Rangers Cricket Club celebrates 56th anniversary

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Rangers Cricket Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs of the country, celebrated its 56th birthday with traditional enthusiasm at the NBP Sports Complex in Clifton, Karachi, on April 13.

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Secretary Communications to Government of Pakistan, in his telephonic address on the occasion, praised the untiring efforts of the officials of the Rangers CC to have kept the club operational for more than five decades. 

“It’s really gladdening to find the Rangers CC working with the same intensity today even after 55 years after its establishment. It has been one of the leading cricket clubs of Karachi and its role in the development of the game from the grassroots level merits recognition,” he remarked. 

“Its founder members may have retired from service from the various institutions they worked for but they have not lost the passion to run the Rangers CC which remains very dear to their heart,” Shoaib Siddiqui, also having served at the position of Commissioner, Karachi, complimented. 

Dr Waqar Masood Khan, a former Secretary Finance to Government of Pakistan, and President of the Rangers CC, expressed the desire to make the club more proactive in order to fulfill its cherished goals. 

“Although we are today celebrating 56 years of our existence, I find that it’s about time to turn it around by conducting meetings a bit more regularly to acquire funds and utilize them for carrying out more activities for our youngsters who deserve to be given more exposure for unfolding their talents,” the Rangers CC President stated. 

 Acknowledging the meritorious services of the club secretary, Zia-ul-Hasan, who was also present on the occasion, he floated the idea of compilation of a book documenting the 56-year old history of the club. 

Rangers CC, in accordance with its traditions, honoured its outstanding performers for the 2018-19 season, who were presented shields and kits, in the annual ceremony. 

Ahmed Hussain was declared as the best batsman while Nasir Ali was adjudged as the best bowler. The award for the best all-rounder was clinched by Babar Hussain while S M Babar and Hayatullah Khan claimed the prizes for the best wicketkeeper and the best fielder respectively. 

The Rangers CC shields were also presented to the Municipal Commissioner, Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rahman and former IG Sindh, Asad Jahangir Khan, while the trio of Saleem Swelah, Umar Shahid and Asim Altaf was recognized for their performance for the club during decades of 1960s and 1970s. 

The function was also attended by eminent personalities which included Iqbal Mahmood, Kunwar Idris, Anwar Haji Karim and Amin Dawood besides Prof Siraj-ul-Islam Bukhari, former President, Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA).

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Record 17 century breaks chalked up as Asif retains Langnese Snooker Cup

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

World champion Mohammad Asif lived upto his big reputation and succeeded in retaining the Langnese Snooker Cup by overpowering surprise packet in the final at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel on November 24.

He didn’t look back after suffering a shock defeat in the opening match of the six-day event. He went on to conquer his other six opponents in the league matches before winning both the knockout games. 

In the best of 15-frame final he outgunned Mohammad Bilal, hailing from the town of Mandi Bahauddin, 8-4 with the frame scores of 37-96, 71-34, 71-29, 120-0, 71-50, 122-10, 72-22, 81-45, 5-84, 13-104, 27-67, 98-0. He followed a break of 71 in the fourth frame with an even better one of 116 in the fifth frame. 

The final, unlike some of the league matches, was played at a brisk pace with both the contestants in pursuit of potting consistently instead of going for safety. As a result the 12 frames were completed in a matter of just three hours and 45 minutes. 

At the end of the match the reigning world champion suggested that his rival Bilal, playing his maiden final of a national ranking tournament, did show sign of nerves at crucial stages of the title clash which was not surprising.

“It happens with everyone when playing in front of the television cameras for the first time. He must have been under pressure which didn’t allow him to play the way he would have liked in the final,” Asif felt. 

The 28-year-old Bilal, however, was credited to have a staged a fine comeback in the session, after having been blanked 1-7 in the morning session, despite having claimed the opening frame. 

He did take some positives from the final despite losing it 4-8 eventually. He chalked up a break of 55 in the first frame, one of 61 in the ninth frame and another one of 75 in the tenth frame. 

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Commissioner, Karachi, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony which was presided over by Saquib Riaz, Chief Executive Officer, Anjum Asif Limited. Ahmed Chinoy, Chairman, Citizen-Police Liaison Committee, and Sikander Mahmood, Chairman, Pakistan Hotels Association, were also present on the occasion.

Shoaib Siddiqui, in his brief speech, acknowledged the rising standard of snooker in the country and pledged to facilitate the government support for its further promotion and development. He urged the corporate sector to come forward to patronize the sport. 

Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, President, Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), in his welcome address, praised the cueists for registering as many as 17 century breaks during the tournament. 

Shoaib Siddiqui and Saquib Riaz presented Mohammad Asif a purse of Rs 70,000 for winning the Ranking Cup while runner-up Mohammad Bilal received a cash award of Rs 40,000. Top seeded Shahid Aftab, who couldn’t make it to the semifinals, picked up a prize of Rs 10,000 for registering the highest break of the tournament (140) while second seed Imran Shahzad and unseeded Babar Masih, the losing semifinalists, were compensated with Rs 15,000 each.

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Commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui vows to promote sporting culture in Karachi

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The newly appointed Commissioner of Karachi, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, whose affinity for sports is widely known, has vowed to motivate the multinationals and corporations to participate actively in the promotion of sports.

   

“It’s very heartening to know that Jubilee General Insurance and Jubilee Life Insurance have been supporting the game of snooker for a long time. I would urge the other organizations to take the cue from them and lend a helping hand to sports in more proactive manner,” he remarked during the media briefing of the Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship 2013 at the Sheraton Karachi Hotel on April 25. 

“The government is quite eager to develop the culture of sports. But the sponsorship support is also needed to sustain the sports activities. We are going to urge the corporate sector to turn their attention towards sports through their CSR programmes,” Shoaib Siddiqui, who served as the Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh for quite sometime, added.

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Sports turf managers course concludes

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The two-month long training session for Sports Turf Managers, organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh, with the collaboration of the Customs Cricket Academy (CCA), concluded with the certificate distribution ceremony at the Karachi Gymkhana on February 12.

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Secretary Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, was the chief guest in the ceremony and he presented certificates among the participants of the training programme.

The selected 40 boys and girls were trained here at the CCC, under the supervision of qualified coaches, as a part of the Sindh Government’s initiative of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme (BBSYDP).

Jalaluddin, a former Test fast bowler and the Event Director, informed the audience that the training programme was run by the CCA five days a week for a period of two months and it included theory, practical work, group discussion and field study tours.

“It is a new field for sports management in Pakistan. However it has a great scope of job in other parts of the world. The CCA has acquired the services of experts of different areas of the training programme such as infrastructure development, management maintenance and equipment,” the CCA Head Coach observed.

“Youth is the future of Pakistan. The country has been blessed with enormously talented and hard-working young generation who need direction and guidance to do wonders. Our training programmes have been helpful in unfolding the talents of the youngsters whom we have facilitated by letting them enhance their skills by acquiring first-hand knowledge from the leading professionals,” Shoaib Siddiqui remarked.

Prominent among those having attended the ceremony were Mahboob Shah, a former international umpire, Waqar Hussain, Assistant Collector, Pakistan Customs, and. Haris Ahmed Khan, a cricketer-turned qualified coach.

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