Infrastructure for 2022 Winter Olympic, Paralympic to be ready by 2020

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

All stadiums for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games will be ready by end of 2020. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, while high technology such as 5G service and accurate and timely meteorological forecasts will be integrated into the event, officials from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG) made the announcement in a press briefing. 

According to a BOCOG official, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games have entered the trial stage. 

The first trial event, an international ski racing event, had originally been scheduled to be held in February in Beijing's Yanqing district, but was postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Zhang Jiandong, Vice Mayor of Beijing and Executive Vice President of BOCOG, disclosed that while the coronavirus has been brought under control in China, its continuous spread around the world still presented some challenges and difficulties. 

"A lot of equipment that we have purchased, including ice making systems and ice pouring trucks, are coming from countries with serious epidemics, which has caused some difficulties when it comes to production and transportation. Also, some foreign experts in equipment installation and site certification cannot come to China to provide on-site guidance," he said, adding that dealing with these issues would be the key tasks of the following work to construct the stadiums.

In terms of service, the BOCOG will accelerate the implementation of 5G communication networks, cloud guidance and meteorological services that are accurate within a minute. 

It was further revealed that the opening ceremony's theme will focus on a community with a shared future for mankind. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Vice President, Juan Antonio Samaranch, also attended the conference. He expressed his pleasure at the improved coronavirus situation in China and looked confident about the Beijing 2022 Olympics becoming successful. 

According to reports, the number of applicants for volunteer positions at the two events has exceeded 810,000 since the global recruitment of volunteers for the tournament began on December 5, 2019.

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Younis Khan delighted over appointment as batting coach

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistani’s most prolific batsman Younis Khan, has expressed delight over his appointment as batting coach of the national cricket team for the upcoming tour to England.

“No feeling can be better than the feeling of serving Pakistan again,” the record-breaking former Test, ODI and T20I captain stated in his tweeter message. 

Holding the record of hitting the highest number of Test centuries as well as the most runs for Pakistan, he thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for honouring him with an opportunity to be back in the dressing room as a batting coach. 

Having captained Pakistan to title triumph in the World T20 in England in 2009, he assured that he will make sure that no stone remained unturned to bring the best out of the talented players of Pakistan. 

Born on November 29, 1977, Younis Khan had called it a day after having played 118 Tests in which he scored 10,099 runs at an average of 52.05 which included 34 Test hundreds. 

In ODIs, he scored 7,249 runs in 265 games. He also played 25 T20Is and scored 442 runs at an average of 22.10. He retired from international cricket, at the age of 39, after the series against West Indies in 2017.

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