Resumption of international cricket in Pakistan delayed

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The resumption of international cricket in Pakistan has been delayed by at least six more weeks due to the tussle between the Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Syed Mohammad Ali Shah, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which has led to the postponement of the two Twenty20 games between a World XI and a Pakistan team, which were due to be staged in Karachi on May 25 and 26.  

It looks like that Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf, Chairman PCB, and his cronies are not eager to for the revival of international cricket in the country and the policies of Ijaz Butt are being followed.

There was a faint hope that Zaka Ashraf might prove different than his predecessor but the manner in which he handled the request of Dr Shah has convinced everyone that he has no plans to boost the Pakistan cricket which has been at the rock bottom since the ‘rule’ of Ijaz Butt.

“We had received a letter from the PCB in which it was suggested to consider postponing the visit for period to be mutually worked out. Now the matches are most likely to be staged on July 14 and 15 upon the return of Pakistan’s team from the tour of Sri Lanka. The final decision in this regard, however, will be taken in a meeting between Dr Shah and Zaka Ashraf,” a handout issued from the office of the Sindh Sports Minister on May 16 said.  

“All the contracted players of World XI, alongwith manager Alvin Kallicharran, were ready to come over to Pakistan. The air tickets had been arranged and they would have reached Karachi on May 24. Since the Pakistan team was not available, it was not considered worthwhile to field a second XI to face World XI. The broadcasters also desired the national team, not a second XI, for marketing purposes,” it added.

Dr Shah, who had vowed to hold both the Twenty20 matches later this month despite the lukewarm response from the PCB, was not available for comment, having proceeded abroad for treatment. He is expected to return in a week.

Having extended invitation to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani to be the guest of honour in first and second matches respectively, Dr Shah, a former member of the PCB Governing Council, had seemed confident of getting the permission to hold the two night games at Karachi’s National Stadium besides the national team.  

Dr Shah’s Asghar Ali Shah Foundation, with the support of the Government of Sindh, had roped in quite a few international cricketers for what basically were charity matches to raise funds for the flood-hit victims.

Sanath Jayasuriya, the former Sri Lankan all-rounder, was due to lead the World XI which also featured Andrea Nel, Justin Kemp, Loots Bossman, Charl Langeveldt and Paul Adams (South Africa), Jerome Taylor, Adam Sanford and Jermaine Lawson (West Indies) and Owais Shah (England).

Dr Shah had announced in a media briefing just the other week that all the 12 contracted players were paid signing fee of 10 percent while the balance amount was to be disbursed in two installments upon their arrival in Pakistan.

Although it has not been confirmed officially yet but there are indications that the contracted players were briefed about the possibilities of the postponement of the two matches for a few months and they would be obliged to fulfill their commitment at a later stage. 

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Shahid Afridi to boost Rotary International’s Polio Eradication Campaign

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Rotary International, one of the leading voluntary service organizations of the world, has been joined by Shahid Khan Afridi, Pakistan’s former captain and one of the most popular cricketers, in the Polio Eradication Campaign.  

The FATA-born Shahid Afridi, who is also famous with his nickname of Boom Boom, has agreed to become a brand ambassador for the Rotary International’s National Polio Plus Committee.

Aziz Memon, Chairman, Rotary International’s National Polio Plus Committee, was excited to have Shahid Afridi, who is the heartthrob of millions of people, on board.

Shahid Afridi, an enterprising all-round cricketer who has remained a crowd-puller all along, has agreed to be a brand ambassador of Rotary International and the formal agreement in this regard will be inked shortly.

“Being ethnic Pashtun, he will be especially instrumental in influencing high-risk groups in the regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) He is a sporting icon who enjoys massive popularity. We are looking forward to roll-out communications campaign prior to the July polio rounds,” Aziz Memon, who has also been the Governor of Rotary International’s District 3270 covering Pakistan and Afghanistan, reckoned.

“By joining hands in a noble cause Shahid Afridi has once again proved that he cares for the community. He brings smiles on their faces with his aggressive intent in the cricket field. He will be featuring in our polio ads free of cost,” Aziz Memon, who himself played the lead role in roping in the dashing cricketer, disclosed.

“We already have had photo-shoots and video recording at a cricket ground in Karachi. Shahid Afridi has given his message in Urdu as well as Pushto, urging the people to cooperate with the vaccination teams so that every child could be administered polio drops without hassles,” the Rotary leader added.

“His appearance in the polio ad will surely get huge mileage because of immense popularity, particularly in the Pushto-speaking areas. Last year 79% of the polio cases came from Pushtoon families. We are confident that Shahid Afridi’s cricketing credentials will come handy in eradicating polio from this region,” Aziz Memon hoped.

“We are trying our level best to eradicate this deadly disease from Pakistan and we are mobilizing all our resources to do it as soon as possible. The Rotarians alongwith all other stake-holders are on board to kick polio out of Pakistan,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile according to the latest Pakistan Polio Eradication Bulletin; published on May 15, no new polio case was reported in the past one week. “As of May 14, 2012, Pakistan has reported a total of 16 polio cases (13 type-1, 2 type-3 & 1 mixture type-1 & 3) from 10 districts/tribal agencies,” it said.

The NIDs have been completed in Killa Abdullah, Pishin and Quetta districts in Balochistan and the second phase of the staggered NIDs was carried out in Peshawar district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where a Vaccination passage, as per short interval additional dose strategy, has also commenced in Nowshera and Lakki Marwat districts.  

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Time for Mehta to clinch Asian crown

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Giant-killer Aditya Mehta proved third time lucky as he edged out fancied compatriot Pankaj Advani 7-5 in the all-India final to win the recently held 28th ACBS Asian Snooker Championship 2012 in Doha, Qatar.  

Mehta, who had earlier toppled the reigning world champion Hossein Vafaei Ayouri of Iran 6-3 in the semifinals and Afghanistan’s former world number two, Saleh Mohammad, in the quarter-finals, became only the third Indian ever to clinch the Asian snooker title.

Mehta, who missed out on the Asian title twice previously, proved to be third time lucky when he defeated Advani, a former world champion, 7-5 in an enthralling final which lasted no less than five hours and 50 minutes.

Advani had made it to the final after overpowering the dangerous Noppon Saengkham of Thailand 6-4 in the other semifinal. “It was good until 6-3. I played better in the semi-finals, earlier in the day. Eventually, it was just about getting over the line. It’s my first international title, so the pressure was there and I was faltering. And fortunately Pankaj gave it to me really. In the end it was so close,” Mehta remarked during the presentation ceremony.  

“Had the match gone to the last frame, Pankaj would have definitely been the favourite. At one stage, I thought I had lost it. Earlier, he was feeling the pressure with I taking a 3-0 lead but then, we both started making some mistakes,” he added.

“Playing two gruelling matches in a day was really crazy but I am used to playing several games in a day. Luckily, my semifinal match was little quicker than Pankaj’s. Physically, I was not tired at all but mentally yes, the pressure was there as I’ve lost in two finals before. This was going to be the biggest win of my career and I didn’t want to miss out on it,” Mehta felt.  

Advani, who won the Asian billiards title less than a month ago, was disappointed for not having been able to complete a grand double.

“It was a case of so close yet so far. This was my second final at the Asian Snooker Championship and Aditya’s third final. And it proved lucky for him. May be I have to wait for another final. I just had under 10 days to switch to snooker and then my old cue broke. I’ve been using the new one since the past one week. Considering all the circumstances, I think I had a fantastic event,” Advani stated.

Meanwhile Pakistan’s squad returned home empty-handed, with both the young cueists, Mohammad Asif and Sultan Mohammad, having failed to make it to the knock-out stage of the competition after indifferent form in the league matches.  

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Ehsan Qureshi-inspired APP wins Royale Rodale Inter-Media Bowling contest

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) emerged triumphant in the Royal Rodale Inter-Media Bowling Tournament staged at the Royal Rodale Club, located in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority.

The trio of Ehsan Qureshi, Saeed Ahmed and Shiraz Siddiqui won the day for APP, the state-owned national news agency, by aggregating 142 points while SJAS comprising of Zahid Ghaffar, Abid Khattak and guest player Danish Kaneria finished runners-up with 120 points.  

The third position was claimed by Pakistan Observer, featuring Zeeshan, Waqas and Hasnain who totalled 116 points and Dawn Television, having Faraz Qasim, Emmad Hameed and Fawwad Qasim, came a close fourth with their tally 115 points.

Rehan Hashmi, Naveed Arshad, Tariq Azeem of Duniya TV stood fifth with 110 points while ARY, containing Mohsin Raza Khan, Syed Ali Hasan and Khurram Ahmed, finished sixth with 109 points.

Saeed Ahmed of APP turned out to be the highest individual scorer with 60 points while his teammates Ehsan Qureshi and Shiraz Siddiqui accumulated 48 and 34 points respectively. Overall 54 bowlers representing various media organizations took part in the one-day event.  

The Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Muhammad Ali Shah, who was the chief guest in the presentation ceremony, gave away the prizes and trophies.

Asghar Rangoonwala, Managing Director, Royal Rodale Club, and Iqbal Shah, a businessman, was also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shah, who is also the President of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), complimented Asghar Rangoonwala for promoting the game of bowling and providing reporters of print and electric media and new agencies an opportunity for recreation and entertainment in wonderful environments. He offered his total support and assistance for the promotion of bowling.

Asghar Rangoonwala revealed that Royal Rodale had invited a foreign bowling coach from Philippines to train and coach Pakistan players. He also informed the audience about their activities in promoting the sport. The Royal Rodale Club, which has been famous for hosting the meetings and conferences of the various chapters of the Rotary International and other social organizations, has also been proactive in boosting the sport of bowling in particular. 

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Karachi University dominate MSAP-Greenwich chess event

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The students of the Karachi University outsmarted their opponents in the Greenwich University Chess Tournament, organized by the Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), in Karachi on April 19.

The one-day chess tournament, contested by some of the leading high schools and universities of the metropolis, was staged at the Greenwich University’s main campus located in the Defence Housing Authority. The event was held as a part of the university’s silver jubilee celebrations.

The Karachi University champion, Awwad Mirza, emerged triumphant in the competition by accumulating 4.5 points while Israr-ul-Haq, from the same institution, ended runner-up with four points and Syed Samad of Beacon House stood third by collecting same number of points.

The fourth position was grabbed by Syed Uzair Rashid, also from the KU, with 3.5 points while Muneeb-ul-Hasan of the NED University and Mughees Akhtar Hussain of the Islamia College finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Sohaib Khalid secured the best position, eighth overall, from the lot of the participants fielded by Greenwich University. Amais Qureshi, Arish Hussain and Kazim Hamdani also registered a couple of victories each.

Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director, MSAP, who was the chief guest in the presentation ceremony, held soon after the conclusion of the matches, distributed the shields among the top performers while Prof ZA Saif, Dr Wasimuddin Khan and Prof Farhat Saleem gave away a few consolation prizes.

International Master Shahzad Mirza, who is also the Secretary General of the Pakistan Chess Players Association (PCPA), conducted the tournament which was spread over five rounds on Swiss Movement System.

The tournament was quite nicely organized and the hall of the Greenwich University, where the event was being held, presented a festive look. The enthusiasm of the participating students gladdened the hearts of the organizers as well as the hosts.

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MSAP to hold 2nd National Mind Sports Games in July

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The second edition of the National Mind Sports Games (NMSG), launched with great fanfare four years ago, will be held here in July this year.

Khurshid Hadi, Founder President, Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), has announced that all was set to organize the 2nd NMSG from July 13 to 15 at the Southend Club in DHA, Karachi. It’s being held on the eve of the 2nd WMSG to be staged in England in August.

“The last few weeks have been quite hectic at the MSAP and we have recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the MKR Foundation that surely would a long way in the promotion of mind sports in the country,” he revealed.

“The television coverage of the NMSG as well as the other mind sports events, some segments of them live, on Geo Super from time to time would be greatly helpful in roping in the sponsors on a long-term basis,” Khurshid Hadi reckoned.

“Right now we are in the process of finalizing the organizational aspects of the 2nd NMSG in which, like the inaugural event, competitions will be held in bridge, chess and scrabble,” he added.

“We plan to unveil the details of the NMSG in a big way through a media briefing in a few weeks time. There’s a possibility that we might bring in experts from the foreign countries for the upcoming event, subject to the availability of funds,” the MSAP chief indicated.

The MSAP, having come into being in June 2008 with the objective of promoting bridge, chess and scrabble in a big way, plans to make the NMSG a high-profile event.

It was encouraged by the performance of the local youngsters in the inaugural World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) in Beijing providing the impetus to carry mind sports to the various educational institutions.

It may be recalled that Pakistan had a full representation at Beijing and quite a few of the youngsters made a bold statement by faring well in the stiff competitions.

While the MSAP succeeded in carrying out its mission of promoting mind sports in colleges and universities over the last four years they also remained on the lookout for the willing sponsors who could support them consistently.

Having set rather high standards by organizing the first-ever NMSG in a very impressive manner at the Southend Club where they offered the kind of prize money, besides the environment, that wasn’t earlier associated with the games of chess and scrabble in particular, they waited for the right time to hold it again.

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Another title in world champ Ayouri’s bag

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Hossein Vafaei Ayouri, the reigning world champion from Iran, added another feather to his cap by winning the 13th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2012 as he overpowered Anda Zhang of China in the final of the event staged in Goa, India.

The impossibly gifted Iranian teenager, having survived a scare at the hands of Noppon Saengkham of Thailand in the semifinals, recorded a cakewalk 6-2 win over Anda Zhang in the final with the frame scores of 121-6, 87-37, 74-0, 126-6, 79-5, 12-69, 29-76, 91-13.

Hossein Ayouri, who had created a sensation by clinching the world crown in Indian city of Bangalore last year, was in sublime form to crush his Chinese rival in the best of 11-frame final which turned out to be a one-sided affair.

He started off with a break of 79 in the opening frame which he won comfortably. There was some resistance in the second frame but there was none in the next three frames, in which he fired breaks of 74, 105 and 67.

He was firmly in control of the proceedings with a 5-0 lead in remarkably quick time, needing just one more to pocket the title. His opponent survived a clean sweep by winning the next two frames but it was all over in eight frames.

Unlike the lop-sided final, both the semifinals went to the full distance of nine frames. Hossein Ayouri had to bring all his expertise into play while overcoming Noppon Saengkham 5-4 with the scores of 70-17, 41-52, 73-00, 109-7, 105-22, 5-119, 28-77, 31-75, 74-36 while Anda Zhang faced similar fight before taming compatriot Zhou Yelong 5-4 with the frame scores of 52-64, 76-1, 87-64, 59-40, 5-104, 109-0, 6-70, 57-44.

Both of the matches witnessed snooker of high class with neither of the contestants prepared to give up. There were quite a few big breaks as well. Hossein Ayouri fired breaks of 69, 73, 90 and 83 while his rival, Noppon Saengkham, responded with breaks of 67 and 60 to keep the contest alive till the very end.

Anda Zhang chalked up breaks of 76 an 59 in suucessive frame before making one of 109 in the seventh frame. His opponent, Zhou Yelong, began with a frame 52 in the opening frame and followed it up with the ones of 104 and 70 in sixth and eighth frames respectively.

In the quarter-finals Zhou Yelong of China registered a couple of century breaks while overpowering Mohammad. Lababi of Iran 5-3 with the frame scores of 61-72, 112-0, 57-56, 78-23, 5-88, 65-31, 103-2.

Anda Zhang, also from China, stormed into the semifinals by whacking compatriot Lu Ning in straight frames with the scores of 61-56, 67-42, 87-24, 59-51, 108-0 while Noppon Saengkham of Thailand blanked Laxman Rawat of India in straight frames with the scores of 83-0, 79-41, 64-44, 104-4, 75-4.

Hossein Ayouri had to work little harder than anticipated in the quarter-finals while outwitting compatriot Amir Sarkhosh 5-2 with the frame scores of 57-11, 57-53, 54-63, 71-1, 64-8, 38-64, 63-44.

Neither of the Pakistani cueist could force way into the last eight as both Mohammad Hunain Aamir and Mohammad Majid Ali, were defeated in the pre-quarter-finals after having fared well in the league matches. A total of 33 cueists from 10 countries entered the eight-day event, which was inaugurated on April 2.

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Pakistan’s cueists run of steam after early brilliance in Asian Junior snooker

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Both the Pakistani cueists, Mohammad Hunain Aamir and Mohammed Majid Ali, after having performed exceedingly well in the league matches, crashed in their maiden knockout appearance of the 13th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2012, in Goa, India, on April 6.

Hunain Aamir and Majid Ali, both of whom were making their debut at the continental level, went down fighting against their respective rivals in pre-quarter-finals.

Laxman Rawat of India edged out Majid Ali in the afternnon session and a few hours later all Pakistan’s hopes of capturing the Asian crown at the junior level for the first time, were dashed when Mohammad Lababi of Iran blew the whistle on Hunain Aamir.

Majid Ali, who became the Group D champion after winning all his three league fixtures, went down fighting in the pre-quarter-finals against Laxman Rawat of India. The promising Pakistani cueist played well to register big breaks in the high-pressure game but he was unable to press home the advantage.

It turned out to be a fierce seven-frame battle in which the local cueist controlled his nerves better to clinch the decisive frame to win the contest 4-3 with the scores of 75-2, 27-80, 79-31, 68-60, 13-95, 0-83, 65-54.

Majid came back to strongly from 1-3 down to make it 3-3. He compiled breaks of 60, 54, 53 and 54 during the last four frames but that was not enough to win the day for him.

The youngster from Faisalabad, who ended as the runner-up in the Jubilee Pakistan National Junior Championship earlier this year in Lahore, had registered impressive victories over Akani Songsermasawad of Thailand, Chang Yu Kiu of Hong Kong and Slyavosh Mozayani of Iran in his league encounters but he fell at the very hurdle in the knockout phase, starting from the round of 16.

Mohammad Lababi defeated Hunain Aamir 4-3 with the scores of 60-26, 75-41, 62-37, 33-62, 43-62, 15-86, 88-0. The Iranian played magnificently in the decisive seventh frame, giving his rival nothing away by registering a break of 88.

In the penultimate frame, Hunain Aamir, on whose shoulders Pakistan’s hopes of bringing home the title rested after the elimination of Majid Ali, fired a break of 58 to take the match into the seventh frame but he didn’t get much of a chance to visit the table which turned decisive.

Hunain Aamir, who reached the pre-quarter-finals even after succumbing to defeat in his last league encounter at the hands of Hossein Vafaei Ayouri, the current world champion from Iran earlier in the day, could not regroup quickly.

Pakistan’s reigning national junior champion from Sialkot had booked his place in the pre-quarters from the Group A by trouncing Lalit Dahiya of India and Marcus Lim Wei Jie of Singapore in his first couple of games.

His third and final against Hossein Vafaei Ayouri, was to decide the Group A champion, and the top seeded cueist from Iran, triumphed 4-1 with the frame scores of 97-4, 69-0, 79-1, 51-75, 96-0. The only consolation for Hunain was snatching the third frame in which he surprised the world champion with a break of 57.

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