ISLAMABAD: Pakistani medalists who shone in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games and Islamic Solidarity Games were given a warm reception on Monday at Islamabad Airport upon their return to the country.
Director General Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Colonel (retd) Mohammad Asif Zaman welcomed the silver medalist of the Commonwealth Games Inam Butt and other top performers of the global event as they reached the country from the United Kingdom (UK).
Earlier DG PSB announced that a ceremony would be held in the honor of the athletes and present them with awards.
“We say welcome to our national heroes,” he said. “Gold medalists Arshad Nadeem and Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt as well as other medalists will also be given a warm welcome on their return to the country,” he continued.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistani athletes secured eight medals including two golds by weightlifter Nooh Butt and javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games 2022.
Whereas, Arshad also imitated alike performance in the Islamic Games as he claimed the gold by setting the Games record.
National wrestlers remained the major contributor to the country’s medal tally as Inam Butt, Zaman Anwar, and Sharif Tahir bagged a silver each.
Wrestlers Inayatullah and Ali Asad, on the other hand, managed to bag a bronze apiece, while Shah Hussain Shah claimed bronze in Judo.
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan men’s cricket team captain Babar Azam, Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Arshad Nadeem and women’s team skipper Bismah Maroof were conferred civil awards by President on the occasion of the country’s 75th Diamond Jubilee anniversary.
Skipper Babar Azam was bestowed with Sitara-i-Imtiaz while Bismah received Tamgha-i-Imtiaz for their outstanding contributions in the field of sports along with 12 other national athletes as President Dr Arif Alvi conferred civil awards on 253 Pakistani citizens and foreign nationals.
Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem and weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastagir Butt were conferred President’s award for Pride of Performance in recognition of their remarkable feat and winning gold in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, legendary squash player Jahangir Khan has been bestowed with Nishan-i-Imtiaz.
Mountaineer Sirbaz Khan, who recently became Pakistan’s first climber to summit 12 peaks of over 8000 meters, received President’s award for Pride of Performance.
Moreover, Ch. Shafay Hussain (Sitara-i-Imtiaz) and Shafiq Ahmed Chishti (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz) were two Kabbadi players awarded President’s civil awards.
Ahsan Ramzan (Snooker), Masood Jan (Blind Cricket), Amina Wali (Skiing), Abdul Karim (Mountaineer/ Porter), Irfan Mehsood (Martial Arts) and Ms Shahida (Karate) were other athletes awarded with Pride of Performace.
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DUBAI: Pakistani Tent pegging riders shone at the recently concluded Sultan International Tent Pegging competition as the national club Team Sultan won the inter-club competition on Friday.
The 10-club competition, featuring clubs from United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Oman, and England, remained majorly dominated by Pakistan as the country’s club Sultan lifted the trophy.
Besides Team Sultan, Al Rehman Ghazi and Hussaini Awan clubs from Pakistan also participated in the competition.
Pakistani players Sultan Bahadur Umair and Sagheer Zargar were declared the best riders of the competition.
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LAHORE: The provincial Minister of Punjab for Youth Affairs, Sports, Archaeology and Tourism, Malik Taimoor Masood has denied the speculations surrounding social media regarding the removal of astroturf from the National Hockey Stadium for the rally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
As a video of groundsmen scraping off the astroturf of the national hockey stadium went viral on social media on Thursday, speculations emerged that it was done in preparation for PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s August 13 gathering.
Following the propaganda, the Sports minister of Punjab Malik Taimoor clarified that the ‘shifting’ of the astroturf is part of the master planning and the national stadium will get the Federation International Hockey FIH-approved astroturf worth 15 million by December.
“First of all, I would like to make it clear that there is no such thing that the astroturf is being removed for the PTI Rally. We are just shifting it to Sargodha and it will be installed there. It is a part of our master planning and the tender for that will be approved in a couple of days,” Taimoor stated.
“The National Stadium will get the state-of-the-art astroturf in three to four months. This is one of the biggest stadiums in the world so, we are planning to install a technologically advanced astroturf here,” he maintained.
It is important to note that while the removal of astroturf was initially planned for March or April of this year, the PC-One was revised due to the spike in US Dollar exchange rates against the Pakistani Rupee.
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BIRMINGHAM: Two Pakistani boxers went missing on Wednesday as the national boxing team started their return journey from the United Kingdom after participating in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2022.
According to the details, Pakistan Boxing Federation started the hunt for the missing athletes and immediately informed the relevant authorities about their disappearance.
“Police complaint has been lodged against the missing boxers while we are also in possession of their passports and other documents” confirmed Nasir Tung, Secretary Pakistan Boxing Federation.
Meanwhile, other members of the boxing team have left for the country without taking the missing boxers on board and will land at Islamabad Airport tonight.
It is pertinent to mention here that the national boxing team was comprised of five players and four officials that participated in the recently concluded event.
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KONYA: Pakistan athletes remained unable to shine on the opening day of the Islamic Solidarity Games 2022 as three participants have been ruled out of the medal race.
As the fifth edition of the Islamic Games kick-started on August 8th, a number of Pakistan athletes remained unable to leave their mark as they struggled in various athletics events.
National athlete Ahmed Randhawa, who competed in the 400m hurdle race, could not perform well and has been crashed out of the medal race. Whereas sprinter Arooj Kiran finished last in the 100m sprint, thus, failed to make it to the next round.
National athlete Jamshed Ali, who earned direct qualification to the Commonwealth Games Shot-put final, finished ninth in the opening round of the Islamic Games, resulting in him crashing out of the medal expedition.
Shajar Abbas and Abdul Mueed Baloch, on the other hand, managed to storm into the semi-finals of 100m and 400m heats respectively, and are the major medal hopes for Pakistan in the ongoing event.
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KONYA: National sprinter Shajar Abbas carried on his exceptional momentum in the recently-commenced Islamic Solidarity Games and finished fourth in the Heat 3 of the first round of Men’s 100m sprint.
Shajar, who had a frustrating end to his Commonwealth Games as he finished last in the final heat, shone in the Islamic Games as he amassed 100m in a record 10.25 seconds to finish fourth in the proceedings.
Following his astounding performance, the national sprinter has qualified for the next round of the Men’s 100m race.
Besides Shajar, his compatriots Abdul Mueed Baloch and Urooj Kiran will also be in action in the Men’s 400m and Women’s 100m sprint respectively.
Another national athlete Ahmed Saeed Randhawa will be in action in the 400m hurdles race, whereas, Jamshed Ali will partake in the opening round of Shot-put.
It is pertinent to mention here that national Table Tennis player Hoor Fawad outclassed Uganda’s top player Irene Nekesa to qualify for the pre-quarterfinal of women’s singles.
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ISLAMABAD: Director General Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Colonel (retd) Mohammad Asif Zaman announced cash prizes for weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt, who won gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, and bronze-medalist judoka Shah Hussain, here on Thursday.
Zaman announced that the Rs5,000,000 cash award would be given to the gold-medalist Nooh while Shah would receive Rs1,000,000 for the remarkable feat by the two athletes in the event.
“You’ve made the nation proud with your great achievement,” DG Sports Board congratulated Nooh over the phone and said that the medal-winning athletes would be given a warm reception on their return to Pakistan.
Weightlifter Nooh created history as he set the new Commonwealth Games record by lifting 405kgs and secured the first gold for Pakistan in the ongoing global event.
Whereas, judo player Hussain outclassed his South African opponent to clinch a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022.
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BIRMINGHAM: National sprinter Anila Gulzar has been ruled out of the upcoming Women’s 200m heat in Commonwealth Games 2022, scheduled to take place on Thursday.
Following a dismal end to her 100m heat, Anila’s participation has been denied in the forthcoming 200m sprint.
In the recently-held, 100m sprint Anila registered the worst record by Pakistan as she amassed 100m distance in 14 seconds and managed to finish 47th.
Earlier, renowned national sprinter Shajar Abbas offered a glimmer of hope for the country as he finished fourth in the first round of the Men’s 100-meter race, amassing the finish line in 10.38 seconds.
The sprinter then could not carry his momentum in the second round as he managed to secure the 27th position which resulted in him crashing out of the medal expedition.
It is pertinent to mention here that national Judo player Shah Hussain Shah on Wednesday outclassed his South African to claim the first medal for Pakistan in the ongoing games.
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KARACHI: Four Pakistani cricketers were immediately called back from Afghanistan after the bomb blast incident during a domestic league match at Kabul International Stadium on Friday.
According to the details, Mir Hamza, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Afridi and Kamran Ghulam were recalled from Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) following the incident that wounded four spectators.
The explosion happened during a match between Pamir Zalmi and Band-e-Amir Dragons at Afghanistan’s main cricket stadium after which the game was halted.
Afghanistan Cricket Board’s chief executive Naseeb Khan confirmed the incident while announcing that all the players, staff, and foreigners were completely safe following the explosion.
It is worth mentioning here that the underway Shpageeza Cricket League is the eighth edition of the tournament featuring eight teams.
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