Author: ali.hassan

KARACHI: Pakistan great Wasim Akram shared a piece of advice regarding the national cricket team’s participation in the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India, scheduled to commence on October 5.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, while speaking at a private ceremony here, opined that the national side should play their World Cup matches as scheduled on the announced venues.

“Pakistan should play wherever their matches are scheduled. Playing at any venue should not be an issue,” opined Wasim Akram.

He further backed his opinion by citing his experience of touring India as a player and as a commentator.

“I have had a good experience as a commentator and a former player in India. Anyone who travels to India, be it an actor or a sportsperson, gets a good response,” shared Akram.

Wasim Akram then once again expressed his belief in the current team’s ability to foster in the upcoming World Cup and claimed that the Indian conditions would also favour them.

“Pakistan team is talented enough to progress ahead into the tournament. We are also well aware of the playing conditions in India,” Akram stated.

Akram then also lauded Babar Azam’s captaincy skills and also urged cricket fans to let the latter enjoy it.

“There is no problem with Babar Azam’s captaincy. Let him enjoy it,” he said.

Legendary pacer Wasim Akram also spoke highly of Pakistan’s ace speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi and termed him a world-class bowler.

“Shaheen Afridi is still young. The more he plays the more it will benefit him and I think, he is a world-class bowler,” stated Akram.

It is worth mentioning here that the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the anticipated schedule of the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 earlier today.

As per the ICC-released schedule, a total of 10 teams will participate in the mega event – featuring 45 matches – and compete for the prestigious silverware across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19.

Like the previous edition, the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 will also be played in a round-robin format – each team playing nine matches with the rest of the opponents.

The top four teams by the end of the group stage will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled to be held in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16.

Whereas, the final of the tournament will take place on November 19 at the grand Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Notably, all three knockout matches of the ICC Men’s World Cup will have a reserve day.

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KARACHI: Young Pakistan cueist Ahsan Ramzan on Monday returned to Pakistan after winning the U21 Asian Snooker Championship in Iran but received no welcome from the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) officials.

The IBSF World Snooker Champion Ahsan Ramzan partook in the U21 Asian Snooker Championship, held in Tehran, Iran. He continued his rich vein of form in the continental event and remained unbeaten.

In the final of the event, Ahsan Ramzan outclassed Iranian opponent Milad Pourali Darehchi with a score of 5-2 (48-46, 70-5(41), 61-6(52), 62-29, 30-71, 55-67, 101-27) to get his hands on the silverware.

Despite making his nation proud, the young cueist received no welcome upon his arrival to the country, alongside fellow cueist Haris Tahir, via Jinnah International Airport here.

“It is not a pity that no one came to welcome me,” said Ahsan Ramzan.

“I have a trophy in my hand and a gold medal around my neck and I am delighted with this honour.

“There is no hope from the government. I want to say that may Allah guide the government,” he added.

Speaking on his title-winning victory over the Iranian opponent in the final, Ahsan Ramzan asserted that his experience from the World Cup Final helped him to handle the pressure in the tense match.

“There is no doubt that an individual always gets a reward for his hard work. I have also played the final of the World Cup, that’s why I was used to playing under pressure,” said Ramzan.

The teenage cueist then expressed his desire to work with a foreign coach.

“We also want that we are equipped with international coaches. If they can’t do it, we should be sent abroad for training,” said Ramzan.

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TEHRAN: Pakistan’s young cueist Ahsan Ramzan continued his dominant show in the U21 Asian Snooker Championship and qualified for the final.

According to the details, Ahsan Ramzan outclassed Iran’s Tirdad Azadipour 4-2 to make his way into the final.

Ahsan started his semi-final clash on a high as he dominated Azadipour in the opening two frames with the scoreline of 76-8 and 102-1 respectively.

Azadipour was quick to react as he notched up a 55-point break to cut Ahsan’s lead to 2-1 only for the latter to restore the advantage straight away in the fourth frame.

The next two frames also followed the same pattern as Azadipour won the fifth frame to stay alive but Ahsan Ramzan won the sixth frame to seal his spot in the final.

Ahsan Ramzan’s qualification in the final guarantees a medal for the 17-year-old cueist.

In the early phase of the tournament, Ahsan contested two group matches against Iran’s Arshia Tehrani and Ali Lalegani and remained unbeaten to book his spot in the knockout stage.

In his first group match, Ahsan Ramzan thumped Tehrani by the score of 3-0 in the Best of Five.

The 17-year-old snooker player started his first match of the competition on a high as he outclassed Tehrani by the scores of 55-21 before putting on an even more dominant show in the second frame, sealing it by 93-15.

The flying start filled Ahsan Ramzan with momentum and he moved within one frame to register his first victory.

He managed to retain the momentum in the third frame as well and blew away Tehrani 3-0.

In his next fixture against Iran’s Lalegani, Ahsan Ramzan got off to a contrasting start as the Iranian cueist scored a 66-point break to seal the first frame.

With Lalegani securing an early 1-0 lead, Ahsan recollected himself and marked an astonishing comeback by sealing the next three frames with great precision and securing his second back-to-back victory in the tournament.

Ahsan Ramzan continued his rich vein of form in the quarter-final as he defeated India’s Digvijay Kadyan 4-3.

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Pakistan men’s football team will depart for Mumbai on Tuesday evening to participate in the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, scheduled to take place from June 21 to July 4.

According to the details, the national football team will depart from Mauritius Island in the evening today to Mumbai.

Upon their arrival in Mumbai, Pakistan men’s football team will then fly to Bengaluru where the eight-team SAFF Championship 2023 will take place.

Earlier, the Pakistan team received a two-day delay in the issuance of the Visas due to which they could not depart for Bengaluru as per schedule on Sunday.

Pakistan will start their SAFF Championship campaign against arch-rivals India on June 21 before taking on Nepal and invitee Kuwait.

Notably, the Pakistan football team are currently in Mauritius where they participated in the four-nation tournament.

The national team failed to impress in the four-nation tournament as they remained winless in the entire competition, losing to Mauritius, Kenya and Djibouti respectively.

After concluding their campaign in the four-nation tournament, the Pakistan men’s football team will mark their return to the SAFF Championship after missing the last two out of the 13 editions held since 1993.

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) could not send its men’s team for the 2015 edition held in India due to the lack of funds.

The national side then missed the 2021 edition as they were serving a suspension from FIFA, which was lifted last year in June.

Sri Lanka will not be participating in the tournament as they are serving a suspension from the football governing body FIFA, while Afghanistan left SAFF and joined the Central Asian Football Federation.

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Pakistan men’s football team on Monday, received the Visas to participate in the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship in India, scheduled to take place from June 21 to July 4.

According to the details, the Indian High Commissioner in Mauritius issued the Visas to the Pakistan football team, which will now travel to India via the first available flight.

Notably, the Pakistan team received a two-day delay in the issuance of the Visas due to which they could not depart for Bengaluru as per schedule on Sunday.

Pakistan will start their SAFF Championship campaign against arch-rivals India on June 21 before taking on Nepal and invitee Kuwait.

Notably, the Pakistan football team are currently in Mauritius where they participated in the four-nation tournament.

The national team failed to impress in the four-nation tournament as they remained winless in the entire competition, losing to Mauritius, Kenya and Djibouti respectively.

After concluding their campaign in the four-nation tournament, the Pakistan men’s football team will mark their return to the SAFF Championship after missing the last two out of the 13 editions held since 1993.

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) could not send its men’s team for the 2015 edition held in India due to the lack of funds.

The national side then missed the 2021 edition as they were serving a suspension from FIFA, which was lifted last year in June.

Sri Lanka will not be participating in the tournament as they are serving a suspension from the football governing body FIFA, while Afghanistan left SAFF and joined the Central Asian Football Federation.

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TEHRAN: Pakistan’s young cueist Ahsan Ramzan put on a dominant show in the U21 Asian Snooker Championship and qualified for the semi-finals.

Ahsan Ramzan contested two group matches against Iran’s Arshia Tehrani and Ali Lalegani and remained unbeaten to book his spot in the knockout stage.

In his first group match, Ahsan Ramzan thumped Tehrani by the score of 3-0 in the Best of Five.

The 17-year-old snooker player started his first match of the competition on a high as he outclassed Tehrani by the scores of 55-21 before putting on an even more dominant show in the second frame, sealing it by 93-15.

The flying start filled Ahsan Ramzan with momentum and he moved within one frame to register his first victory.

He managed to retain the momentum in the third frame as well and blew away Tehrani 3-0.

In his next fixture against Iran’s Lalegani, Ahsan Ramzan got off to a contrasting start as the Iranian cueist scored a 66-point break to seal the first frame.

With Lalegani securing an early 1-0 lead, Ahsan recollected himself and marked an astonishing comeback by sealing the next three frames with great precision and securing his second back-to-back victory in the tournament.

In the team’s competition of the ongoing Asian Snooker Championship, Pakistan’s duo of Ahsan Ramzan and Haris Tahir put on an alike show in the group stages as they remained unbeaten in all three of their matches.

Pakistan team of Ahsan and Haris defeated Kuwait 3-2 in their opening game before thrashing Qatar (3-1) and Bahrain (3-2) respectively.

It is pertinent to mention that the young snooker sensation Ahsan Ramzan rose to fame after winning the IBSF Snooker World Championship 2022 as he scripted an astounding comeback in the final against Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh from 4-2 down to eventually triumphing 6-5 and became the second-youngest cueist to seize the prestigious title.

Furthermore, Ahsan is only the third snooker player from Pakistan to win the international amateur world title after Muhammad Yousaf, who achieved the feat in 1994.

Notably, Ahsan has already won the national U17, U18 and U19 titles, while he ended up as runner-up in the U21 championship.

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ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) issued No-objection Certificate (NOC) to the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Friday to participate in the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship in India.

The Ministry IPC issued the notification, addressed to the Director of Pakistan Sports Board Shoaib Khoso, on Friday.

Upon receiving the NOC from the ministry, Pakistan men’s Football team will now depart for Bengaluru, India on June 18 from Mauritius for the SAFF Championship 2023, scheduled to run from June 21 to July 4.

The national team’s players, alongside coaches and support staff, have already submitted the Visa application to the Indian embassy in Mauritius.

Notably, the Pakistan football team are currently in Mauritius to partake in the four-nation tournament.

The green shirts have thus far played two matches and are yet to taste the triumph as they succumbed to straight losses against host Mauritius and Kenya, the highest-ranked team in the aforementioned tournament.

The second defeat in the tournament means that Pakistan have been knocked out of the tournament but will face Djibouti in their last fixture on June 17.

After concluding their campaign in the four-nation tournament, the Pakistan men’s football team will mark their return to the SAFF Championship after missing the last two out of the 13 editions held since 1993.

The national team has been drawn with India alongside invitee Kuwait and Nepal in Group A while Group B features Bangladesh, Bhutan, Lebanon and Maldives.

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) could not send its men’s team for the 2015 edition held in India due to the lack of funds.

The national side then missed the 2021 edition as they were serving a suspension from FIFA, which was lifted last year in June.

Sri Lanka will not be participating in the tournament as they are serving a suspension from the football governing body FIFA, while Afghanistan left SAFF and joined the Central Asian Football Federation.

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Spinners led by Syeda Aroob Shah and Tuba Hassan helped Pakistan successfully defend a low total against Nepal in their first match of the ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Chasing a modest 88-run target, leg-spinners Aroob and Tuba never allowed the opposing batters to settle and picked up wickets regularly.

The duo ended up taking two wickets apiece, while off-spinner Umm-e-Hani and left-arm spinner Anoosha Nasir snapped a wicket each to give Pakistan a nine-run win.

For Nepal, Kabita Kunwar (20, 32b, 2x4s) and Kabita Joshi (15 not out, 17b, 1×4) were the only batters to enter into double figures.

Earlier, after being put into bat, Pakistan A were bowled out for 87 in 19.2 overs. Opening batter Shawaal Zulfiqar top-scored for her side with a 36-ball 28, hitting one four.

For Nepal, Indu Barma was the most successful bowler, taking three wickets for six runs from three overs. Kabita Joshi, Kabita Kunwar and Sita Rana Magar bagged two wickets apiece.

Pakistan will now take on hosts Hong Kong on Thursday, 15 June in their second fixture of the ongoing Women’s Emerging Asia Cup. The first ball of the match will be bowled at 0600 PKT.

In another Group A fixture of the Women’s Emerging Asia Cup, dominant India humbled hosts Hong Kong by nine wickets and 88 balls remaining to occupy the top spot in the standings.

After putting Hong Kong into bat first, Indian bowlers, led by Shreyanka Patil bamboozled Hong Kong’s batting lineup and bundled them out for a meagre 34 runs in 14 overs.

Opening batter Mariko Hill remained the top-scorer for Hong Kong in their deplorable batting performance against India while none of their batters could get into the double figures.

Set to chase 35, India comfortably accumulated 38/1 in the sixth over despite their skipper Shweta Sehrawat (2) perishing in the second over.

Following an early setback, wicketkeeper batter U Chetry and Gongadi Trisha put on a match-winning 28-run partnership and steered their side to a statement victory.

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KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan shared a piece of advice on the ongoing deadlock regarding the venue of Asia Cup 2023, stating that dialogue is the only way forward.

The former Pakistan captain joined the ongoing debate regarding the venue of this year’s Asia Cup and the deadlock between two arch-rivals Pakistan and India.

He while highlighting the importance of the rivalry in cricket also shared a piece of advice regarding the tie on the Asia Cup venue and shared that the officials should sit and talk to resolve this issue.

“Everyone [officials] should sit and talk regarding Asia Cup. If there’s no dialogue then the matter will not be resolved,” said Younis Khan during the MoU signing ceremony here for the Karachi Premier League.

Younis Khan further weighed in his opinion by asserting that Pakistan-India matches are beneficial for all and without them, there would be no entertainment in cricket.

“If there are no India-Pakistan matches, then there is no fun in cricket. If Pakistan plays India, everyone will benefit,” Younis Khan stated.

This year’s Asia Cup is originally scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan. However, the BCCI refused to send their team to Pakistan for the continental event on political grounds.

The BCCI since then made several efforts to take the hosting rights from Pakistan and to hold Asia Cup at a neutral venue.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was determined not to give away the hosting rights of the tournament and thus the chairman of the PCB management committee Najam Sethi came up with a hybrid model.

As per the PCB-proposed model, Pakistan will host the four to six group matches which will feature Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan.

However, the BCCI has refused the hybrid proposal for both events and once again demanded to shift the Asia Cup entirely from Pakistan.

Following BCCI’s reported refusal, the final decision regarding the venue of the Asia Cup was likely to be taken on the sidelines of the Indian Premier League (IPL) final. However, no development was reported on the deadlock.

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ORTACA: Olympian Inam Butt started his Beach Wrestling World Series campaign on a high as he stormed into the quarter-finals of the tournament, here on Saturday.

Inam, who won the gold medal in the 2021 World Beach Wrestling Championship, displayed his brilliance in the recently commenced tournament here as he remained undefeated in the group stage to book a quarter-finals spot.

Former champion and last edition’s bronze medal winner, scripted a flying start to his Beach Wrestling World series as the national wrestler blew away his opponents and claimed four successive victories.

Inam Butt, competing in the Group A of the 90kg category, locked horns with China’s Chaoqiang Yang in his first fight of the day.

The former champion thumped Yang 3-1 after a one-sided affair and qualified for the next fight.

Inam Butt then took on Belgium’s Jonas Van Caeneghem and utterly dominated him throughout the competition before blowing him away by the score of 3-0.

He then faced Azerbaijan’s Ibrahim Yusubov in his third group-stage fight and also emerged victorious.

In his final duel on the opening day of the Beach Wrestling World Series, Inam Butt then came face to face with Romania’s Mihai Nicolae Palaghia and also secured a perfect 3-0 victory to taste his fourth triumph of the day.

It is pertinent to mention that Inam Butt will now compete in the Beach Wrestling World Series’ quarter-finals on June 11. The two-day event will conclude tomorrow, with the knockout rounds taking place on the same day.

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