Sana Mir desires stern action against spot-fixers

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan woman One-day cricket captain Sana Mir has desired stern action against spot-fixers to eradicate this menace from cricket.

“Whoever disrespects green-shirt should be banned and punished without any mercy,” she told reporters at the National Stadium, Karachi, where women training camp was taking place. 

She regretted that match-fixing and spot-fixing had brutally damaged the image of Pakistan cricket as well Pakistan 

She considered it a very serious issue and it should be dealt accordingly and those found guilty should never be allowed play for Pakistan again.

Pakistan suffered a blow when trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir were convicted in 2010 for spot-fixing during the tour of England. 

Now spot-fixing controversy involving southpaw opener Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has caused another great damage. 

Earlier at the start of 21st century, several of top Pakistan cricketers were fined and banned. Former Pakistan skipper Saleem Malik and pacer Ata-ur-Rehman were banned for life for their involvement in match-fixing. 

She praised the role Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq in image building of Pakistan team after the 2010 spot-fixing controversy. 

“Misbah has played a great role in removing the spot-fixing stigma after taker over the captaincy,” she said. 

However, she said she was happy no such thing happened in women cricket and there no negative impact on them. 

“It was always pride to wear green Pakistan cap, Sana said. She added that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was conducting the fortnight camp to improve the skills of women cricketers. Former Pakistan Test fast bowler Kabir Khan is supervising the camp with assistant coaches.

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Top wrestlers to feature in bouts in Pakistan

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Some of world’s top wrestlers will be seen in action in international bouts to be held in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad in May, a spokesman of Pakistan Wrestling Entertainment (PWE) revealed on March 20.

“We are planning to hold bouts in three major cities involving around 20 wrestlers,” Zeeshan Bashir, Director of PWE Middle East on his arrival with four wrestlers from Dubai. 

These wrestlers having landed at the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in Karachi included Tiny Iron (USA), Flesh Gordon (France), Yaseen Usmani (Algeria) and Badshah Pehalwan Khan (Pakistan/USA). 

The launching press conference of the PWE officials and wrestlers was to be held at Hotel Movenpick, Karachi, on March 21. 

He said that they were working on dates and list of wrestlers and it will be prepared in due course of time. 

“Pakistan is badly lacking in international sporting activities and we are looking forward to revive those activities through this event,” the Dubai-based USA/Pakistani national, maintained. 

He expressed the hope the successful staging of these action bouts will be soft image building of Pakistan. 

Zeeshan Bashir said the have various options for venue but considering greater Pakistan public interest in Karachi, they planning to stage the opening leg of bouts at National Stadium. 

He was fully aware of interest of WWE among the peoples of Pakistan and that is why he developed this ideal which will be reality in few weeks time.

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SSUET becomes zonal hockey champions

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi, has won the final of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Zone G Hockey Championship by defeating the hosts and defending champions, the University of Karachi by a solitary goal. 

By winning the zonal final, the SSUET became Zone Champion and qualified for taking part in the final round of the HEC hockey tournament. 

The tournament will be participated by two teams each of all the eight zones. The final round will be held at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore, on March 14. The SSUET squad has left for Lahore by Green Line Train.

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SSUET prodigy Haseem Khan to lead Pakistan’s hockey team

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Another feather was added to the cap of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi, as one of its former students, Abdul Haseem Khan, has been appointed as the captain of Pakistan’s hockey team for the upcoming tours of Australia and New Zealand.

A student of electronic engineering batch 2006 at the SSUET, Haseem Khan will be leading Pakistan on the twin tours, due to start from the third week of March. He had earlier also captained Pakistan’s junior team. 

Pakistan will play a total of nine international matches, five in New Zealand and four in Australia. The tours are part of Pakistan’s preparations for the World Cup qualifying rounds to be held in June in London. 

According to the squad announced by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Abdul Haseem Khan and Mohammad Umar Bhutta will be the captain and the vice-captain respectively with the other members being Mohammad Irfan Junior, Ali Shan, Ajaz Ahmed, Mohammad Dilber, Mohammad Azfar Yaqoob, Mohammad Arslan Qadir, Umair Sarfraz, Amjad Ali, Mazhar Abbas, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Mohammad Aleem Bilal, Nawaz Ashfaq, Abu Bakr Mahmood, Tasawar Abbas, Tazeem-ul-Hassan, Mohammad Rizwan Junior, Mohammad Atif Mushtaq and Mohammad Faisal Qadir.

The SSUET Chancellor, Jawaid Anwar, Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dr Jawed H Rizvi, Registrar, Syed Sarfraz Ali, Convenor Aligarh Institute of Technology (AIT) Anwar Ali, General Secretary AMUOBA Arshad Khan, Convenor Sports Waqar Javed Bukhari, Director Sports, Mubbashir Mukhtar, and other university officials have felicitated him on his appointment as the national captain. 

Haseem Khan had also captained the SSUET' hockey team with distinction in various tournaments, specially the final victory over University of Karachi.  

The institutional support of the SSUET also encouraged and motivated him as he was awarded a gold medal and Rs 100,000 cash prize along with a scholarship for his education in recognition of his services to the national hockey team. 

He was a part of the gold-medal winning Pakistan team at the 16th Asian Games in China in 2010. 

He had earlier made headlines with his scintillating performance at the Asia Cup in Malaysia in 2009.

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