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NATIONAL
Jahangir Khan sees no hope for instant revival of squash:
Almost 15 years after he quit professional squash, Jahangir Khan believes there is no hope for the sport in Pakistan unless some sweeping changes are carried out in the way it is being run in the country. In an interview to the media people, Jahangir Khan, who once made squash a popular sport in Pakistan because of his unmatched heroics on the world stage, made it clear that the downslide of the country’s squash will continue in the current circumstances. “It is going to get from bad to worse,” warns Jahangir, a record ten-time British Open champion currently serving as President of the World Squash Federation (WSF). “The system through which our squash is being run is faulty and I fear that it is never going to work,” he adds. Jahangir took a swipe at the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) hierarchy, saying that its top brass had little or no idea as to how squash should be run in the country. He was particularly critical of the PSF secretary Wng. Cmdr. Shamsul Haq, saying that he had no knowledge of the game and still he was the one effectively running the national squash affairs.
Pakistan thump Japan 7-2
Former champions Pakistan walloped Japan 7-2 to finish third in the 6th Junior Asia Cup Hockey Tournament, at the Gachibowli Stadium. Setpiece specialist left-back Kashif Ali got three goals for Pakistan, two off penalty strokes and one from a penalty corner while spearhead Abdul Haseem Khan netted two goals with Mohammad Zubair and Inayatullah completing the tally. The under-performing Pakistanis had lost to India 1-3 in the semifinal after an onfield brawl between the rival set of players disturbed the Pakistani team’s rhythm and tempo. The greenshirts were in excellent touch in the third position playoff against the Japanese, surging to a 7-0 lead after taking a 2-0 halftime lead before Japan got two consolation goals in the last five minutes through Kenta Tanaka and Ryota Kubo, both off short corners.
Shabbir wins Sindh Open title:
Shabbir Iqbal underlined his status as the country’s best professional golfer once again with a thumping victory in the Sindh Open Golf Championship, here at the Arabian Sea Country Club. Fresh with back-to-back titles at the CNS Open and Bolan Open, Shabbir was head and shoulders above the rest of the pack during the best part of the tournament and won the Sindh Open crown by a clear five-shot margin. The Islamabad golfer was not at his brilliant best in the final round, but his one-under par 71 was still good enough to win him the title in the
Rs. 700,000 tournament organised by the Sindh Golf Association (SGA). He finished the championship ten under for a hat-trick of titles this season. Five shots off the pace were Matloob Ahmed and Mohammad Munir, who finished as joint runners-up in the three-day championship. Finishing on a joint third position were Javed Inayat and Talib Hussain. Mohammad Safdar won the amateurs crown, dethroning defending champions Mohammad Ali Hai by a solitary shot. Safdar shot a 76 in the final round, a score that was good enough to take him ahead of Ali. Sajid Khan of ASCC finished at the third place. Ghani Khan, winner of the seniors category, got a bigger pay cheque after the SGA decided to increase the event’s prize money from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 100,000. SGA secretary Asad I. A. Khan won the handicap (6-12) title after being tied with Lt. Cmdr. Shazli Azhar.
PHF rules out action against brawling colts:
Pakistan ruled out taking any action against their players who were involved in a brawl during the semifinal against India in the Junior Asia Cup being played in the South Indian city of Hyderabad. This was confirmed by Pakistan head coach Jehangir Butt in a telephonic message. “So far we haven’t received any notice from the tournament director Krishnaramamurthy,” said Butt. “I believe the matter has been closed.” It was five minutes before half-time when India were leading 1-0, that the players from both sides clashed. The officials of both the teams intervened and calm prevailed. PHF secretary Asif Bajwa said, “Such incidents do happen, particularly when Pakistan and India are playing because the emotions are high. But once the match is over, it’s all normal as before. So, both Pakistan and India shouldn’t make any fuss out of it.”
ICC security experts visit NSK:
With Pakistan’s hosting right for the Champions Trophy under constant review, another security delegation of the International Cricket Council (ICC) visited the National Stadium here on 16th July. The ICC security team comprising of two British consultants, David Clark and David Battams, assessed the security arrangements at the venue. No senior official of the PCB was there to brief the ICC delegation. Both security consultants also visited the VVIP enclosure, the Chairman’s box, dressing rooms, main gate and the ground.
PCB violates WADA code:
Pakistan Cricket Board has violated a World Anti-Doping Agency code (WADA) by making advance announcement that 30 players picked for ICC champions trophy would be dope tested. Pakistan’s renowned WADA accredited Anti Doping and sports medicine expert Dr. Danish Zaheer said that being WADA compliant, the PCB should not have made advance notification for out of competition test that could give an athlete a chance to take masking agents to conceal the effects of banned substance. “Such advance notice test may make an athlete vulnerable to the risk of his drink or food being tampered by a rival athlete so that to disqualify one through dope test,” he said - an argument the athlete can use for his defence if tested positive. “The advance notice according to WADA code can only be given once the athlete is reached through telephone but the advance notice should not be more than one hour,” Zaheer added. As per WADA code clause 3.1 of Advance Notice Testing, once the contact is made, the athlete should be instructed to meet the doping officer within one hour of that notice and the implication be made clear to the athlete in case of failure.
Kaneria may want to play
for England:
Danish Kaneria has sensationally revealed he would consider playing for England if Pakistan continue to snub him. The leg-spinner, who has taken 220 Test wickets, said that if he is out of the picture with the Pakistan selectors and England wanted him, he would be interested. He said: “I may consider playing for England at one stage if Pakistan are not picking me. I am 27 and a proper leg-spinner gets his real class when he is 32 - Shane Warne got to his 30s and was bowling out every team so I have plenty of years to go. I don’t know what will happen and will see how Pakistan cope with me. If England wanted me to play and do something for them I would think it over.” Kaneria, who first played for Essex in 2004, has not enjoyed a happy year with Pakistan, having been disciplined by the Pakistan Cricket Board in February for an outburst in the media after he was demoted to a category C centrally contracted player. He has not played a Test Match for eight months and has only played 18 One-day Internationals since making his debut in 2001, as the Pakistan management started preferring batsmen who could bowl part-time spin - the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, and Shahid Afridi.
