BCCI President may quit if son-in-law found guilty of IPL spot-fixing

Pakistan News & Features Services

The President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Narayanaswami Srinivasan, may be asked to leave if any evidence is found against his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, according to a report published in one of India’s leading newspapers.

   

Meiyappan, a top official of the Chennai Super Kings franchise, was reported to have reached Mumbai to appear before the police for questioning in connection with the IPL spot-fixing scandal. 

Chennai Super Kings, which is being led by the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is owned by the India Cements whose Managing Director is none other than N Srinivasan, the BCCI President. 

The sources have disclosed that actor Vindoo Dara Singh, who was arrested earlier this week for his alleged links with bookies, told the Mumbai Police that he bet on games on Meiyappan's behalf. He has also reportedly claimed that Meiyappan lost Rupeess one crore in betting. 

According to reports, the police had issued summons to Meiyappan to verify certain issues raised and claims made by Virender Singh.

   

There were reports circulating in the media on the proximity of Virender Singh to the Super Kings franchise. Those reports, which included pictures of the actor watching IPL matches in the company of Super Kings captain MS Dhoni's wife, have not been denied. 

Meiyappan's status in the Super Kings franchise became the subject of some debate, if not controversial, as the promoters began to distance themselves from him. 

"India Cements follows zero tolerance policy and if anyone is proved guilty, strict action will be taken immediately. India Cements assures full co-operation with BCCI and the Law Enforcement authorities," an official handout from the India Cements said. 

"India Cements clarifies that Gurunath Meiyappan is neither the owner nor CEO/Team Principal of the Chennai Super Kings. He is only one of the Members (Honorary) of the Management Team of Chennai Super Kings,” the press release added. 

Meiyappan, however, was frequently visible at the Super Kings dug-out and was also present at the franchise's table at IPL auctions. Interestingly, the bio on his verified Twitter account read 'Team Principal Chennai Super Kings' till it was changed, half an hour after the India Cements press release, to remove the CSK reference. 

He is also believed to be holding a gold accreditation card for the IPL, reserved for team owners. He also represented the franchise at team owners' meetings organised by the IPL and was said to be the point of contact for other franchises for any discussions over player trades and similar issues from the start of the IPL.

readmore »»

Shoaib Alam makes debut as ACBS Tournament Director

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Shoaib Alam Khan has become only the second Pakistani to be an accredited Tournament Direct Born on October 2, 1970, or of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS) with the recently concluded Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship 2013 being his maiden assignment in the new role.

   

The 42-year-old Shoaib Alam has emulated Aspi Mavalvala, a former Honorary Secretary of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), who had achieved the honour more than a decade earlier. 

Born at Karachi on October 2, 1970, Shoaib Alam has been one of the most versatile snooker figures of the country. He was an active cueist having participated in Pakistan’s national ranking tournaments in the 1990s before starting his career as a referee. He has also tried his hands at the game’s administration besides having conducted quite a few local and national events. 

He had made his debut as a player in the National Snooker Championship in 1992 and kept participating in the domestic circuit until 1997, achieving the highest rank of 13 in the middle of his brief career. He became a referee in 1993 and, after supervising quite few matches at the national level, was registered as an ACBS international referee the following year. 

He made his international debut as referee during the inaugural Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship at Karachi in 1994.

   

Since then he has stood in seven editions of the Asian Snooker Championships besides performing similar duties in Asian Games two times. He has also refereed in Pro Ams, World Six Reds and a number of invitational international events. He was awarded the status of a Gold Class ‘A’ Referee by the Referees Control Panel of the ACBS in 2010. 

Shoaib Alam, a businessman by profession, has also remained associated with the national snooker body in the capacity of Tournament Director during the last few years. The recent elevation as the ACBS-accredited Tournament Director, however, remained the fulfillment of one his most cherished dreams. 

He was thrilled by the new assignment, reckoning that the ACBS Board had reposed confidence in his abilities by appointing him the Tournament Director for the Asian Championship. Despite his preoccupation at business, which has prevented him from accepting full-time job at the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Federation (PBSF), he has vowed to continue giving his best to the cause of cue sports in the country. 

He could have been the ‘natural’ successor to Arif Taherbhoy, the longest-serving Joint Secretary of the game’s governing body who decided to hang his boots, but it looks extremely unlikely that Shoaib Alam would be interested in accepting that position due to his own commitments. 

Meanwhile Pakistan’s veteran snooker referee, Shabbir Hussain Daruwala, also performed the duties of the Chief Referee in the Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship 2013 which was held successfully in Karachi from April 27 to May 3.

readmore »»

Unsung Arif Taherbhoy calls it a day

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Arif Taherbhoy, on whose shoulders the Pakistan snooker rested for nearly quarter of a century, has decided to call it day with the conclusion of the Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship 2013 at the Sheraton Karachi Hotel on May 3.

   

The Joint Secretary of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Federation (PBSF) since 1989, he had communication the high-ups about his decision at the start of the year but he was persuaded to continue working until the just concluded Asian Championship. 

The limelight has been on Ali Asghar Valika, who led the national cue sports body with distinction for a couple of decades, and Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, who took over the leadership in 2008, but the role of Arif Taherbhoy has also been quite significant in taking snooker to the present level. 

His workaholic attitude and total commitment helped the cause of the Pakistan snooker immensely. Upon joining what then was the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) in 1989, he was initially assigned the task of coordination with media but at later stage he was entrusted the responsibilities of managing the day to day affairs of the body’s secretariat which he has run very enthusiastically all along. 

Arif Taherbhoy was born on February 14, 1949. He was engaged in a partnership business with his brother when the love for snooker brought him to the PBSA.

 

He was an active cueist since student life. He had played snooker at the club level during the days when the great Latif Amir Bakhsh was at the peak of his career. His biggest accomplishment was making the final of the Wahedna Gold Cup Inter-Clubs Tournament in 1972. 

“I found the administration of the sport very much to my liking and I never considered it a burden. It has been a long journey which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Being a part and parcel of five editions of the Asian Snooker Championship staged five times between 1991 and 2013 besides the World Snooker Championship in 1993 has been both an honour as well as privilege,” he observed in a recent chat. 

The 64-year-old Arif Taherbhoy smiled broadly when inquired lightly about the jumbo-sized briefcase, which he has carried all along during the course of national and international events. 

“You do need a bigger bag to hold all relevant information regarding the tournaments like the draws, the rankings, the TA/DA sheets for the participants and other working papers,” he remarked. 

The soft-spoken Arif Taherbhoy was awarded a gold medal by the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS) in 1998 but he considered the World Championship 1993 staged in Karachi as the most memorable event of his lifetime. 

“It’s very heartening that we have played host to five editions of the Asian Snooker Championship (1991, 1998, 2001, 2007 and 2013) besides holding the World Championship in 1993 during the last 22 years. Let’s hope that more international snooker competitions are held frequently in Pakistan,” he concluded.

readmore »»

Chancellor Adil Usman desires to boost SSUET sports

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), Karachi, has emerged as an outstanding institution which has set high standards in the field of education. It has also laid emphasis on sports since its establishment in 1994.

   

This newly appointed Chancellor of the SSUET, Engr Mohammad Adil Usman, who is also the President of the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA), has expressed the desire to take the university sports to another level. 

In a chat with a select group of sports scribes at his chamber on April 27, Engr Adil Usman, a great grandson of the legendary Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, agreed to look into the proposal of allowing admission on sports basis to the athletes having represented the country. 

“In pursuance of the Aligarhian spirit we will continue supporting the cause of sports in a meaningful way and we will do everything possible to serve the community. The SSUET has had a policy of supporting sports from the outset and we will be even more proactive in future,” he stated. 

“The Aligarhian philosophy is based on the fact that physical fitness leads to mental fitness. Our athletes used to excel in academics too. It’s very heartening to know that the same trend has continued at the SSUET as quite a few outstanding athletes have secured above average grades in their studies,” Engr Adil Usman added.

   

“We will surely look into the possibilities of granting admission in first year to the outstanding athletes having attained national colours. Ideally we will like to have it from as early as the next academic year,” the SSUET Chancellor declared. 

Engr Adil Usman, who captained the Aligarh Muslim University’s badminton team besides representing the historic institution in billiards and snooker, also disclosed his plans to have greater facilities for indoor games at the SSUET. 

“In the near future we will be emphasizing on developing more facilities for indoor games in particular besides taking care of cricket and football outfits. Our plans include procuring tables for billiards and snooker to let our students unfold their talents in cue sports,” he added. 

“We desire to have training and coaching facilities for our athletes to let them enhance their skills. We will also encourage them to participate in the international events so that they could earn laurels for the country as well as the university,” the SSUET Chancellor announced.

readmore »»

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.

readmore »»

Hockey wizard Islahuddin has Jubilee connection

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Hockey legend Islahuddin Siddiqui, having been recently appointed an Advisor on Sports by the Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister, knows the art of making headlines. He became the centre of attraction in a snooker ceremony at the Sheraton Karachi Hotel on April 25.

   

His accomplishments in the field of hockey are known to everyone. But very few people knew until the ‘news’ was broken during the media briefing of the Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship 2013 that he was a client of Jubilee Insurance, the major sponsors of snooker in Pakistan. 

Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee General Insurance, was credited for sharing the news with the media and it was greeted by a big applause by the house. He was also showered with praise most generously. 

In fact Tahir Ahmed, in his brief speech, described Islahuddin as one of his childhood sporting heroes and he considered it a personal privilege for sitting next to the great Olympian during the ceremony. He advised the top cueists of the country, who will be featuring in the upcoming Asian Championship, to avail the ‘golden’ opportunity of getting themselves ‘clicked’ with the legendary Islahuddin.

readmore »»

No place for wonder boy Majid Ali in Pakistan’s Asian snooker squad

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The training and conditioning camp for Pakistan’s eight-member national squad, due to participate in the upcoming Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship 2013, is in progress at the Khurram Agha Snooker Club in Karachi but there’s no place for wonder boy Mohammad Majid Ali, could not force his way in the elite list. 

   

Majid Ali, who went down fighting against Noppon Saengkham of Thailand in a thrilling final of the 14th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2013 in the Indian town of Indore earlier this month, didn’t qualify for the Asian tourney being held in his home country because of the national federation’s decision to stick to the conventional system of going by the ranks rather than the talents or the form of the cueists. 

Although the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Federation (PBSF) has dared making changes in the traditional formats even at the cost of annoying some of the senior cueists, the officials have yet not mustered the courage to revising the selection criterion. 

It’s very tragic indeed that Majid Ali, having emerged as one of the top junior cueists of the country, will not be able to take part in the Asian Championship at a time when he’s in spectacular form. Isn’t it a pity that the lesser mortals will be allowed entry in the tournament only because they secured higher position than him in the last edition of the National Championship? 

The PBSF must rethink their strategy for future and they must not limit themselves by sticking to rules which were drafted in the period when the game was in fancy and idea seemed to inclined towards protect a few experienced fellows. 

Meanwhile eight-member Pakistan squad for the upcoming Asian Championship, to be staged at the Sheraton Karachi Hotel from April 27 to May 3, comprised of Mohammad Asif, Hamza Akbar, Imran Shahzad, Mohammad Sajjad, Abdul Sattar, Babar Masih, Shahid Aftab and Abu Saim. 

They are receiving camp training in Karachi since April 15. The camp will continue without a break for the next 10 days and the training would be held daily from 10 am to 4 pm. 

“The camp will wind up on April 24. It will also continue on Sunday to let the cueists train as hard as possible,” camp commandant, Naved Kapadia, who is also the federation’s Tournament Director, revealed. 

He clarified that the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS) has a practice of allowing only six entries, not eight, to the host nation in every edition of the Asian Snooker Championship. 

“Mohammad Asif has earned a slot by virtue of being the world champion while Hamza Akbar, Imran Shahzad, Mohammad Sajjad, Abdul Sattar, Babar Masih and Shahid Aftab, the top six cueists in the national ranking chart, have been provided the opportunity to represent the country in the Asian event,” he explained. 

“The PBSF has approached the ACBS to let another cueist from Pakistan be granted an entry as a special case. That’s why Abu Saim has been added to the squad as a stand-by. He will only be able to play if the Federation was allowed an additional entry,” Naved Kapadia concluded.

readmore »»

Noppon Saengkham shatters Majid Ali’s dreams in final

By Syed Khalid Mahmood 
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Mohammad Majid Ali’s dreams of bringing home the Asian Junior crown were shattered by Noppon Saengkham of Thailand in a thrilling final of the 14th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2013 in the Indian town of Indore on April 7.

  

Majid Ali had become Pakistan’s hope of annexing the title for the first time after the country’s premier cueist and the reigning national champion, Hamza Akbar, had been eliminated in the pre-quarter-finals a couple of days earlier. 

Both the teenagers from Faisalabad gave very impressive account of themselves to make their presence felt in a big way among the galaxy of top young cueists of the continent. They performed superbly and displayed enormous fighting qualities. Their never-say-die approach was the biggest positive to have come out of the one-week event. 

The Asian Junior title would have further lifted the Pakistan snooker which is already on a high following the triumph of Mohammad Asif in the World Championship late last year. There will be another chance for the duo of Majid Ali and Hamza Akbar alongwith Mohammad Asif to have a crack at the Asian Snooker Championship due to be staged in Karachi in a few weeks time. 

Incredibly all three of them belong to Faisalabad, a city famous for its industries, now making headlines for producing snooker champion material. 

  

Majid Ali fought very hard in the final of the Asian Junior Championship but Saengkham had the last laugh winning the tensely-fought encounter 6-5 with the scores being 62-63, 12-92), 91-1, 76-63, 24-73, 64-48, 37-85, 74-8, 112-15, 24-72, 63-46. 

The first blood was drawn by Majid Ali, who also doubled his lead by chalking up of a break of 66 in the second frame. Saengkham, however, caught up with breaks of 58 and 54 in the next two frames to make it 2-2. Majid Ali made it 3-2 by winning the fifth frame but Saengkham did’t take long to draw level again. 

The Pakistani youngster put his nose in front once more by taking the seventh frame and his rival fought back to snatch the eighth frame. It was Saengkham’s chance to move forward when he compiled a break of 66 in the ninth frame. This time Majid Ali drew level by clinching the tenth frame. The decisive eleventh frame went to the wire with the cueist from Thailand emerging triumphant in the closest of duels.

readmore »»