Ashraf Tai: Pakistan's Martial Art Icon

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Famous martial artist, Grand Master Mr. Muhammad Ashraf Tai had introduced Bando, the Burmese style of martial arts, in Pakistan way back in 1971 but it were his accomplishments against top-notchers which earned him fame and recognition. He has become a martial art icon in the country and a large number of his students have spread his mission in different countries of the world making him an internationally renowned figure.

Grand Master Ashraf Tai had created a sensation by overpowering Stanley Michael of Malaysia in the final of the Afro-Asia Championship in 1978. He had confirmed his superiority in the continent by outwitting Japan's Koha Yash a year later.

After emerging triumphant in a tournament staged in Sri Lanka in 1980, he dared fighting the reigning world champion, Don Wilson of the United States, in 1981. The creditable performance against the world champion elevated his ranking to the ninth place in the world.

Grand Master Ashraf Tai then founded the Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) and succeeded in having the body affiliated with the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) as well as the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

Having received numerous awards in various continents of the world during his illustrious career, he was declared the International Grand Master of the Year in 2000 by an institution based in the United States.

The Tai's Bando Karate Centre, founded by him in 1971, has already trained thousands of martial artists. The branches of his centres have not only been functioning with great success all over the country but the students trained by him have also been operating the centres named after him in quite a few countries like the United States, England, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, France, Holland and Bangladesh.Grand Master Ashraf Tai, was conferred the coveted Pride of Performance award by the then President General Pervez Musharraf.

The pioneer of Bando in Pakistan, Grand Master Ashraf Tai holds the distinction of claiming the highest degree (8th Dan) in the martial arts history of the country. Only a handful of martial artists have matched his feat worldwide.

He had started karate at the age of 9 with my master Lee Phow Shin. He got his black belt at the age of 16. He started participating in a lot of local tournaments, most of which were professional.

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Asghar Valika elected IBSF Vice President

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ali Asghar Valika, a former President of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), was elected unopposed as the Vice President of the International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) during its Annual General Body (AGM) held in Wels, Austria, on November 6.

Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, President, PBSA, who attended the meeting as one of the delegates, informed this scribe the other day that the IBSF had not received any nominations for the post of Vice President and Asghar Valika, whose candidature was supported by the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), was elected unopposed in the AGM.

The PBSA President further revealed that Pascal Guillaume of France, the sitting President of the IBSF, was re-elected after outvoting Jim Leacy of Ireland 27-17 while Mohammed Kammah of Egypt retained the slot of General Secretary by defeating Maxime Cassis of France. Sindhu Pulsivirung of Thailand and Syed Mahboob of Bangladesh retained their positions as IBSF Board members.

Asghar Valika was elected unopposed as the President of the ACBS for two successive terms in the 1990s. He has become the first Pakistani to hold an office in the international body of billiards sports.

Currently holding the position of the Executive Vice President in the ACBS besides being the Advisor to the United Arab Emirates Billiards & Snooker Association (UAEBSA), Asghar Valika had succumbed to the Pakistan government’s so-called national sports policy that prompted his resignation as the President of the PBSA during the month of September in controversial circumstances.

Having led the PBSA for nearly a couple of decades, he is credited to have spearheaded the revival of the game of snooker in particular in the country.

Asghar Valika had joined Mazhar Iqbal Puri’s team of office-bearers as the Vice President when the PBSA was launched in 1986, succeeding the dormant Billiards Association of Pakistan (BAP).Thus initiated the process of reviving the cue sports that were on the way to extinction.

They worked with missionary zeal from the outset and in less than two years time the baton was passed on to Asghar Valika, who brought the game to life by bringing in the brand of Red & White that became synonymous with snooker for years.

It turned out to be a mutually beneficial relationship and the game of snooker progressed in leaps and bounds in every nook and corner of the country as a result of the long-term sponsorship deal.

The Asian Snooker Championship was first organised at Karachi in 1991 at Karachi and just a couple of years later the World Snooker Championship 1993 was held with great success at the same venue.

The World Championship 1993 went a long way in promoting the game in Pakistan and the very next year the country had its first world amateur champion in the shape of Mohammad Yousuf.

Asghar Valika, as President of the ACBS, was instrumental in having snooker and other cue sports included in the Asian Games. Pakistan, through Shaukat Ali, won a gold right away when snooker made its debut in the 1998 Asian Games.

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Sourav Ganguly: End of an era

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Sourav Ganguly has played his last Test match. Unlike Anil Kumble, who announced his retirement rather abruptly during the course of the series, Ganguly had done it well in advance. He had declared before the start of the four-Test series home series against Australia that it’s going to be his last.

The left-handed Ganguly batted quite brilliantly throughout the series and his only blemish was a duck in his final outing in Test cricket. Even the legendary Sir Donald Bradman was dismissed without scoring in his last Test innings.

Ganguly, cutting and driving with ease, had a very good chance to register a century in his final Test. He was in complete control in the first innings of the Nagpur Test and another century for him looked round the corner.

But what happened in the post lunch session on the second day was a blot for Indian cricket where five wickets went down for literally nothing. It’s not often that a team having scored in the excess of 400 for the loss of five wickets is blown for less than 450 against a bowling attack short of inspiration.

Ganguly, so well set, also perished in that rush of wickets against the run of play. He was only 15 runs short of what would have been a thoroughly deserved hundred.

There were thoughts that he would like to make up with a century in the second innings of the game. But the misery of the second afternoon was repeated a couple of days later when India lost six wickets in a single session, after having amassed nearly a hundred runs without losing any wicket in the previous one. Ganguly, like the other batting greats, fell during what could be described as a ‘fateful’ afternoon session.

Ganguly could have earned the honour of scoring a hundred in his first as well as last Test match. He had scored a century not only on his Test debut but followed it up with another ton in the very next game during that memorable tour of England in 1996.

He, in fact, had appeared on course of emulating teammate Mohammad Azharduddin, the only batsman to have scored a century in each of his first three Test matches. Ganguly had gone past 50 in his third Test but couldn’t covert into another hundred.

Ganguly had a dream start to his Test career and he became recognized as one of the most flamboyant batsmen in the game right away. His aggressive style of play suited more to the one-dayers and he excelled there in the role of an opener.

Alongwith Sachin Tendulkar he formed the most formidable opening pair, laying the foundation of numerous Indian victories in the different corners of the world. Their positive approach from the outset demoralized the strongest of bowling attacks and together they posted big partnerships at brisk pace.

Ganguly turned out be an inspirational leader when the baton of captaincy was passed on to him in 2000. He led from the front and he was not afraid to take the risk. Bringing in new energy and zeal with him, he was instrumental in making India the world beaters.

It was during his tenure as the captain when India started winning overseas Tests frequently.The single biggest mistake Ganguly seemed to have committed in his long career was recommending Greg Chappell to coach India. It turned out to be a fatal mistake for him and his team.

Ganguly bounced back in style and his forceful comeback brought smiles on the faces of millions of his supporters. In the interim period he worked very hard to overcome technical deficiencies in negotiating the short balls and he finished career in the manner he had started it, on a high note. The Indian cricket will miss him for a long time.

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Singh is King

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Harbhajan Singh has a knack of coming good in tough conditions. He may not the greatest off-spinner on the planet but he is the kind of bowler who can turn the tide of the matches as he did two times in the just concluded series against Australia which India won 2-0.

Consistency has eluded him during the last few years but he still remains a champion bowler who could rattle the best of batsmen. Ask Ricky Ponting, the most prolific batsmen of the recent times. The Australian captain has dominated all kind of bowling but it has been a different story altogether whenever he has been up against Harbhajan.

It was not at all surprising to note that Ponting became Harbhajan’s wicket number 300 in Test match cricket. The master off-spinner foxed the Aussie skipper in the first innings of the fourth and final Test at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur to reach the landmark.

Harbhajan had to wait much longer for his 300th scalp. He was on course of doing it on the fourth afternoon of the second Test at the PCA Stadium, Mohali. It was his terrific spell that had broken the back of the Australian top-order and he looked good for many more after striking three early blows.

As the luck would have it he couldn’t get any more success in the Australian innings as the remaining seven wickets were shared by Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra. India won the match a record margin of 320 runs and Harbhajan remained stranded at 299 wickets.

There was a big gap between the second and third Tests. But it was not enough to let the off-spinner recover from an injury and he had to sit out of the Delhi Test that ended in a tame draw in the end.

Harbhajan returned to the side in the fourth Test and it was on the third afternoon when he finally took his 300th wicket. It took him weeks to move from 299 to 300.

What next Harbhajan? With the great leg-spinner Anil Kumble having retired from international cricket, now Harbhajan becomes the number one spin bowler for his country in all forms of the game. He had to be sidelined in overseas Tests on numerous occasions when India had to take the field with just one spinner.

The scenario has now been changed. With him becoming the front-line spinner there will be more opportunities for him on foreign tours now. He would be the obvious choice to make the final eleven when his team is not in a position to afford the luxury of two specialist spinners.

Harbhajan, however, will face challenge from the promising youngsters like Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra. He may be richer in experience but he will need to perform consistently to retain his status of being the number one spinner of the country.

There is no doubt about the talents of the off-spinner but he has been found wanting at times whenever he has not broken through early. He becomes much more lethal and destructive after picking up wickets early in spells. But he has been observed compromising on accuracy when he’s no rewarded. That’s an area he needs to work on. His shoulders should not drop even when he is being taken for runs or even there is no success for his hard work.

Despite controversies surrounding his action, he remains one of the best off-spinners in the business. He is match-winner in the truest sense of the word. In fact he has proved himself a worthy team man who relishes the challenge.

He takes his batting very seriously and can do serious damage to the opposing bowlers. He is a handy batsman to have at number eight. Four of his six Test half-centuries have come against Australia and it seems a matter of time when he would be a centurion as well.

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VVS Laxman: Very Very Special indeed

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

What a joy it has been following the career of VVS Laxman over the years. To me he is the most stylish batsman of the present generation. There is no better sight in cricket than to watch him bat.

He is one man who has all the time in the world to play his strokes. He has been blessed with the gift of timing that adequately covers the deficiencies in footwork. He may not be technically the most correct batsman but he is the one batter who can bring the crowd to its feet with his artistic stroke-play.

The fastest of the bowlers pitching the ball on or outside his off-stump have never been sure in which direction they would be hit when Laxman has been at the crease. While every other great batsman in the world would be content in cover driving those balls but you don’t know which route Laxman would take.

He may put the ball in the gap between cover and extra cover with precision and there is an equal chance of him rolling his wrist and on-driving it past mid-wicket. He has that knack of playing his stroke late that allows him to pierce the field at will.

Laxman has perfected the art of keeping the bowlers as well as the fielders guessing. The captains have often been found wanting in setting field for him. One can only sympathize with the fielding captains because it’s certainly not possible to have a ‘safe’ field for someone who has the rare ability of flicking the balls pitched well outside the off stump.

If you understand cricket you have to admire Laxman for doing justice with his initials VVS. He is certainly a very very special talent who is a born artist.

More than the runs and the centuries that he has scored for India, it’s his grace and poise that has distinguished him. He is the one and only batsman in the world at the moment whose graceful stroke-play passes the impression of being poetry in motion.

Laxman has scored prolifically against the toughest of oppositions. Not surprisingly his greatest knocks have come against Australia that has undoubtedly been the leading side in world cricket for the last many years.

Who would ever forget his epic knock at 281 against the Australians at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in 2001. The Indians were looking down the barrel and a series defeat looked round the corner. They had been defeated in the first Test and were forced to follow on in the second Test.

India needed something out of extraordinary to change the course of the proceedings. The follow-on fightback was led by none other than the Hyderabad touch artist who stood against the Australians with courage and purpose. His stroke-filled innings turned it around for India and the series was squared against all odds. By clinching the third and final Test the hosts managed to win the series they were most likely to surrender in the previous game.

More than seven years later Laxman scored another magnificent double century against the Aussies in his 99th Test at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi. His defiant knock in the second outing saved the day for his team and earned the Man of the Match award for him.

He may not be a swift mover in the field, that has cost him his place in the one-dayers, but he still has fair amount of cricket left to him to delight the lovers of the game all over the globe.

He has played his 100th Test match at VCA Stadium, Nagpur. He would certainly regret his soft dismissal when in sight of another hundred that would have been a perfect gift for his fans in the landmark Test for him.

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Asians dominate IBSF World Snooker Championship 2008

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Asians have once again proved their mettle at the international level in the game of snooker and three of the four semifinalists belonged to the continent. Thepchaya Un-Nooh of Thailand was crowned as the new world champion at Wels, Austria, on November 8.

He overpowered the dangerous Colin Gilcreest of Ireland 11-7 in the marathon best of 21-frame final. Gilcreest, in fact, was the only non-Asian to have made it to the last four.Un-Nooh was in sparkling form throughout the tournnament having chalked up the breaks of 143, 139, 111, 96, 91, 89, 88, 86, 86, 83, 78, 73, 69, 69, 69, 67, 64, 62, 61, 61, 60, 54, 54, 53, 50, 50, 50 during the course of his title-winning act.In the semifinals, Un-Nooh had outwitted Chinaʼs Xiao Guodong 7-4 while Gilcreest had tamed Sohail Vahidi of Iran 7-5.

The Asian cueists proved the point once more that the standard of cue sports was on the rise in their part of the world and the future belongs to them. Thailand and China are particularly the two countries having progressed in leaps and bounds in the cue sports arena in the recent past.

With more glories coming their way, the cue sports is certain to move to another level in Thailand whose administrators have been proactive over the years. The other Asian countries should derive inspiration from them.

China has also emerged on the scene as a cue sports giant. The performance of Sohail Vahidi may go a long way in boosting the game in Iran now.

There was disappointment, however, for both Pakistan and India whose cueists could not force their way into the semifinals despite looking good in earlier matches.

Pakistanʼs last hope Khurram Hussain Agha was eliminated in the pre-quarter-finals. Yu Delu of China proved simply too good for him in what turned out to be a one-sided affair as he won the best of nine encounter 5-1 with the frame scores of 67-45, 75-42, 1-100, 69-23, 90-23, 69-45.

Pakistanʼs hopes of regaining the world title were resting on the shoulders of Khurram after the exit of the countryʼs premier cueist, Saleh Mohammad, in the round of last 32.Khurram, who had staged a magnificent comeback in his earlier game in which he trailed1-4 against Au Chi Wai of Hong Kong was unable to do it while facing Yu Delu who was in no mood to give it away.

Khurram did bounce back to clinch the third frame after having lost the first two but he could not do much to prevent the rampaging Chinese from pocketing one frame after another.

Khurramʼs defeat in the pre-quarters meant Pakistan returned empty-handed once more. Mohammad Yousuf remains the countryʼs only cueist to have won the world amateur title, having done it in 1994.

Saleh has come very close to accomplishing the mission on a couple of occasions but the world crown has somehow eluded him so far despite his big reputation in the international circles.

Indiaʼs former world champion Pankaj Advani was routed by Chinaʼs Xiao Guodong in the quarter-finals. Guodong toppled Advani 6-2 while the other three fiercely fought quarter-finals went to the full distance of 11 frames.

Sohail Vahidi of Iran edged out Marin McCrudden of Ireland while Colin Gilcreest outwitted Lee Page of England and Thepchaya Un-Nooh of Thailand outlasted Yu Delu of China in the other quarter-finals.

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Pakistan’s national champion to miss Chess Olympiad

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The reigning national champion as well as an International Master, Mahmood Ahmed Lodhi, will not be taking part in the 38th Chess Olympiad, to be held in Dresden, Germany, from November 12 to 25.

Mahmood Lodhi, the country’s most prolific chess player having won the national championship 11 times, did not offer himself for selection in the squad in rather mysterious circumstances.

Although he has decided to skip the upcoming Olympiad having cited personal reasons but according to the sources close to him, he has had reservations with the policies of the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP).

The Gujranwala-based Mahmood Lodhi has had problems with the CFP officials over the years. But it’s certainly not in the national interest to omit the best player of the country for an event as important as the Olympiad.

The functionaries of the CFP could have handled the matter professionally rather than emotionally and they should have persuaded the reigning national champion to proceed to Dresden where a record number of 152 countries will be locking horns.
Meanwhile the media briefing of the Sindh Chess Association (SCA) at the Karachi Club on November 6 meant to introduce the members of the national men and women squad for turned sour on more than one count.

The fiery speech of one of the officials, Mohammad Wasif, in which he openly ridiculed the policies of the CFP caught the media by surprise because the SCA was itself one of the affiliated units of the federation.

The men squad comprises of National Masters Wahid Hussain (Hyderabad), Aamir Karim (Lahore), Mohammad Waqar (Karachi), Khalil-ur-Rahman Butt (Lahore) and Hasib Ahmed (Karachi). All the five members of the women team, Zenobia Wasif, Nida Shiraz, Sharjeela Kiran, Arsalana Tanvir and Sabica Shiraz, belong to Karachi.

The SCA office-bearers could not give a convincing answer when questioned if the provincial body was sending the national men and women squad for the 38th Chess Olympiad on behalf of the federation.

It was revealed that the SCA, after having failed to get any kind of assistance from the CFP, had approached various government and private organizations for financial support by means of sponsorship.

We have been assured financial support from the Government of Sindh, the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) as well as a few commercial establishments. Their support will enable us to cover a part of the costs to be incurred in sending the men and women squads for the Olympiad,” Mohammad Aslam, President, SCA, stated.

He did not disclose the amount they were expected to raise for this event through sponsorship. Neither did he deem it proper to reveal the total amount needed to send the squads to Germany. When asked specifically, he said around Rupees one lac would be needed for each participant.

Aslam, who is also the Vice President of the CFP, clarified that the SCA had differences with the federation only in the matter pertaining to the women squad while all was well as far as the selection of the men team was concerned.

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What role new coach Intikhab Alam has to play?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The recent appointment of Intikhab Alam as the coach of the Pakistan cricket team has drawn mixed reaction. He has replaced Geoff Lawson, a former Australian fast bowler, whose contract was terminated abruptly by the new management in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Intikhab’s success or failure will depend on what kind of role he is assigned by the new PCB chief, Ijaz Butt. The buzz is that Shoaib Malik’s days as the captain are also numbered and that Intikhab may elevate someone else of his own choice to that position.

Obviously the captain plays the major role in implementing the policies of the coach in the field of play in the game of cricket. It’s the captain who has to take the decisions during the course of action. So it becomes vitally important to have the captain and the coach on the same wavelength.

Intikhab, if given the right to select his own captain, is more likely to replace Shoaib Malik rather than to retain him.

There is also a possibility that the PCB might not authorize the coach to have a captain of his own choice appointed at this moment. This is Pakistan cricket where everything and anything is possible. Shoaib Malik may lose the captaincy shortly or he may even continue for the next many years. Nobody knows. Nor can anyone predict.
Coming to Intikhab, he was known to be a defensive captain. Or in other words attack was never his forte while leading the team.



Only Ijaz Butt and his advisors in the PCB could know it best why a man of defensive mindset has been appointed the national coach at a time when the Pakistan team has been under fire for not playing positive cricket in the recent past.

Shoaib Malik has often been criticized for not having led from the front and not playing aggressive cricket. If aggression has to return to the Pakistan cricket there is very little chance of getting it with Intikhab Alam-Shoaib Malik combination.

Intikhab was certainly the coach of the national team that won the World Cup in 1992 under the inspiring leadership of Imran Khan. The entire world knows, however, what marginal role Intikhab was playing when Imran was at the helm of the affairs.

Imran used to call the shots throughout his stint as captain and the people he turned to for advice were believed to be Javed Miandad and Mudassar Nazar. Intikhab hardly ever came in the picture in matters relating to strategic plan.

Intikhab’s appointment as the coach has been greeted in some quarters more because of the exit of a foreigner than any cricket reason.

Lawson’s tenure didn’t last long. He had taken over at a difficult time for the team as well as the country. There was very little cricket played in his days and there was hardly an opportunity for him to unfold his talents. He had every reason to feel hard done by the PCB decision of not letting him complete the contractual period.

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