NATIONAL
Imran pessimistic about Champions Trophy:
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan is still pessimistic about the staging of September’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan. “There are 50-50 or may be 40-60 chances of holding the event in Pakistan because of security concerns,” he told a private channel. “We had 65 suicide attacks last year, so foreign players are naturally scared,” he said.
Aisam in Brazi ATP last-eight:
Pakistan’s top tennis player Aisamul Haq Qureshi had a marathon day in Belo Horizonte, in the Brazil ATP Challenger Championship as he was fully stretched to a three-setter in the second round by British player Jonathan Murray before striking a 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-4 victory. According to information made available here, Aisam spent more than two and a half hours on court to display a high level of tennis skills and technique. He will face third seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in the quarter-finals. Later in the day, Aisam and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico were made to work equally hard by Carlos Salamanca of Columbia and Julio Cesar Campozano of Ecuador in the pre-quarter-final of the doubles. They won by 7-5, 6-4 and will now face Andrew Coelho of Australia and Jonathan Murray of the UK in the quarter-final.
KESC outclass WAPDA five to one in Premier League:
The spirited Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) outclassed defending champions Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) 5-1 in a battle of the Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) held here at the Peoples Stadium on 31st July. It was a one-sided affair as the visitors looked totally tired and not in good shape in the absence of their head coach Khalid Mahmood Butt, who is not accompanying the side due to the illness of his mother. Right from the start till close of the tie, the hosts were in tight control in front of a capacity crowd. KESC took the initiative in the 13th minute through the experienced striker Aurangzeb, who dribbled past three defenders and at the end hammered it into the left post. In the 36th minute KESC were again on strike when Javed Hamza’s super drive from 36 yards deflected off the leg of WAPDA veteran defender Tanveer Ahmad and the unmarked bulky Lal Mohammad, standing close to the goalmouth, made no mistake in finding the net, taking his team’s lead to 2-0. Just before the interval, WAPDA could have reduced the deficit but the leading scorer of the last Premier League Arif Mahmood’s shot hit the cross bar. At half time, KESC were leading with 2-0. In the second half, KESC looked more merciless in their approach and they added to their tally when the unmarked Sohail Nawaz tapped the ball comfortably into the vacant net as the goalie Luqman had already been beaten.
The handsome 3-0 lead did not satiate the hosts and it was Abdul Ghafoor who hit two consecutive goals in the 67th and 69th minutes, putting his side in a more commanding position with a 5-0 lead. Two minutes later, the captain Arif Mahmood scored the consolation goal for WAPDA through his individual attempt. “It was really our day as the frontline showed tremendous power and speed against the defending champions. It is a dream for me as I did not expect such a glorious performance from the boys and this victory will further boost our morale,” KESC coach Hassan Baloch told the press after the match.
Yasir falls in Petrosport Championship:
Pakistan’s Yasir Butt scared world No 3 Egyptian Ramy Ashour on the opening day of main draw action in the Petrosport International Championship before bowing out of the $140,000 PSA Super Series Platinum squash event at the Sky Club in Cairo. Lahore-based Yasir ranked 40th in the world, dropped the first set after a tough contest with the Egyptian. But he bounced back into the match winning the next two sets 7-11, 10-12 to take a 2-1 lead. Ashour was in no mood to let the match 
go off his hands and came from behind to record a 14-12, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-4 triumph after a 69-minute showdown. In the second round today, Ashour will face ninth seed Adrian Grant, who was also taken the full distance before beating Czech qualifier Jan Koukal 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-5. Local interest was led by world No 1 and top seed Amr Shabana. Shabana had a reasonably comfortable 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-4 win over compatriot Amr Swelim, a 24-year-old qualifier.
Sadaf Siddiqui hopes to uphold Olympic spirit:
Pakistan’s sole female athlete Sadaf Siddiqui has modest ambitions for the Olympics and says simply competing will be a dream come true as she hopes to inspire millions of girls back home. Lahore-based Siddiqui runs the 100 and 200 metres but as a wild card entrant she is allowed to compete in only one event and so will be lining up for the 100m heats in Beijing. The 22-year-old sprinter knows she faces red-hot competition from a star-studded line-up but promises to keep her head high and proud, even if she finishes last. “I promise that I will not show an embarrassed loser’s face, my head will be high and my face would be glowing because the Olympic spirit is to compete irrespective of results. For me it’s an honour,” the sprinter told. Sadaf is one of just two female competitors in Pakistan’s 37-member contingent for the Games, with 18-year-old Kiran Khan set to jump in the Olympic pool in the women’s swimming. Pakistan is sending 21 athletes in total and 16 officials, according to the Pakistan Olympic Associ-ation. Sadaf’s best time for the 100m is 11.81 seconds — a Pakistani record she set in April — and 24.36 seconds in the 200m, which are both a far cry from top international standards. But that doesn’t bother her.
Tanvir wants to shine in Tests:
Pakistan fast bowler Sohail Tanvir was the Indian Premier League’s (IPL’s) most successful bowler but he has said that it is in the Test arena that he really wants to prove himself. “If you are ranked as a player, it is solely based on your performance in Tests,” Tanvir told. “The one-day and Twenty20 versions are meant to entertain the crowds who come to watch sixes, boundaries, catches and wickets. I am comfortable in all forms of the game, but it is Test cricket that I would love to prove myself now.”
Foreign players may appear in NMSG:
The national federations of bridge, chess and scrabble are pushing hard to secure participation of foreign players in the open competition of their respective events in the upcoming National Mind Sports Games (NMSG), to be held here at the Southend Club next month. Khurshid Hadi, President, Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), informed here that the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF), the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP) and the Scrabble Association of Pakistan (SAP) are in touch with their counterparts in the region and they expect foreign participation in the 1st NMSG to be held from August 14 to 17. “The MSAP has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the PBF, CFP and SAP in which our responsibilities have been outlined. The three federations will be organising their respective events and the MSAP will be there basically as the facilitators,” Hadi stated. “Regarding the participation of the foreign players in the Open competitions, the three federations are being encouraged to get hold of expert hands so that the locals could benefit from their presence.
