Sindh Government activates sports relief fund

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Sindh government has activated the Pakistan Sports Foundation Relief Fund (PSFRF) for the specific purpose of providing financial assistance to the athletes facing financial hardships due to physical disabilities or protracted ailment.

Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports, Government of Sindh, has revealed that besides helping the deserving athletes in need, the Regional Committee of the PSFRF was also taking care of the legal heirs of the deceased ones.

“The seven-member Regional Committee of the PSFRF was formed in November 2008 with a revolving grant of Rs 500,000 at our disposal with the objective of helping the deserving sports-persons of repute and to legal heirs of those stalwarts who have died. We have been providing financial assistance in the form of monthly scholarships as well as lump sum grant-in-aid,” he disclosed.

Shoaib Siddiqui himself is a member of the Regional Committee of the PSFRF that also includes former Test cricketer and present chief selector, Iqbal Qasim, besides, Mir Haider Ali Talpur, Shah Riazuddin and Rahat Ali Shah.
“The families of former Pakistan hockey captain, Munawwar-uz-Zaman and former Test cricketer, Taslim Arif, were provided financial grant of Rs 50,000 each. Similarly a payment of Rs 50,000 was made to the family of cricket coach Khushi Mohammad,” Shoaib Siddiqui disclosed.

“Footballers Mahboob Khan and Turab Ali were paid Rs 20,000 each to take care of their illness. Boxer Mahboob Khan and hockey player Khwaja Wasimuddin were also extended financial support to the tune of Rs 20,000 each while judo player Sajjad Hussain Baloch was paid Rs 15,000,” he added.

“The athletes and coaches having been extended monthly assistance of Rs 3,500 each include Lal Mohammad Baloch, Nazar Mohammad, Mohammad Ali Shah, Mohammad Wasim, Mahboob Khan, Noor-ul-Haq, Zaki Anwar, Shabbir Hussain, Abdul Rauf Qureshi, Abdul Rasheed, Shaikh Hasan Mohammad, Abeera Ali Shaikh, Abdul Ghafoor and Ismail Rosho,” Shoaib Siddiqui said.

It’s indeed quite heartening to note that the government has started taking care of the unpriveleged athletes who certainly deserve the monetary support after having spent their life in the sporting arena.

Numerous sporting greats have had to struggle to make their ends meet because only a few of them had the luxury of jobs and that too during the peak of their career. The majority of them couldn’t save for the rainy day and life has remained tough for them generally.

Sports has become an industry worldwide but the same cannot be said about Pakistan with cricket being the sole exception. Under the circumstances the state does have the responsibility of looking after the athletes.

The amount being disbursed by the Pakistan Sports Foundation Relief Fund (PSFRF) at the moment certainly looks peanuts but it’s a mighty big move in the right direction. As they say it’s never too late to do something good.

The government should allocate more funds to this scheme in order to assist greeater number of athletes. This will go a long way in encouraging more youngsters to take to sports.

readmore »»

Tendulkar stars in unimpressive triumph

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

India played nowhere close to their potential in their first game after becoming the top ranked Test side in the world. Ironically it was their batting that let them down and it needed yet another classy knock from master craftsman Sachin Tendulkar to save them from embarrasment against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

India’s strength became their weakness in the first Test as their legendary batting line-up flopped after yet another promising start. It was amazing to find the likes of Virender Sehwag, also leading the team in the absence of the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Gautam Gambhir to have given it away on the opening day after having got their eyes in.

Equally shocking was the failure of Test specialists Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, neither of whom stayed at the crease long enough to worry the hosts. The dasher Yuvraj Singh couldn’t fire either and then the massive hole created by the non-presence of Dhoni at number seven made things more difficult for the visitors.

You can’t expect to reduce this Indian batting order to 200 odd for the loss of eight wickets in any form of the game irrespective of the conditions or the quality of bowling. It was mind boggling to see them crashing to 243 all out despite the brilliant unbeaten century from Tendulkar.

It wasn’t the kind of start India needed to start their campaign being the No. 1 Test team in the world. To have folded against an inexperienced bowling attack didn’t reflect their mental strength.

India’s task of staging a comeback after the horrible first outing was made even more difficult by the gloomy weather and there were doubts if there would be substantial play to let them bowl out Bangladesh two times.

Thankfully from their point of view the bowlers didn’t disappoint in the manner their batsmen had otherwise India could well have been beaten. Had Bangladesh been allowed to run away with a sizeable first innings lead it might have been curtains for India whose unpredictability always keeps their fans guessing.

The final result, however, brought relief for Sehwag. "It has been a good start to the year. It's important to start well I guess. Everybody chipped in to make it happen. We didn't bat well first time but the bowlers have helped us win this game,” he observed.

"It happens with every team. Australia got out for around 120 in the Sydney Test against Pakistan but they won. We managed to score 250 because of Sachin, but we did bat well in the second innings and our bowling did the job for us," he added.

He was particular pleased with the performance of fast bowler Ishant Sharma who was returning to the side after an injury. ‘He bowled really well. It's good for him and good for Indian cricket,” the skipper acknowledged.

The Indians would be looking forward to an improved performance in the second Test in Dhaka and the focus will be on their champion batsmen once more.

readmore »»

Tahir Ahmed lauds role of sports journalists

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, New Jubilee Insurance (NJI), has recognized the role of the working journalists in the promotion of sports in Pakistan.

He made a particular mention of the media in keeping sports afloat in the country despite the inconsistent performances of the athletes in various events from time to time during the launch of the NJI 8th National Junior (Under-21) Snooker Championship 2010 at the Karachi Club on January 20.

“It’s very heartening indeed that the media professionals of our country are playing a proactive role in keeping the nation engaged in healthy activities. Our people get depressed quickly by the odd setbacks but our knowledgeable media makes them realize that odd losses are part and parcel of life,” he observed.

The Pakistan Billiard & Snooker Association (PBSA) was assured the sponsorship support by the NJI who have been supporting the National Junior Championship for the past three years besides having lent financial assistance to quite a few national and international events during the last few years.

“I would urge the PBSA to invite foreign cueists in our country in near future so that the sporting activities could be revived in difficult situations. The NJI is proud to play its part in the promotion of cue sports and we look forward to a long term relationship to take the game to another level,” Tahir Ahmed remarked.

The NJI 8th National Junior (Under-21) Snooker Championship 2010 will be staged at the Karachi Club from January 23 to 28. It will be offering Rs 120,000 in prize money with the winner to take home an enhanced purse of Rs 50,000.

The runner-up will be presented Rs 25,000 while both the losing semifinalists and all the four losing quarter-finalists will be getting Rs 10,000 each and Rs 5,000 each respectively. The highest break of the tournament carries a cash award of Rs 5,000.

An added incentive for the participants will be the qualification in the international event later this year. Both the finalists of the National Junior Championship will be representing Pakistan in the 11th Asian Under-21 Championship to be held in India from April 7 to 15.

“The total number of participants will be 32. Originally it was desired to have equal representation from all the four provinces but the inability of the NWFP and Balochistan to register eight cueists each will allow us to field more contestants from Sindh and Balochistan,” Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, President, PBSA, revealed.

“As far as the format of the event is concerned the participating cueists will be divided equally in eight groups. At the end of the league matches the top two cueists from each group will advance to the pre-quarter-finals. The league matches will be best of five encounters while the pre-quarter-finals and quarter-finals will be best of seven affairs and the semifinals as well as the final will best of nine contests,” Alamgir Shaikh explained.

The PBSA President acknowledged the overwhelming support of the former Federal Sports Minister, Pir Syed Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani, who had approved special grants last year.

Ali Asghar Valika, Chairman, PBSA, in his brief remarks, expressed the hope that the young Pakistan’s cueists will come up with better performance in the future events after having gained the recent experience and exposure at the international level.

readmore »»

Yousuf’s negative captaincy makes it easier for Ponting

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There’s absolutely no element of surprise in finding Pakistan whitewashed at the hands of Australia in the just concluded three-Test series. The Australians were nowhere near to their best but still they were good enough to emerge triumphant on all three occasions.

There wasn’t hardly any contest in the first and third Tests with the home side dictating terms in the manner expected of them but they had a great escape in the second Test at Sydney.

The negative mindset of Mohammad Yousuf made things easier for his opposite number, Ricky Ponting who must have wondered how his team got away with it in the second Test after having conceded a massive first innings lead.

Ponting and his deputy Michael Clarke failed miserably in the first two Tests as did Marcus North, having given an impressive account of himself in his earlier games. While Ponting and Clarke rediscovered their form in the third and final Test, North just couldn’t do it even in conditions that were not demanding to say the least.

Yousuf, whose defensive approach perplexed everyone, was not able to put the Australian batsmen under any kind of pressure. He probably seemed to have taken it for granted that his team would be blasted in all three games.

Yousuf, having been handed over the leadership only after when the team members had revolted against Younis Khan during the series of One-day Internationals against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi, looked completely out of focus in the Test series in New Zealand as well as in Australia.

Pakistan were at a great disadvantage due to the weak captaincy of Yousuf. They were extremely lucky to have got away with in New Zealand where the rains prevented the hosts from completing a series win on the final day.

Pakistan obviously needed heavy dose of luck once again to compete when they crossed the border to exchange fire with the Aussies. As expected the Australians proved to be a tougher opponent than the Black Caps, who were handicapped by the loss of champion fast bowler Shane Bond in the last two Tests.

With a fragile batting line-up and an inexperienced bowling attack Pakistan had to face the music in Australia. But they found the hosts below their best and the eventual scoreline not withstanding they didn’t fare all that badly either.

Ponting’s adventure of electing to bat in the second Test at Sydney would be talked about for a long time. Australia could have wrapped up the game inside three days, had the skipper just inserted the opposition into bat. Instead the hosts remained in danger of losing the game until winning it narrowly in the end.

The Australian off-spinner, Nathan Hauritz, turned out to be the highest wicket-taker in the series. Not a great turner of the ball, he benefited greatly by the tendency of the Pakistan batsmen to have a go at them after being contained by the faster bowlers.

Rains threatened Australia’s bid to complete a whitewash in Hobart but Ponting’s sporting declaration on the fourth day covered up the odd stoppages.

readmore »»

Pir Aftab Jilani declares PCB elections as illegal

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Federal Minister, Pir Syed Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani, has declared the ongoing elections being held under the auspices of the sitting officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as illegal.

Pir Aftab Jilani, who is himself the Co-Chairman of the PCB Constitution Committee, did not mince words in stating that the present officials of the Board were not authorized to hold the elections.

“The elections that they have been holding recently are against the rules. Only the newly appointed election commissioner would be entitled to organize the election process in accordance with the new constitution of the PCB,” Pir Aftan Jilani, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination, remarked in an interview the other day.

“I am really surprised to find the resources of the PCB being wasted on a futile exercise. The PCB Chairman, Ijaz Butt, must be aware of the fact that the present management didn’t have the authority to these elections. Yet they are going ahead with it thus engaging themselves in illegal activities. As a matter of fact the PCB is flouting even its own constitution by holding these elections,” he reckoned.

Pir Aftab Jilani, who remained the Federal Sports Minister for over a year, also expressed his disappointment with the working of the PCB resulting in the poor performances by the national team.

Pakistan’s cricket team has just been whitewashed in the Test series in Australia, after having shared the honours with the lowly-rated New Zealand a little while earlier.

“The Federal Ministry of Sports, which is the supreme body, advised the PCB on numerous occasions but they have continued to do things according to their own whims and wishes which caused embarrassment for the whole nation,” he stated.

Pir Aftab Jilani, himself a former first-class cricketer, believed that cricket in the country will flourish with the incorporation of the new constitution of the PCB worked out on democratic lines.

“Our goal is to strengthen the institution. Cricket is the most popular game of the country and it should be run in professional manner so that we could make most of the enormous talent that we have been blessed with,” he said.

Pir Aftab Jilani’s comments bring to light the inefficiency and bias in the affairs of the PCB. He agreed that the PCB has been a victim of dictatorship of late with Ijaz Butt calling the shots on his own.

It’s an open secret that the PCB Chairman has been making decision arbitrarily and he has often been summoned by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports headed by Jamshed Dasti.

There’s a feeling that Ijaz Butt has continued to survive at the helm of the affairs, despite the criticism by the media in particular and the public in general, because of his influential brother-in-law, Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, Federal Minister for Defence, and a central figure of the ruling party.

It remains to be seen for how long Ijaz Butt will be stay there because there are signs of pressures from within the government for a change.

readmore »»

National Accountability Bureau summons Cricket Board official

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Razaullah Khan, veteran cricket organizer and a former councilor of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), to appear in person next week.

Razaullah Khan, presently serving the PCB as the Coordinator for Grounds in Sindh, has confirmed that he has been directed to appear in person at the NAB office in Rawalpindi on January 19 at 9.30 am.

“My complaint number 34/09 was submitted to the NAB a few months ago and after thoroughly scrutinizing the matter they have now summoned me to find an answer to some missing elements and to resolve certain queries. I have also been asked to bring along relevant documents to support my allegations,” he revealed.

“I had submitted a request to the Chief Justice of Pakistan for taking a suo motto action against the officials of the PCB found by the Auditor General of Pakistan to have been involved in the embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rupees seven billion,” Razaullah Khan, one of the most outspoken cricket personalities of the country, revealed.

“Alongwith my application to the Chief Justice I had submitted a copy of the report of the Auditor General of Pakistan that details the corrupt practices of the PCB officials. I had also brought the matter to the notice of Chaudhary Nisar Ali, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, by sending him a copy of the same report,” he added.

Razaullah Khan, who has been associated with the game of cricket in various capacities for nearly half a century now, did not mince words in stating that he has had to approach the Chief Justice after having failed to get any response from the government agencies.

“I communicated to the Chief Justice that I approached him after having knocked at the various doors without any response. The people in the government have their own reasons of not initiating action against the former PCB officials even though the report of the Auditor General of Pakistan has found them guilty,” Razaullah Khan said.

“The Auditor General of Pakistan had compiled the report after being assigned the task by the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, who is also the Patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board,” the former PCB Council member stated.

“Exemplary punishment must be given to the PCB officials for having misused the public money and having derived huge personal benefits besides having obliged their near and dear ones,” he pleaded.

Razaullah Khan didn’t expect the present officials of the PCB to move against their predecessors because in his opinion there still were quite a few employees in the Board having sympathy with their former bosses.

Razaullah Khan has been known and feared for calling a spade a spade. He has had the knack of bringing to light the facts that generally were concealed by the people with the vested interests. He has not been afraid to blast his own colleagues if he found any fault in them.

readmore »»

POA chief regrets inadequate preparation for South Asian Games

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The top functionary of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has regretted inadequate training and international exposure to the athletes ahead of the 11th South Asian Games scheduled to commence in Dhaka later this month.

General Syed Arif Hasan, President, POA, in a recent chat, observed that Pakistan would have stood a chance of claiming many more medals if the athletes were provided the desired training and exposure at the international level.

“For reasons beyond our control we were unable to execute the plan that would have helped improve our record in the upcoming regional Games in which our athletes had fared rather well in the past,” he stated.

He described the current year (2010) as one of the most important ones for Pakistan during which the country has to participate in as many as three multi-sports events are to be held. The South Asian Games would be followed by the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.

When inquired about the problems, the POA chief singled out the lack of funds as the biggest obstacle in carrying out their plans.

“Obviously we are not in a position to implement our plans in the desired manner due to scarcity of funds. We have had to contain our activities that didn’t help in making advancement in the field of sports,” he said.

He looked forward to the governmental support in future in order to accomplish the cherished goals of the national Olympic body.

“Making the use of the available resources we are putting together our strongest possible squad for the upcoming South Asian Games and we are hoping that our athletes will come up with encouraging performance in Dhaka,” the POA chief added.

The 2010 South Asian Games is scheduled to take place from January 29 to February 8. This will be the third time that the Bangladeshi capital hosts the Games, thus becoming the fourth city to host the Games multiple times after Colombo, Kathmandu and Islamabad.

Besides Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh the athletes from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Bhutan would be taking part in the 11-day extravaganza.

It’s indeed a pity that Pakistan’s athletes have been denied the opportunity of gearing up for the mega events. Whether it’s the lack of coordination between the concerned bodies or any politics involved between them it’s the country that’s going to suffer more likely than not.

The Federal Ministry of Sports and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) have their own set of priorities and for the time being at least they don’t seem to be in any mood to proactively make things happen.

The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) on their part should also shoulder the blame for not having taken the measures to arrest the decline in standard of sports in the recent past. They were not short of funds until their marketing arm, the Pakistan Sports Trust (PST), was feeding the federations.

readmore »»

Jalaluddin being victimized by PCB once more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Former Test fast bowler, Jalaluddin, is not new to victimization or injustices. He and his department, Pakistan Customs, have been at the receiving end on the numerous occasions in the past as well.

Jalaluddin’s career as a fast bowler was cut short due to non-cricketing reasons. He wasn’t provided the opportunity to do justice to his talents even after having stolen the limelight by becoming the first bowler to perform a hat-trick in One-day Internationals.

He has learnt to live the hard way. Instead of feeling disheartened or demoralized he has continued to work with fierce determination. Despite the obstacles he has been in the thick of things. His Customs Cricket Academy (CCA) is a living example of his dedication and commitment.

By sheer hard work he has managed to become the most sought after cricket coach of the country. He has been given odd assignments but he has not yet been granted the recognition he deserves.

Lately he is crossing swords with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the issue of departmental representation. He has accused the PCB officials of wrongdoings while blocking his election in their Governing Board.

Speaking in a hurriedly called press conference at Karachi’s Days Inn Hotel on January 14, Jalaluddin alleged that his department, Pakistan Customs, as well as Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), were intentionally kept out of the PCB to be held in Lahore the following day (January 15).

He produced the letter of the PCB’s Election Commissioner, Abdul Sami Khan, in which only seven departments, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), have been extended the invitation to attend today’s meeting to elect one representative of the departments.

Jalaluddin, verifying his claims by documentary evidence, asserted that he had already been elected as the representative of the departments to the Governing Board of the PCB, following the expiry of the tenure of the previous member, Abdul Raqeeb of HBL, who is currently accompanying the national cricket team as manager on the tour of Australia.

“There were nine departments who held the voting rights. Five of them, NBP, SNGPL, Pakistan Customs, SSGCL and KRL, issued letters to vote for me. Therefore I was elected to be the representative of the departments in the Governing Board of the PCB by virtue of having the support of the majority of them,” Jalaluddin stated while circulating the copies of the letters of the concerned departments to this effect.

“Instead of accepting the verdict of the departments, some elements in the PCB began conspiring against me for reasons not known to me yet. Even members of the Governing Board, whose tenure has already expired last November, started played dirty game with me and they also persuaded the Chairman of the PCB, Ijaz Butt, to be a part of this campaign,” he contended.

“When I was already nominated as their representative by the majority of the nine departments there was no logic whatsoever in convening a meeting to hold the elections in which my own department has not even be invited,” he complained.

Jalaluddin has approached the Federal Secretary of Sports, Anis-ul-Hasnain Musavi and the Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports, Jamshed Dastti, to intervene in the matter and ensure justice with him.

readmore »»