that handed a nine-wicket drubbing to Central Punjab at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex courtesy a maiden double century by Haider Ali and first-class career-best bowling performance by Haris Rauf. Both Haider and Haris along with Shahnawaz are not going to feature in the match as they are set to join the Pakistan squad for the white-ball series against West Indies. The win over Central Punjab earned Northern valuable points but they are still languishing in the fifth-spot in the table with 78 points, an outright win with bonus points will surely see them surge ahead in the table. Southern Punjab tie against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the State Bank Stadium, Karachi will be live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel. Southern Punjab arrived in Karachi at the top of the table but have since lost the top-spot to Sindh. After enduring a comprehensive defeat to Central Punjab in the sixth-round, Southern Punjab played out a draw against Balochistan in the seventh-round. The high scoring fixture at the UBL Sports Complex ensured that Southern Punjab don’t slip further then their second spot in the table. They at present, enjoy a five point lead over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who after beating Northern in the sixth-round lost to Sindh in their seventh-round fixture. The top two run-getters in the season KP’s Sahibzada Farhan (688 runs) and Southern Punjab’ Tayyab Tahir (644 runs) will be hoping to play a leading role for their respective sides in their quest for crucial points as the teams vie for an entry into the tournament final. Central Punjab to play Balochistan at the NBP Sports Complex, Karachi. Fourth in the table, Central Punjab will be eying valuable bonus points and a win over the sixth-placed Balochistan when the two sides clash in the eight-round fixture. Both 2021-22 season matches at the venue have produced result with Central Punjab on the receiving end against Northern in the seventh-round match last week. Central Punjab, the reigning joint champions, are currently 20 points behind Sindh and would need at least a draw with some bonus points in their kitty to retain a realistic chance of sealing one of the two final berths. Balochistan with 64 points are still not totally out of the run for a final-spot. The team received a boost with the inclusion of Shan Masood in their ranks in the round-seven match. The left-hander responded with a blazing century as his side amassed a 606-run total with Ayaz Tassawar and captain Bismillah Khan also scoring centuries. Balochistan would be hoping to maintain the batting form on a venue where bowlers have remained in the hunt in both round-six and seven matches. Eight-round fixtures: Sindh vs Northern –UBL Sports Complex, Karachi Southern Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa –State Bank Stadium, Karachi Central Punjab vs Balochistan –NBP Sports Complex, Karachi

Karachi (Sports Report):-The 10th Essa Lab National Seniors and Juniors Tennis Championship started at the hard courts of Modern Club Karachi on Sunday. Dr. Essa Laboratory & Diagnostic Center is the major sponsor of this prestigious annual national fixture of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) circuit tournament. Karachi Tennis Association is organizing the event under the auspices of PTF/ STA. Results (Day-1): Men’s Singles (Round-I) Adnan Khan bt Mohammad Ahmed 6-2, 6-2 Salman Ahmed bt Imran Abid 6-0, 6-2 Abdullah Khan bt Ahsan Salim 6-1, 2-0 Robin Das bt Mohammad Usman 6-2, 5-0, Rtd Saad Salim bt Fahad Abid 6-7, 6-0, 10-6 Ahsan Siddiq bt Mohammad Asif 6-2, 6-1 Mohammad Bilal bt Arshad shahid 6-2, 6-0 Murad Khan bt Mohammad Abdul Saeed 6-3, 4-6,10-7 Shahab Khan beat Rohaan Masood 6-1, 6-1 Mustafa Burny beat Asaad Ahmed 6-2, 7-5 Under-16 Single (Round-I): Ahsan Ahmed bt Basim Ali 6-1,6-0 Hasnain Khurram bt Mohammad Sohail 6-3 6-4 Girls 18 Singles (Round-I): Daliah Shazim bt Eshal Zain 6-3, 6-1 Under-14 Doubles Abdullah Razzia+ Dhuruf Das bt Nibras Malik +Ibrahim Qureshi 5-3, 4-0 Taimoor +Kaamil bt kazim +Zayaan W/O Under-12 Doubles 1st Round Mahad + Ruhab bt Inaya+Daliah 4-0, 5-4 (6) Men’s Doubles Salman Ahmed +Mustafa Mustafa bt  Imran Dewaney + Fahad Abid  6-2 6-3 Kashan Tariq +Ahsan Siddiq bt Noman  Farid + Qamar Habib  8-3

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (December 5, 2021):-All Pakistan National Ranking Badminton Tournament will be played from December 27 to 31, 2021 in Charsadda, Khyber PukhtunKawa (KPK) under the aegis of Pakistan Badminton Federation (PBF). According to an official of PBF, the matches will be played in six different categories including Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles, Boys’ Under-13 and Girls’ Under-13. As many as 48 players will be in the main draw of men’s singles while 16 players will have to show acceptable performance in the qualifying round before getting the berth in main roind. Women’s Singles’ main draw will be consisted of 24 players while women’s doubles 16 players. Besides trophies, medals the cash awards will also be distributed among the players. All top ranking national male and female players will fight for top honour during the 5-day top national badminton fixture.   

Bipin Dani There have been no new cases of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka's women squad but two members of the squad are still found having Covid-19 positive results, it is reliably learnt. According to highly placed sources in the SLC, one player (Sugandika Kumari) and one support staff member (Indrani Ariyarayni) were again found positive in the last PCR tests conducted on Thursday.   It has been learnt now that more series of tests including the antigen tests for both will be conducted. "If the Covid affected persons have negative antigen tests, they can still fly to the country as per the new Civil aviation guidelines because there are less chances of spreading the virus", one of the SLC sources said. All players and support staff are still stranded in Harare after the Covid outbreak in the team, which resulted in the cancellation of the ICC World Cup qualifying round last week. "Efforts are being made at the highest level for their early return". There was a plan to send them in two different batches but now they all will be sent in a  Chartered flight of Sri Lankan airlines. "We are aware that they all have been nervous now and anxious to return home". "Just got the confirmation that team has the delta variant”. Delta variant was found initially in India, then it spreaded worldwide. It differed from other variants because of its high infectivity. And the mortality and morbidity rates were higher as well". "The players are being monitored by our efficient team doctor Matheesa de Silva", the source further added.

Bhubaneswar, India (SB Report):-South Africa produced a superb display to defeat Korea and secure their best ever finish at a men’s Junior World Cup as the 9th to 16th classification positions were decided in Bhubaneswar. The 4-0 triumph earned South Africa a ninth-place finish at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, surpassing their previous best of 10th which was achieved at the Lucknow 2016 edition of the competition. Pakistan, Canada and USA were also winners in their final matches, securing 11th, 13th and 15th positions respectively. 15th – 16th Place: USA 2-2 Egypt (3-0 on Shoot-Out) USA ended a difficult tournament on a winning note, fighting back from 2-0 down to claim an excellent draw against Egypt before triumphing in the shoot-out to snatch 15th position in the final standings. The Egyptians opened the scoring inside the first 60 seconds of the match when Abdelrahman Elganayni netted a penalty corner, with the same player doubling the advantage with a 24th minute field goal. Egypt held their two-goal lead until seven minutes from the end of the contest, when Tymen Kloen pulled a goal back from a penalty corner. Incredibly, Kloen struck again with a last-gasp open play effort to force the shoot-out in which the Americans dominated, with Kloen, Finlay Quale and team captain Jatin Sharma all converting to earn a 3-0 win in the one-on-ones.  We’ve improved a lot in this tournament”, said USA’’s Tymen Kloen, whose contribution rightly earned him the Player of the Match award. “We’re a very young squad and we have a lot of potential. I think we showed that today and we came up with a win. 0-2 down at half-time and we still win. This is a good sign.” 13th – 14th Place: Canada 2-1 Chile Canada snatched 13th place with a 2-1 win over Pan American rivals Chile in the second match of the day. Following two scoreless quarters, Canada took the lead with five minutes remaining in the third period when Christopher Tardif netted from open play, with Tanvir Kang scoring what proved to be the decisive goal midway through the fourth and final quarter. Chile’s Agustin Amoroso bagged a penalty corner with three minutes of the match left to play, setting up a tense finish to the contest. However, it was the Canadians who held on to secure 13th place, their highest finish since the 1985 Junior World Cup on home soil in Vancouver, where they also finished 13th. “I feel like we got better every single game in this tournament, we just sticked to the game plan and we got the result today”, said Canada’s Player of the Match John Jacoby. “There are so many learnings that we will bring home like the speed of the game, playing these crazy teams, it’s a lot!” Chile’s Nicolás Abujatum said: “They knew us, we knew them. These matches are decided by the team that makes less mistakes. We made mistakes that cost us to lose the game. Every player learnt a lot during this tournament. We have players with different ages, so each one has different things to learn. Some of us will not continue in the Juniors’ team, others will have more continental competitions, maybe World Cups, so I think we are learning how international matches are played.” 11th – 12th Place: Pakistan 5-0 Poland Pakistan proved too strong for Poland in the 11th – 12th classification match, running out comfortable winners against the Europeans in the third match of the day. The Junior Green Shirts exploded out of the blocks, taking a 2-0 lead in the opening six minutes thanks to two penalty corner conversions from Ali Rizwan. The team from Asia extended their lead to 4-0 ahead of half time, with Moin Shakeel firing home from open play before captain Abdul Rana netted from a penalty corner routine. Poland battled hard and made life difficult for their opponents after the break, with Pakistan only adding one more to their tally thanks to Mohammad Hammadudin’s field goal. “We were better structured today”, said Player of the Match Ali Ghazanfar of Pakistan. “We’ve learnt from our mistakes in the previous matches and today we have converted our goal opportunities. We didn’t play well against Germany, which was our first match in the tournament, but for the other matches we played very well. We improved match by match. Poland’s Jakub Mikolajczak said: “It wasn’t our day today. I think that Pakistan were just better. We have to work a lot until the next tournament. Participating in this World Cup was the best thing in my life! I’m one of the youngest players. See you soon!” 9th – 10th Place: South Africa 4-0 Korea South Africa’s best Junior World Cup finish came courtesy of a dominant display against Korea, with captain Guy Morgan producing a Player of the Match performance to help his team along the way. Morgan scored two sensational penalty corner drag-flicks, firing high into the net in the both the third and fourth quarters, giving his team a deserved lead following a score-less opening two periods. South Africa hit a third less than 60 seconds after their second, with Trevor de Lora firing home on the backhand before the result was put beyond all doubt seven minutes from the end when Zenani Kraai finished off a superb passing move to complete the match scoring.   “I think we had a bit of a slow start this evening, which was a bit frustrating from our side”, said South Africa’s Morgan after the match. "At half time, we worked it out in our heads, got back out there and made things happen, which was awesome. I’d like to say a massive thank you to the organisers, officials and everyone. It has been an amazing experience for everyone.” Korea captain Bae Soung Min said: “South Africa played very well, making the chances to get the goals. The tournament has been a good experience.”

Lahore (Sports Report):-Pakistan earned 11th position in the Junior Hockey World Cup 2021 after beating Poland 5-0 in their last position classification contest in India on Saturday. According to the details, in the match of 11th / 12th position in FIH Junior World Hockey Cup competitions held in Bhubaneswar, India, Pakistan defeated Poland by 5-0 goals and got 11th position. Pakistan scored three goals through penalty corners and two field goals for Pakistan. Rizwan Ali scored on the first two penalty corners with a fast drag flick while Captain Rana Waheed scored on a pass from teammate Rizwan Ali. Moin Shakeel and Hammad ud din Anjum scored field goals for Pakistan. Pakistan finished 11th in the event, as total 16 teams participated in FIH mega event. The final of the Junior World Hockey Cup will be played on Sunday Argentina and Germany. After Long awaited Eight years, the Pakistan team participating in the World Junior Hockey Cup was in Pool D along with the two finalists Germany and Argentina.

Lahore (Sports Report):-Pakistan hockey team is eager to perform in the event, we worked hard on fitness and tactical training of players, head coach national hockey team Khawja Junaid on Saturday. According to Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) official, the national hockey lads are determined to participate in the Asian Champions Trophy 2021 to be played from December 14 to 22 in Dhaka, Bangladesh under the auspices of Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and it will be a world class tournament. Head Coach National Hockey Team Olympian Khawaja Junaid said: National Hockey Squad has not been able to participate in the international event since last 2 years. Players have been thoroughly trained, especially in four areas with special focus on physical fitness and tactical understanding. The training has significantly improved the skills, Physical fitness and performance of the players. Hockey fans will get to see a great game in this event. Six Asian teams are participating in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy, including host country Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Pakistan hockey team will play its first match on December 14 against Japan while Pakistan will play against traditional rival India on December 16, 2021.

Dhaka, Bangladesh:-Captain Babar Azam stroked a stylish unbeaten half-century as Pakistan reached 161 for two on a day when only 57 overs play was possible in the second Test against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangladesh Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Babar was unbeaten on 60 and with him was Azhar Ali on 36 as the two have switched a 91 runs partnership for the unfinished third wicket after Abdullah Shafique (25) and Abid Ali (39) had provided Pakistan a 59-run opening start after the visitors had elected to bat. Both the openers fell to left-arm spinner Taijul Islam (two for 49) in a space of 11 runs as Pakistan slipped to 70 for two. At that stage, Babar and Azhar held the wobbling innings together and looked set to put Pakistan in a more commanding position but bad light prevented any play in the final session of the day. Babar had struck seven eloquent boundaries and a six in a 99-ball 60, while Azhar was unbeaten on a not too convincing 112-ball 36 that included four fours. This was Babar’s 19th half-century in 37th Test, including fourth of the year after he scored 77 (vs South Africa in Rawalpindi) and, 55 and 77 in the two Sabina Park Tests against the West Indies. Babar’s fifth and last century was in his 26th Test, coincidently against Bangladesh when he scored 143 in Rawalpindi in February 2020. However, weather forecast for the next three days is not very encouraging and can potentially delay the champion batter notching up his sixth century. Scores in brief: Pakistan 161-2, 57 overs (Babar Azam 60 not out, Abid Ali 39, Azhar Ali 36 not out, Abdullah Shafique 25; Taijul Islam (2-49).